Kish College Foundation receives 3M grant for Nursing Textbook Initiative
The Kishwaukee College Foundation received a $5,000 grant from the 3M Site Hometown Donation program in support of the Foundation’s Nursing Textbook Initiative.
The certificate programs do not require the general education requirement classes such Math, Speech, Science and English. They just include the Computer classes in the specified area. They general consist of 5-8 classes (16 – 24 credit hours) depending upon the certificate.
Associate Degree Programs include the general education requirements in addition to the specialized courses in the field of study. They generally consist of about 20 classes with 60-65 credit hours.
Class times are available on myKish.
Prerequisites are placed on classes to insure that students have the skills necessary to succeed in the class. If you are a returning student and don't want to send a transcript just email the instructor of the class. Prerequisite waivers can be done using your Kishwaukee student email account so you don't have to chase signatures. You will still need to register in person however. Any class may be taken with the consent of the instructor and a prerequisite waiver.
Transfer to another school will be on a school by school basis. NIU has a BSAM degree which accepts any of the A.A.S. degrees awarded at Kishwaukee College. SIU also accepts Kishwaukee's A.A.S. degrees. To get the best advising you should be sure to tell your faculty advisor if you have plans to continue on for a four year degree and to which school you wish to transfer so that your program of study can be modified if necessary for you transfer to that school.
Kishwaukee College offers programs that provide training for industry recognized certifications. Note that A+ and Network+ require one class, whereas Cisco is a four class program. The Server and Windows Configuration classes match Microsoft certification exams. See Industry Certification page for more information.
In general all classes are about 40-50% lecture and 50-60% labs. In addition, classes are kept small to minimize sharing of equipment.
If you are new to networking concepts, then Network+, CIS 140 Networking Fundamentals is the best path to take.
If your career goal or current job requirements center on the support of a small office network, then Network+, CIS 140 Networking Fundamentals is the best path to take.
If you already have some exposure to networking and are interested in the configuration of routers, switches and WAN technologies, then the CCNA Cisco program is the route to take.
Since there is much overlap between the first semester Cisco class and the Network+ curriculum, many people get their Network+ certification after taking the first two Cisco classes. You may want to consider this path.
Kishwaukee College provides the training needed to get your certification. Taking the certification tests is separate from the Kishwaukee classes. Most people take the training classes, and then study for a while before taking the tests. Tests are offered at various officially sanctioned certification centers in the area. Kishwaukee College is not a testing center.
In addition, there are academic certificates and a two-year degree in networking with an administration option and a Cisco option. You will be able to obtain Kishwaukee certificates and/or degrees in addition to preparing for industry certification tests.
The text for Cisco is all online so there is no need to buy anything other than the two books in the Kish Store. A hardcopy of the class material is also available. Many students like a hard copy of the text material as well. The book also serves as a good reference manual.
At this point the Novell class is not being offered. Kish would certainly look into holding the class in Novel products if there is a great enough demand.
The programming option emphasizes desktop application programming using Java and C++. The Web Development option emphasizes the programming required to create dynamic web pages using Java, Javascript and the server side languages such as PHP, Pearl or .Net.
If you have a choice of languages there are several factors that will determine which language you want to take.
If you are planning to transfer and complete a bachelors degree you want to take CIS 150 or CIS 160. Which of the two you plan to take will depend on where you intend to transfer. For instance, NIU requires C++ (CIS 150 and CIS 250) to transfer for the BSAM degree or further work in computer science. If you are considering the University of Illinois at Springfield you need Java (CIS 160 and CIS 260). University of Illinois uses the C++ language so again you would want to take CIS 150 and CIS 250.
If you are fulfilling the programming requirement for the CIS 460 degree with no transfer intent, have never programmed or had trouble grasping the concepts of programming, CIS 110 Visual Basic is a gentler introduction to programming. CIS 110 is not articulated with Illinois Articulation Initiative and therefore the class is more adjustable to match an individual class's grasp of the concepts.
Network administrators will want to use scripts (small programs that run in the background) to automate many network tasks. No matter what language you select you will learn about variables and the three basic control structures, sequential, decision, and repetition necessary to write those scripts. Once you have learned the basics of programming it is much easier to apply them no matter what language you are using.
The Kishwaukee College Foundation received a $5,000 grant from the 3M Site Hometown Donation program in support of the Foundation’s Nursing Textbook Initiative.
Members of the Amboy High School Class of 2014 supported the Kishwaukee College Foundation's Mathew J. Rood Diesel Power Technology Scholarship after collecting donations at their class reunion. The class recently donated the proceeds to Courtney Walz of the Kishwaukee College Foundation at Amboy Depot Days.