"Swift, a popular programming language used worldwide, will soon put Amarillo College students on the path to coding know-how and designing their own apps – critical job skills in software development and information technology.
Amarillo College is pleased to announce that it will join a select group of Texas community colleges, such as Austin College and the Houston Community College System, in a partnership with Apple, Inc., for the delivery of Apple’s Swift app-development curriculum.
Swift is Apple’s programming language that allows coders to easily create mobile app software. Websites such as Airbnb, Kayak, Linkedin, Pandora, Tumblr, Venmo, and Yelp use Swift to create apps.
On March 27, AC’s Board of Regents unanimously approved the partnership with Apple, along with the requisite purchase of $55,000 worth of Apple products – MacBook Pros, iPads and iPad Touches.
“I am so proud of our faculty and staff who created the curricular structure for this partnership,” Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, AC president, said. “The AC faculty teaching this curriculum will be trained directly by Apple and will be able to train teachers across the region.
“As a result, Amarillo begins a path to being a technology hub, and AC is reshaping our regional economy,” he added.
The “Amarillo College Can Code” program will let students pursue credentials at AC that are stackable, which means credit hours earned can be applied to each subsequent level of the curriculum.
A new Level I Marketable Skills Certificate in iOS app development will stack into an 18-hour certificate in Coding and Design, which in turn will stack into an associate’s degree in Coding and Design.
All AC students, not just those seeking technology-related credentials, can benefit from this new partnership with Apple, which is sure to enhance student success and will help lay the groundwork for regional economic diversification."
-Amarillo College
