Benedict College will help bring workforce development opportunities to students and the broader Columbia community.
Today, in celebration of Computer Science Education Week (December 7-13), Benedict College announced that it will become a Community Center for Coding and Creativity as part of Apple’s Community Education Initiative and Tennessee State University’s HBCU C2 program designed to bring hands-on coding experiences to historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and their communities.
“Benedict College is pleased to become an integral part of Columbia’s workforce development efforts through the provision of coding training programs,” said Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, President and CEO of Benedict College. “The need for coding skills is growing faster than the current job market, which places those who master coding on a fast track to high-income jobs. We are proud to partner with Apple’s Community Education Initiative and Tennessee State University’s HBCU C2. to bring this rich opportunity to our community.”
Faculty leaders from Benedict College will participate in Apple’s ongoing Community Education Initiative Learning Series to learn about coding and app development. As part of that ongoing professional development, educators will explore innovative ways to engage with learners using Apple’s comprehensive curriculum, which utilizes its easy-to-learn Swift programming language.
As part of its Community Education Initiative, Apple is supporting Benedict College with equipment and professional development to help the university become the pre-eminent HBCU C2 community center to bring coding and creativity to the Columbia community.
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About Benedict College
Founded in 1870 by a woman, Bathsheba A. Benedict, Benedict College is a private co-educational liberal arts institution, offering 25 competitive baccalaureate degree programs. The Midlands HBCU welcomes students from all 46 counties in South Carolina, 30 states across America, and 26 countries around the world.
Benedict offers several high-demand fields of study in STEM, Cyber Security, Mass Communication, Sport Management, Business Administration, Engineering, Computer Science, Biology, and Education. The College also has a diverse faculty and importantly, 80 percent of courses are taught by full-time faculty.
Over the past ten years, three out of five Benedict College graduates have attended professional or graduate schools. There are over 18,000 proud Benedict Tigers throughout the nation. Benedict College has been a community leader for over 150-years and is a significant contributor to South Carolina and the region. Contributing $130 million and 1,218 jobs in total local and annual economic impact, a Benedict graduate working full-time throughout his or her working life can expect to earn $1.1 million in additional income because of their Benedict College degree.
The College made front-page news in the spring of 2018 when it became the first South Carolina college to lower its tuition by 26 percent. Cutting tuition drew praise from the Commission on Higher Education, South Carolina’s education oversight body. The commissioner noted that the move Benedict College made should be applauded because it offers families affordability and students greater access to higher education.
Benedict College has been highly regarded and exceptionally ranked for its programs by several academic and traditional publications. For example, Benedict College was ranked as one of the top baccalaureate colleges in the nation by Washington Monthly magazine for creating social mobility and producing cutting-edge scholarship and research. In 2019, Benedict College received the 2019 ACE/ Fidelity Investments Awards for Institutional Transformation and was named the HBCU of the Year by HBCU Digest.
Benedict College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award baccalaureate and masters degrees. Five of the College’s degree programs hold national accreditation: The School of Education, Social Work, Environmental Health Science, Arts and Sciences and the Tyrone Adam Burroughs School of Business and Entrepreneurship.
