The purpose of the IU-CCNA project is to 1) assess the success of the Cisco Networking Academy Program in terms of the success of its students, 2) understand the factors influencing student success, 3) identify the best practices for student learning, 4) evaluate the support provided to instructors, and 5) assess employer satisfaction. This project will focus solely on the CCNA Program in the United States.

Goals

The primary goal is to assess student success in terms of employment success (e.g., employment, salary, and CCNA certification), education success (e.g., continued education, performance in academy and non-academy courses, engagement in courses, and attitude toward learning) and personal growth (e.g., career self-efficacy, attitudes toward work, and team work). It is also important to understand how successful CCNA students are relative to their peers, so a selected sample of CCNA students and an equivalent sample of non-CCNA students at approximately 300 academies will be closely followed as they move through their programs and for six months following their graduation. The data from CCNA and non-CCNA students at these 300 comparison study academies will be the primary source of data for examining this goal. 

Sources of Data

The primary sources of student data for this evaluation come from surveys completed by CCNA students and the non-CCNA students in the comparison group. Data will also include demographic data, test score data, and students’ course evaluations and feedback data contained in academy databases. We will track a cohort of CCNA students administering five surveys to them during and beyond their CCNA Program: a survey as they start CCNA1, a survey at the end of CCNA2, a survey at the end of CCNA3, a Survey at the end of CCNA4, and a Follow-up Survey, six-months after they complete their program.

Non-CCNA students in the comparison group will receive three surveys: an Entry Survey (matched to the CCNA1 Survey), an Exit Survey (matched to the CCNA4 Survey), and a Follow-up Survey (matched to the CCNA Follow-up Survey).

Data from the CCNA students are being collected via surveys developed by the IU Evaluation Team and administered by Cisco’s MRE group through the Academy Connection Web site.

CCNA Instructors will complete surveys developed by the Evaluation Team and administered by the IU-CSR through a Web site hosted at Indiana University . Data from the employers will be collected by the IU-CSR through telephone interviews following protocols developed by the Evaluation Team.