Just three years after it opened, Neumont University (South Jordan, UT) has graduated some of the most sought-after software developers in the U.S. What's more, Neumont grads command salaries 20 percent higher than the national average.
All sixty students who graduated in November of 2006 were placed in jobs with average starting salaries of $60,000. They each had at least two offers.
President Graham Doxey credits Neumont's hands-on, project-based curriculum that gives students exposure to real workplace assignments. Students learn by the traditional apprenticeship method, in which novices are guided by experts.
"Employers tell us our students can function in their jobs right away, so they pay them what that is worth. People coming out of other institutions are evaluated based on the school they went to and the perception of how intelligent they might be, but the company knows it will have to train them," Doxey says. "We're short-circuiting that process."
A mentoring structure
Neumont has more than 300 students and twenty faculty members, and it's growing fast. Classes range from three students to sixty. The overall program relies on mentoring; faculty members serve as coaches throughout a student's education.
New students begin with "foundational projects," traditional school assignments where they learn the basics. But by the third quarter they are working on projects for real customers. One current effort has students building genealogy software for tens of thousands of users worldwide. It will be ongoing for several years, Doxey says.
By the sixth quarter students move up to "enterprise projects" that engage them with companies like IBM, EDS, Affiliated Computer Services Inc, Computer Associates and Novell.
During the first week company project managers travel to Utah for meetings as student teams get up to speed. The team works closely with the company as the project progresses. Each student takes a different role: programmer, designer, tester or project manager.
Diverse students benefit
Neumont wants to recruit more women, Doxey says, since 90 percent of the current students are male. To that end, the university, with some help from IBM, recently formed a partnership with SWE.
Aeris Forrest is from Mississippi, and first saw a Neumont advertisement when she was in high school. She had taken a couple of preliminary design classes, but really had no programming experience.
"Computer science was something I'd never done until I came here. I thought I should accept the challenge. It's something that I know I'll never get bored with," Forrest says.
Her grandmother is bi-racial, and her great-grandfather was Native American. She was struck by the lack of diversity in Salt Lake City, but hasn't had any problems.
One of Forrest's favorite school projects involves developing software to revolutionize architectural design. "Instead of carrying around blueprints, an architect will have everything he needs on his computer. It'll be in a database that's quicker and more efficient," says Forrest. She plans to seek a patent for her work.
Eventually she'd like to work in project management. "I have leadership skills and like to work on teams," she says. "But I also want to be on the software development side, so that I can do coding."
A broad spectrum of backgrounds
Applicants with good grades in math and science have a strong chance of being accepted, even if their high-school English grades are lower. Musical students are also desirable, because musical skills have a strong correlation with logic and problem solving skills, Doxey says.
The college offers needs-based scholarships. Recruiters, including Doxey, visit inner-city high schools, particularly where the local school district has set aside funds for technology education.
Students come to Neumont from forty-five states and almost a dozen countries, including Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Uzbekistan, Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Brazil, Mexico and Canada. But Doxey would still like more applicants of color. "Our student body is mostly white. Asian and Hispanic are our largest minority ethnic groups, and African American our smallest," Doxey says. He adds, "Because we're in the Rocky Mountains our Native American population is probably five percent, larger than other schools, so that's exciting."
Neumont accommodates students who have physical disabilities. "I think there are some great job opportunities for disabled people," Doxey says. "The IT industry is about problem solving, which doesn't require a tremendous amount of physical effort."
Robert Martinson: an accessible campus
Robert Martinson has lived with muscular dystrophy most of his life, and uses a wheelchair. He came to Neumont from Idaho, and has enjoyed his independence from home. "The nice thing here is that the school is in one building with just two floors, so it's easy to get around," says Martinson. "Just because you're in a wheelchair does not mean you can't do what you want to do." He drives his own car.
Martinson's career goal is to develop software for a company. His team works on a software project for Fix-a-Wreck, a fictional auto parts store. The team is developing a point-of-sale application to manage parts inventory, pay sales commissions, and generate automatic reorders when parts reach a specified inventory level.
Projects and people
Doxey points out that when Neumont surveyed companies about what they want in college graduates, the first priorities were teamwork and communication skills. Technical aptitude was fifth. "Soft skills are highly valued, and companies have a hard time finding them in tech-savvy people," he says. "That's why our project-based curriculum is so respected. It puts students in an actual work environment that allows them to develop and enhance all their skills."
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