The UpSkill program begins in year four and teaches coding to high school seniors
05/30/2023
JONESBORO – The highly successful UpSkill program, which teaches high school students industry-standard languages and programming for mobile apps, continues for the fourth straight year at Arkansas State University.
Due to notable success over the past three years since the pilot program began, support for the program for the 2023-2024 school year has been renewed by the Arkansas Department of Education, the Arkansas Public School Resource Center, and the Governor’s Initiative on Computer Science Skills.
In each of the past two years, more than 50 students have graduated from the program, which is open to both high school students across the state and students from A-states. Hundreds of students have used online courses.
“We are pleased with the continued support of the Governor’s Office for this important training program for young Arkansans,” said Chris Boothman, interim vice chancellor for enrollment management and global engagement. “A-State Online is proud to offer this service to both our high school graduates and our enrolled students here at A-State. We know these are highly marketable skills and are in high demand by businesses here in the state.”
From its beginnings as a three-course series focused on programming in Swift, the program has evolved to include a game design and development course and an Android app development course.
All three courses are designed and administered by the A-State Online program, home of the state’s largest online university program. High school students who complete the courses receive nine hours of college credit.
The program is open to all high school seniors in the state of Arkansas and is coordinated across the individual school systems. The Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education has awarded the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) a grant to enroll up to 250 high school students free of charge for UpSkill in A-State’s Swift coding program for the Fall 2023 semester to the student or school.
To learn more about deadlines and specific requirements, visit AState.edu/UpSkill for more online information or follow the program on Facebook.com/UpSkill or @UpSkill on Twitter. Schools interested in participating in the funding opportunity can call APSRC at (501) 492-4300 or email [email protected].
