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MCC to offer degree program for mobile app developers

McHenry County College is launching two innovative certificate programs and a new associate degree in the design and development of mobile apps.

The college has been awarded a $199,612 National Science Foundation grant to address the shortage of skilled technicians in this field.

"There is a high demand and limited supply of people trained to create mobile apps," said Meri Winchester, MCC's digital media instructor spearheading this project. "This provides a good opportunity for students to become trained in two years and work in a rapidly growing field without being buried under a mountain of student debt."

MCC is among 27 institutions nationwide and the only Illinois college to receive the grant this year. Only nine colleges in Illinois have received it since 2010.

The funding, which comes from the Advanced Technological Education grant program, will allow MCC to retrain its instructors to create the new certificate and degree programs within three years.

"We will have the degree completed and submitted into the state by Jan. 1, 2017," Winchester said. "It takes a lot to create a whole degree (program) because we have a lot of classes to create. We're trying to find business and industry partners to help figure out what we need to teach students. The whole industry is moving to where everyone pretty much wants to have an app."

MCC also is seeking those partners to offer internship opportunities to its students once they complete the programs.

The world of app development is constantly evolving.

"Things are changing so fast, it's hard for people to keep up with it," Winchester said. "When Apple is making changes so quickly, the training is not enough. We're trying to train both existing programmers to give them a chance to get up to speed, and people who would just like to enter the field."

MCC's mobile app development program is a collaboration between technology programming and art. Other faculty members working on this project are Thomm Beggs, graphic arts instructor, and Bill Skrzypczak, programming instructor.

MCC has been working on the project for two years and hired Skrzypczak to help create and teach the degree. He has published Apple and Android apps.

Winchester said while other schools are beginning to offer certificates and coursework in mobile development, MCC's program will offer a strong emphasis on app design and usability.

"Apple, Google ... they are rapidly evolving to figure out the best ways to develop both for phones and devices, like the new Apple Watch," she said. "We want to prepare students to be able to create usable, attractive mobile applications. There's more to making an app than just programming. It's similar to making a web application, but to have an effective app it also has to be designed well. We are also looking into bringing classes on interface design and usability."

Skrzypczak said starting salaries for app developers range from $60,000 to $70,000 and developers with two to five years experience can earn six figures.

This fall, MCC is offering classes in Java Programming for Android and Swift Programming for Apple iOS that can be applied toward a degree.

As part of the project, MCC will share its program with the broader teaching community through a website on which newly developed teaching materials and videos can be accessed by other colleges.

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