Your skills and experience are a foundation you can build on, and Grand Valley State University is the perfect next step.
A New Pathway for Adult Students
Our new micro-credentials program helps professionals with applicable IT credentials (see below) turn prior learning into academic credit, reducing time and cost toward your degree. With free online micro-courses designed to fill knowledge gaps and maximize your experience, you can move closer to your career goals and work towards a bachelor's degree.
During the Pilot Program for Industry Certificate Holders
Who Is It For?
This initiative is designed for computing professionals who want to turn their industry credentials into academic credit and move toward a degree. If you have one of the certificates below, you can combined it with one of our free micro-courses to earn college credit and apply it towards a bachelors degree.
Applicable industry credentials include:
- COMPTIA Network Plus + Micro Credential Course = CIS 337
- Certified CISCO Network Associate (CCNA) + Micro Credential Course = CIS 337 and CIS 338
- Certified CISCO Network Professional (CCNP) - Coming Soon
Why you should consider this program...
Recognition of Your Computing Experience
Your professional experience has equipped you with technical skills. We honor that by converting your prior training into academic credit, giving you the credit you deserve.
Online Micro-Credentials (Free Until August)
If your experience covers most—but not all—course outcomes, our micro-credentials fill the gaps at no cost during our pilot program. Complete these short, focused courses online and accelerate your progress.
Accelerated Pathways to a Degree in Computing
Combine your prior learning with micro-credentials to move quickly toward a bachelor’s degree. This streamlined approach saves time and positions you for career advancement.
Pre-Admissions Transfer Credit Evaluation for Informed Decisions
Know exactly where you stand before enrolling. We provide a personalized evaluation so you can plan your degree pathway with confidence.
Reduce Time and Cost to Earn Your Degree
By maximizing your prior learning and offering free micro-credentials, we help you finish faster and spend less — without sacrificing quality.
Course Descriptions
CIS 337 - Network Systems Management
Provides information systems students with the knowledge and skills necessary to manage the sophisticated local area networks available today. It approaches the subjects of network design, installation, and management from the corporate view of networking.
Credits: 3
CIS 338 - Wide Area Network Engineering
Course covers the technologies, equipment, and protocols of the Internet. Lectures cover the design principles of WAN transport and routing protocols, Internet addresses, subnetting, and the Internet Protocol/Transmission Control Protocol. A set of laboratory experiments will provide hands-on experience with engineering a wide-area network and extensive work with routing equipment.
Credits: 3
CIS 375 - Wireless Networks and Security
A multidisciplinary, hands-on oriented wireless networks and security course that integrates topics at all layers of wireless networks and mobile systems, starting from wireless physical layer through application layer. The course presents security techniques employed in common wireless systems and emphasizes hands-on learning through experiments, case studies, and design projects.
Credits: 3
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