Web and Interaction Design

Successful completion of the curriculum in Web and Interaction Design program provides a comprehensive understanding of the skills necessary for successful employment in the front-end Web design and development industry.  This program is designed to meet the needs of students interested in seeking entry-level positions in front-end Web design and development fields, including interaction and experience (UI/UX) design, web accessibility and usability design, and front-end development using HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Additionally, students could choose to start their own business as a Web and/or Interaction Design professional after the completion of the program. The certificate is designed to focus on providing specific career technical skills; it is not equivalent to an associate degree.

Based on the data provided in the Sierra College Dashboards, the Applied Art and Design program has awarded 12 Skills Certificates in Web Design between 2016-2020. It is unclear what other Awards these students may have achieved in conjunction with the Web Design Skills Certificate, however with the approval of this Certificate of Achievement, these students would have the opportunity to continue their focus on Web-specific topics and receive a full Certificate to help propel them into the industry.

 The Skills Certificate in Web Design requires the completion of four courses which are also found in the Core Requirements for the proposed Certificate of Achievement. 

• AAD 0085: Introduction to Web Design
• AAD 0086: Intermediate Web Design
• AAD 0087: Content Management Systems for Designers
• AAD 0090: Interaction Design

The table below covers all courses listed in the Program Requirements and shares data regarding number of sections and students enrolled. We expect enrollment to increase somewhat in Web-specific courses when the opportunity to earn a full Certificate of Achievement becomes available.

A Certificate of Achievement in Web and Interaction Design will help students gain access to paid internships, and entry level Web-specific positions. This Certificate can help working professional advance in their field. Additionally, ambitious students who graduate with this Certificate could choose to start their own front-end Web design and development business.  There are many paths available in Web-related fields as well as those in Graphic Design, in which a certain level of Web knowledge and familiarity are becoming an expectation.

The Web and Interaction Design Certificate of Achievement has been an agenda item discussed with the CTE Advisory Committee members for input and suggestions regarding industry need and expectations during our annual spring meeting held March 21, 2019 at Sierra College, which consisted of various design and digital media industry representatives. In the meeting faculty from Sierra College’s AAD and Photography departments discussed the proposal with local industry leaders and professionals. Our faculty wanted to ensure our curriculum was aligning with industry need and has since built the certificate to support the discussion points.

 Web professionals in the area are projected to be in demand and provide income estimates above the regional living wage with entry-level positions available to students with the equivalent of a 2-year award. 

The following points have been extracted verbatim from the LMI report related to this proposal:

• Web design and development occupations are projected to have almost 300 annual openings over the next five years.
• Median hourly wages for the selected occupations are above the regional living wage. Hourly wages are highest for web developers at $32 per hour. Graphic designers can expect to make $21 per hour.
• The typical entry-level education for a web developer is an Associate’s degree. The typical entry-level education for a graphic designer is a bachelor’s degree.
• Four community colleges conferred a total of 21 certificates and degrees between 2016 and 2019.

This proposed Web and Interaction Design Certificate of Achievement will be unique in the Placer County region which reaches from Roseville to Tahoe and will provide the skills and experience expected for an entry-level position working with coding, Website development and design, user-interaction design, development of media for Web, mobile and screen-based delivery, all of which are outlined in the LMI report.

In It was confirmed by our Advisory Committee that Digital Media is too broad a term in the industry at this time. Our students should have a Certificate that clearly defines their field of study if they are specializing in Web and User Interaction as is noted by the LMI data (Exhibit 7) describing the number of postings in the Greater Sacramento region in which the job titles reflect the specificity of the industry expectations.

It is important to note that though we have offered an introductory-level course in front-end Website design and development, a number of courses have been added in recent years to help focus and grow this area of professional study to support the needs of the industry, as reflected in the last data illustration (Exhibit 7).

In addition, there is an increase in wages for Web Developers in comparison to Graphic Designers (Exhibit 3, below), which warrants the specificity of a Certificate related to Web-specific outcomes and industry expectations.

In Exhibit 1 on the LMI data report it is also clear that there is a strong projection for occupational demand for both Web and Graphic Designers, however, the Web industry shows tremendous growth potential over the projected growth for Graphic Design.

All courses for the certificate are already being offered in Applied Art and Design. We looked at several different A.A. degrees and Certificate programs in Web Design and Development all over the state of California. We wanted to make sure our course offerings were comprehensive, thorough and well-rounded as well as focused on the skills and expectations that are expected for entry-level employment focused on design for Web and other screen-based media. Our curriculum is based on the feedback we received from our Advisory committee meetings as well as our research from other community colleges. 

All courses for the certificate are already being offered in Applied Art and Design. We looked at several different A.A. degrees and Certificate programs in Web Design and Development all over the state of California. We wanted to make sure our course offerings were comprehensive, thorough and well-rounded as well as focused on the skills and expectations that are expected for entry-level employment focused on design for Web and other screen-based media. Our curriculum is based on the feedback we received from our Advisory committee meetings as well as our research from other community colleges.