Inver Hills Recognized for 25 Years of Participation in Cisco Networking Academy
(left to right) Ben Franske, ITC faculty, John Morgridge, former Cisco CEO and Cisco Networking Academy founder, Mayfield Fayose, former ITC faculty, Dale Henninger, ITC faculty
(left to right) Ben Franske, ITC faculty, John Morgridge, former Cisco CEO and Cisco Networking Academy founder, Mayfield Fayose, former ITC faculty, Dale Henninger, ITC faculty
Program offers certification-aligned pathways in Cybersecurity, Networking, and Python
Inver Hills Community College was recently recognized by the Cisco Networking Academy for 25 years of participation in the global, skills-to-jobs, technology education program. Ben Franske, PhD, faculty in the college’s Information Technology Careers department, has more than two decades of experience teaching and working in the IT field.
Ben reported that the Cisco Networking Academy was launched in 1997 as a pilot program in a limited number of California and Arizona schools. Since that time, the program has taught 24 million students at more than 12,000 organizations in nearly 200 countries around the world.
“I believe the first Minnesota schools were offering classes in 1998,” he said, adding that he took Cisco Networking Academy courses in high school around that time. “Inver Hills was at the forefront of colleges offering the program in our state. The Cisco Instructor Training Center at Inver Hills welcomes Cisco Academy teachers from all over the world, which means many Cisco Academy students have been touched in some way by our college.”
Thanks to the renovated Technology & Business Center on the Inver Hills campus, the Information Technology Careers department will have all-new lab spaces beginning fall semester 2025, including a dedicated data center space for housing the department’s state-of-the-art networking, cybersecurity, and server equipment, which can be used in on-campus labs and off campus via remote access.
Along with the two A.A.S. degrees, the department offers six certificate programs:
For study beyond the two-year A.A.S. degree programs:
We are a skills-to-jobs program shaping the future workforce.
At Cisco Networking Academy, we believe education can be the ultimate equalizer, enabling anyone, regardless of background, to develop expertise and shape their destiny in a digital era. Guided by Cisco’s purpose to power an inclusive future for all, we bring this vision to life by preparing learners with real-world skills and helping them discover opportunities to apply them.
We do this with our progressive education technology platform, leading-edge curriculum, superior learning experiences, and an unparalleled partner ecosystem—all of which have led to us impacting 24 million learners in 191 countries.
How it all began
Back in 1997, Cisco donated networking equipment to a local school, but it sat unused because no one knew how to operate it. That changed when we stepped in to train the school’s staff on building their network. This pivotal moment marked the birth of Cisco Networking Academy and the impactful movement it represents.
Today, in addition to the millions of learners who take our self-paced courses, 31,300 educators deliver our curriculum across 12,100 organizations. 96% of learners who complete our courses find employment or access new educational opportunities. And our ever-expanding ecosystem of partners ranges from the White House and the United Nations to many of the nonprofits you know and love.
Where to from here?
From artificial intelligence and sustainability to industry-leading cybersecurity courses taken by millions, we continuously evolve and expand our course catalog so our learners can build the practical skills and deep knowledge they need to harness new technologies and equitably participate in a rapidly changing global economy.
We’ve also set many audacious goals, such as empowering 25 million people globally with digital skills by 2032, closing the U.S. cybersecurity gap by training 200,000 students in cybersecurity by 2025, and continuing to build a more inclusive tech industry through our popular Women Rock-IT initiative.
The 60-credit Network Technology and Security A.A.S. degree program at Inver Hills prepares you for a rewarding career in the dynamic field of computer networking and security. The tremendous, ongoing expansion of the internet, wide area networks (WANs), and local area networks (LANs) require the expertise of IT professionals with the broad knowledge and skills needed to design, manage, secure, and troubleshoot sophisticated information storage, retrieval, and presentation systems.
As you work toward graduation, you will gain the knowledge and skills universally recognized as crucial for employment in the IT field. Coursework explains the workings of networks and systems from desktop and mobile devices to cloud servers that could be located anywhere in the world. We designed the curriculum to encompass many of the same competencies covered by several recognized IT industry certifications:
CompTIA’s A+
Cisco’s CCNA
CCNP
CyberOps Associate
Microsoft’s Administering Windows Server Hybrid Core Infrastructure
As a student in this A.A.S. degree program, you will complete the Network Technology and Security Curriculum (44 credits) and the General Education Curriculum (16 credits) for a credit total of 60.
Important Note: Many of the courses in ITC degree programs have prerequisites that limit the minimum number of technical courses that can be take in any one semester.
To ensure timely graduation, appropriate course loads, and the correct mix of technical and liberal arts courses, students are strongly encouraged to meet with an academic advisor, counselor, and/or ITC department faculty member to determine a degree plan before registering for classes.
Inver Hills Community College was recently recognized by the Cisco Networking Academy for 25 years of participation in the global, skills-to-jobs, technology education program. Ben Franske, PhD, faculty in the college’s Information Technology Careers department, has more than two decades of experience teaching and working in the IT field.
