at thurgood marshall says, "in one leap, cisco has helped us have the most effective school-to-work program i've seen locally, and we're proud of that."

"the energy level of these students is so high, it's hard to find the words to describe it," says barry williams, who oversees regional activities for the round valley school district in springerville, arizona. "once, about half of my students had permission to leave school about 20 minutes early. but not a single one left. i talked topologies and media for 90 minutes without a break."

faq about academy

what are some of the benefits that the cisco networking academy program can provide to schools and institutions of higher education?

the cisco networking academy program market report [pdf 95k] highlights the application of the cisco networking academy program to high schools, technical schools, community colleges, and universities. the cisco networking academy program provides the opportunity to obtain two levels of certification, cisco certified networking associate (ccna) and cisco certified networking professional (ccnp). both certifications are designed to meet employment standards for the networking industry.

what are the requirements to be a regional academy?

please download the regional academy requirements factsheet [pdf 19k].

what are the requirements to be a local academy?

please download the local academy requirements factsheet [pdf 20k]

what is the difference between a regional academy and a local academy?

regional academies have administrative responsibilities for managing ten local academies; they designate a full-time employee to manage the networking academy program; and they attend cisco training and in turn train their local academy instructors. regional academies track the equipment inventory of their local academies and answer curriculum questions or refer them back to the cisco networking academy team. they also deal directly with the cisco networking academy team.

local academies are responsible for having trained instructors who teach the curriculum to students; these instructors supervise students as they design, build, and maintain their school's network.

can a local academy exist without a regional academy to support it?

no. regional academies provide many services to local academies such that locals cannot exist without a supporting regional.

why do local academies have to commit to four semesters of classes?

if they don't teach all four semesters, students won't learn all the skills needed to properly support a tcp/ip ethernet routed and switched network. they also won't learn everything they need to be prepared to take the cisco certified networking associate exam. cisco wants to avoid offering incomplete programs.

how are the regional academy instructors trained?

regional academy instructors are trained by cisco. the first semester training is eight days, the second semester training session lasts five days, and the third and fourth semesters combined is six days.

where is the training for the regional academy instructors held?

current training sessions are held in arizona, minnesota, north carolina, california, florida, and wisconsin.

how are the local academy instructors/teachers trained?

local academy instructors/teachers are trained by their regional academy trainers.

who pays travel costs and expenses for the regional academy instruction?

the regional academy pays any travel costs and expenses for up to two instructors from their regional academy to attend training. these costs are passed on to the local academies.

may i see a sample of the curriculum?

a sample module of semester one as well as an outline of the four semesters of curriculum are available on the web site (www.cisco.com/edu).

do cisco people install new hardware/software for the academy, free of charge?

in the training that cisco gives, regional academies are shown how to set up the equipment that is part of the next semester curriculum. the instructors are shown everything they need to install for that upcoming semester. cisco also provides phone assistance in setting up the lab to regional academies who have attended training. regionals in turn provide assistance to their local academies.

may we receive a list of the other pilot schools so we can contact them and see how they have made use of the materials and with what success?

yes. contact your local cisco education account manager.

are there any prerequisites for the cisco networking academy curriculum, either for the students or for the regional or local academy instructors?

the curriculum assumes no prior knowledge of computers or networks. an eighth grade reading and math proficiency is expected, as well as a desire to learn the curriculum.

what is the status of getting the networking academy curriculum approved by state education organizations?

each state has different requirements for curriculum approval. cisco is not currently engaged in any efforts on its ow