By: The Capella University Editorial Team
Reading Time: 3 minutes
When comparing online information technology (IT) programs, review institutional accreditation, specialized designations and how the curriculum aligns with relevant, real-world IT roles.
Accreditation is a review process in which an accrediting agency evaluates whether an institution or program meets standards for areas such as faculty, student support, curriculum and financial stability. Institutional accreditation applies to the college or university as a whole. Specialized accreditation applies to a specific program, school or department.
When comparing IT programs, check whether the program holds a designation from a professional or government organization. For example, Capella University has been designated by the National Security Agency (NSA) as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD). A designation is separate from institutional or programmatic accreditation. It indicates that the program met the agency’s stated education and outcome expectations for the designation.
A professionally aligned curriculum combines academic study with skills and learning experiences connected to industry expectations. Within Capella’s competency-based education model, it connects coursework to competencies that employers may value.
IT students should also review whether the curriculum covers current tools and real-world scenarios that relate to workplace tasks. Look for a program that includes hands-on work with relevant tools, such as programming, web and mobile design, ethical hacking, app development or systems development.
Programs with a professionally aligned curriculum are designed around industry standards. They provide foundational knowledge and authentic learning experiences that can help students prepare for industry certification exams.
Capella has the following accreditations and designations that apply to IT:
The PhD IT project management specialization is no longer accepting new enrollment.
*The FlexPath format is not included in this specialized accreditation.
In addition, many of the courses in Capella’s IT programs are designed to help students develop the knowledge required of various professional certifications, including many from Microsoft, Cisco and CompTIA, as well as others such as the Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP®), the SAS Certified Specialist: Base Programming credential and the Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP). Students who complete the aligned courses may gain the necessary skills and knowledge to take select certification exams. Developed in collaboration with SAS, Capella's MS in Analytics program is aligned to the SAS Statistical Business Analyst certification.
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