CodeMontana and Montana Tech announce the availability of college credit to high school students enrolled in CodeMontana.
BUTTE, MT—Over 1,200 high school students enrolled in CodeMontana, an online introduction to computer programming offered to Montana high school students, will now have the opportunity to turn their effort into college credit.
“CodeMontana is proud to partner with Montana Tech in offering college credit to our young programmers,” said CodeMontana co-founder, Greg Gianforte. “The added opportunity that CodeMontana now gives to its participants is incredible considering that this online program may transfer as an entry level, three-credit, programming course.”
To make this possible, CodeMontana has partnered with Montana Tech to allow juniors and seniors in high school the opportunity to apply for the 3-credit course for a $148.74 tuition fee. The course will be offered in the fall and spring semesters at Montana Tech. The fall semester begins on August 25 and goes through December 17, 2014. The last day to register for the course will be September 8. Payment must be made at the time of registration.
“Montana Tech welcomes this opportunity for Montana high school students to get a jump-start on a future in Computer Science,” said Jeff Braun, Computer Science Department Head at Montana Tech. “Students with aspirations to go into the Computer Science career field are an incredible asset to Montana and students who take advantage of CodeMontana’s coursework are a great addition to Montana’s Computer Science programs.”
Students can sign up for CodeMontana at www.CodeMontana.org which provides 90 days of access for free. If they want college credit they must also complete the 2014-2015 Jump Start form at http://institute.mtech.edu/jump-start/ and register as an early “college-credit-only” course. Students will register for the course titled CodeMontana: Intro to CS (Course number: CSI 191, CRN 74966). The course is offered fully online with an instructor available for help and to grade programming exercises. For specific questions about the Jump Start program or the registration process, please contact Bernie Phelps at 406-496-4565.
Students completing the course have the opportunity to qualify for a CodeMontana scholarship for fall 2015 to study computer science or software engineering at Montana Tech. If a student completes 100% of the required CodeMontana modules and has a Math ACT score of 24 or higher qualifies, the student will receive a $1,000 scholarship each semester for the first four regular academic semesters as long as the recipient continues to make progress in the computer science or software engineering curriculum and maintains a B average.
CodeMontana was founded in 2013 by Greg Gianforte and Rob Irizarry to give Montana middle and high school students an introduction to programming. CodeMontana is a free, online program that provides programming instruction. Over 400 high-paying, high-tech jobs are created each year in Montana with starting salaries of $45,000-$85,000. Currently, nine out of ten high schools nationally do not offer computer programming courses, identifying a need that CodeMontana and its partners are addressing across Montana.