Old school and new school are merging to form a new coding program in Omaha this school year.
Midland University in Freemont, Neb. is launching Midland Code Academy —a ten-month three course program— at its Omaha campus that will provide students with a coding certification.
Classes will be three hours a day, three times a week at the Midland University campus in Omaha. The fall cohort will start with a web foundations course. Students then have the option to focus in WordPress or JavaScript for their second course and their final class is a capstone project working with Omaha businesses on real projects.
Courses are offered three times a year and cohorts in the Fall, Winter or Spring.
Micah Yost is the Lead Faculty for the Code Academy and said Midland University is “progressive” for combining unique content with traditional schooling.
When a student graduates from the program they will be junior level developers, Yost said.
“Not everybody needs a four year degree and student debt to get a great job.,” Yost says. “What I think universities have done really well is the in-person experiences. So could we take the best of a university experience, which I think is in-person, in-class experiences, and pair that with this cutting edge idea of a code school?”
Yost was told by the Omaha Chamber of Commerce that Omaha had roughly 400 open information technology jobs.
“Three courses, one year, career ready,” Yost says. “We are trying something different and that is what gets me excited. I get to help these students learn new skills that will help them accomplish goals, find a career and build new products.”
An open house is scheduled for 1 p.m. on July 22 for interested students of all ages.