DSC awarded $20,000 grant to launch database technology associate degree

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (July 28, 2017) - Daytona State College has been awarded a $20,000 grant to develop a new associate of science degree program in database technology as part of an American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) collaboration with the National Science Foundation called MentorLinks: Advancing Technological Education.

"Daytona State has a strong reputation in advanced technology education that prepares our students for the workforce," said President Tom LoBasso. "We believe this database-technology program will address the skills and needs of a broad range of local and regional industries, and will help fill the gap in qualified, professional employees. We very much look forward to participating in MentorLinks and providing this vital degree program that will benefit the region's economy."

DSC is among 11 institutions nationwide to receive grants through the 2017-2019 MentorLinks initiative, which is dedicated to helping colleges develop or strengthen technician-training programs in STEM fields. In addition to the funding, an experienced mentor will be assigned to the college to assist with planning, developing curricula and launching the new associate degree by fall 2018 through DSC's College of Business, Engineering and Technology.

The new program will take traditional database-management technology training to a higher level, according to Anindya Paul, chair of DSC's School of Computer Science. "Many of the databases that we are used to cannot handle the sheer volume of data that drives much of industry today," he said. "The new program will teach our graduates how to better mine what we call big data so it can be analyzed for insights that lead organizations to make more strategic and effective business decisions."

For some years, DSC has offered introductory database management courses. The new initiative calls for creating nine additional courses to round out the associate degree that can be delivered in-class, online or a combination of both. Among them are SharePoint Development and Administration, Business Intelligence, SQL Server Reporting Services, Querying Database and Database Administration.

Driven by the increased data needs of companies in all sectors of the economy, demand for database administrators is projected to grow by 11 percent through 2024, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The profession is on the 2017-2018 Florida Regional Demand Occupations List and, in Florida, commands a median annual salary of $90,261. Even the median salary of $60,497 per year for entry level positions far exceeds the average annual overall individual wage of $37,196 in Volusia County and $32,929 in Flagler County.

Database administrators and managers are expected to be sought after in industry sectors such as healthcare and education as well as across a range of information technology industries seeking to meet the growing demand for credentialed professionals.

Since 2002, AACC's MentorLinks project has provided funding to 44 colleges, resulting in the creation of more than 140 new courses, 21 new associate degrees and 30 new certificates. Participating institutions have reported STEM program enrollment increases ranging from 14 percent to 350 percent.

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