IT Foundation, Certificate of Achievement

This certificate program provides students with a preliminary foundation in the field of Information Technology. The emphasis on personal computers and networking will provide students with the foundational skills needed for an entry-level position. Topics covered include IT terminology and concepts, infrastructure, managing applications and software, software development concepts, database fundamentals, and basic cybersecurity. The courses emphasize development of fundamental technical skills needed in computer networking, help desk troubleshooting, and best practices for device security.

20 to 40

The certificate program goal is Career Technical Education (CTE) with emphasis on careers in the field of information technology. The program is not selective and does not have any mandatory fees.

Program Student Learning Outcomes:

1. Demonstrate the ability to locate technical resources to solve problems with networking hardware and software.

2. Demonstrate proficiency with various software packages to solve common networking problems to design and implement a workable solution.

3.  Build and maintain secure networks.

The associated occupations related to the program include Network Administrator, Computer Support/Help Desk Specialist, Computer Information Systems Manager, and Network Technician.  All of the annual openings for these computer networking related occupations have entry-level wages above the California Family Needs Calculator hourly wage (living wage) for one adult ($20.63 in Orange County). Typical entry-level hourly wages are in a range between $21.38 and $40.96. Experienced workers can expect to earn wages between $35.60 and $71.00, which are higher than the living wage estimate. Orange County’s average wages are below the average statewide wage of $41.03 for these occupations. {Center of Excellence, Program Endorsement Brief, November 2021).

Program completers are anticipated to acquire competencies in the areas of computer networking, help desk troubleshooting, and best practices for device security.

The required core courses may be taken in any order, but it is recommended that students take these courses in the order listed below.

Course	Title	Units	Year/Semester (Y1 or S1)
CST C104	IT Fundamentals	3	Y1, S1
CST C110	Computer Hardware and Software (A+ Essentials)	4	Y1, S1
CYBR C101	Introduction to Cybersecurity	3	Y1, S1
CST C128	Network+	3	Y1, S2
CST C198	Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Foundations	3	Y1, S2

Part of the Computer Service Technology (CST) department.

Irvine Valley College, Long Beach City College, Glendale Community College, Mt. San Antonio College, and Rio Hondo College have similar programs.

40 enrolled, 20 completing