BLOOMINGTON – Ivy Tech Community College’s Bloomington campus is now offering a course in App Development for Apple Products (SDEV264). The course is designed to teach students, who might have no coding experience, to become functional app developers in only sixteen weeks.

Trevor Pierce, a software development student at Ivy Tech Bloomington, was recently a pilot student of the new Apple app development course. He says that he was able to employ the education he received from Ivy Tech at his job and within the community. He is currently working as a software engineer that writes and maintains the underlying code that allows Ivy Tech to process financial aid and student records statewide.

In 2016, Pierce decided to transfer from a more costly university because of the success his friends had in Ivy Tech’s information technology academic programs. He was able to make his college journey even more affordable when his team won gold at the Ivy Tech Statewide IT Challenge and were awarded scholarships. Through his software development courses, he was able to use his knowledge to give back to the community by teaching others, including the Hour of Code initiative at a local elementary school as well as at a summer girls coding camp through Ivy Tech’s Center for Lifelong Learning.

“My experience at Ivy Tech has been great, I have had a lot of interesting, useful classes and some wonderful teachers,” Pierce said. “I had several classes taught by Dr. Diana Nixon, who led some special topics courses that taught skills tailored toward local job needs in software development.”

After he finishes his associate degree at Ivy Tech, Pierce plans to continue his education and earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science.

The Apple app development course enables students to become proficient in creating applications using Apple’s Swift and Xcode. Students can enhance their collaboration and problem-solving abilities, and become better prepared to enter and compete in a changing workforce. The course is being offered as a sequence of two eight-week classes, with the advanced course being offered during Fall Semester 2019. More information at ivytech.edu/software-development.

About Ivy Tech Community College

Ivy Tech Community College is Indiana's largest public postsecondary institution and the nation's largest singly accredited statewide community college system, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana and also serves thousands of students annually online. It serves as the state's engine of workforce development, offering associate degrees, long- and short-term certificate programs, industry certifications, and training that aligns with the needs of the community. The College provides a seamless transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana, as well as out of state, for a more affordable route to a bachelor's degree.