(2017-02-18) Transforming College Into A Hub Of Lifelong Learning Northeastern Universitys Level Bootcamp

Christensen Institute: Transforming college into a hub of lifelong learning: Northeastern University’s Level bootcamp. One of the ways Northeastern is answering higher education’s workforce readiness challenge is to build an experiential analytics bootcamp called Level, led by Northeastern’s vice president for new ventures, Nick Ducoff.

Bootcamp students tend to be older than traditional undergraduates, and the majority of them already have an undergraduate degree.

Level’s main offering, Level Core, is a curriculum designed to immerse students in the tools of data analytics. The $8,000 program

Level also developed an introductory bootcamp called Level Set, a 15-week blended program that focuses on prerequisite statistics and Excel skills

Level also recently built an eight-week program in cloud computing with a curriculum co-designed by Amazon Web Services.

In designing its programs, Level evaluated research on the most frequently requested skills in analytics-focused job openings. Ducoff’s team then talked to a series of hiring managers to further understand the skills required and how they prioritized them

Level has also embedded employers in the curriculum itself: industry experts engage with students throughout the program through lectures and panels.

Level shows signs of being a disruptive innovation, reaching out to lifelong learners and helping them adjust to new realities in the workforce

Level has been built as an autonomous unit

it is likely that most institutions will ignore the bootcamp model, given that these programs are not currently eligible for Title IV funding, do not enhance academic prestige, and do not meet the needs of universities’ core customers.