Early IT Parent Community

Information Technology is the study of the needs and solutions that connects people, information, and the technology of the time. The video below features SoIT Director and Professor, Dr. Hazem Said as he demonstrates the Information Technology discipline to students.

The Early IT Program is an innovative partnership between University of Cincinnati, school districts, and community colleges throughout the state of Ohio. This program removes barriers to college access by offering high school students college-level courses without needing to complete pre-requisites or achieving advanced academic standing.

In the program, students focus on developing their knowledge, abilities, and skills in Information Technology. By completing all Early IT classes with a grade of “C” or better, high school graduates are automatically admitted as second-year students to the UC School of Information Technology or a partnering community college. For students who choose not to pursue a college degree in IT, the knowledge and skills developed through Early IT are applicable to many other fields of study.

Key program concepts of Early IT include:

• Use trained high school teachers to deliver competency and project-based teaching methodology to deliver hands-on IT education.
• Offer students the opportunity to complete the first year of the bachelor's degree courses while in high school and earn automatic guaranteed admission to the UC School of IT.
• Integrate a paid work experience during the summer after high school graduation and throughout the Bachelor’s degree program at UC. A total of 20-months of paid work experience (co-op) with average pay of $45,000, is offered through the UC School of IT degree program.
• Deliver the bachelor's degree on community college campuses to meet diverse student needs, to reduce college costs, and to increase transition and degree completion rates.
• Provide an accelerated bachelor's plus master's degree option to eliminate an additional two years of education, further reducing costs.
• Support student success in college through the student success program, IT Learning Center and the Learning Commons.

The Early IT program brings many benefits to students and their families, including:

• Eliminates the anxiety associated with college admission. Students receive guaranteed admission to the UC BSIT or BS-Cyber degree upcoming earning a C or above in all the required courses.
• Reduces the total cost of the Bachelor of IT or Bachelor of Cyber Security degrees by 25%. In addition, students who start early can complete additional courses, beyond the required ones, during high schools.
• Network with college faculty and industry professionals through the various informal and support activities including the IT Academy Day, IT Expo, Early IT Summer Camp, the Early IT Internship, among others.
• Start the first co-op (paid work experience) in the summer after high school, and earn income that could go towards college expenses.
• Significantly increase their knowledge, abilities, and skills by starting their academic and practice in their discipline, IT, while in high school. This will result in significant increase in their competence at time of graduation of college and would impact their starting role and salary.

Information Technology is the backbone of every organization and individuals with expertise in IT are in high demand. At the University of Cincinnati, we define Information Technology as the solutions layer that brings technology-based solutions to users and organizations and includes various domains such as Cybersecurity, Software Development, Infrastructure and Cloud, Game Development & Simulations, and Data Technologies.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the IT job market is expecting a huge boom in job creation. The job outlook for someone with a Bachelor's degree in IT looks something like this:

High School students who complete all Early IT classes with a grade of “C” or better receive automatic guaranteed admission to University of Cincinnati School of IT or a partnering community college.  They enter the School of IT or a partnering community college as a second-year student, reducing the cost of the college degree by at least 25% (two semesters completed during high school out of eight semesters required for the bachelor’s degree (or the optional combined bachelor and master’s degrees). In addition, the integrated work experience (Co-op) offers students the opportunity to earn income while completing their degree. In the Fall 2019, students in the BSIT program earned an average of about $11K per semester while participating in co-op.

Students enrolled in the Early IT Program are required to complete the first year of the BSIT or BS-Cyber program at the University of Cincinnati through one of the acceptable methods and with a grade of C or above in each of the courses.

The courses include 6 college -level IT courses and 3 college-level academic courses. To view course titles, click on your school below:

Princeton High School

Lebanon High School

The State of Ohio offers four methods through which high school students can earn college credit. These are:

• College Credit Plus (CCP)
• Advanced Placement (AP)
• Career Technical Assurance Guide (CTAG)
• Bilateral agreement

The credit is awarded on the University’s transcription to the high school student upon completing the course under the CCP method only. For the other three methods, credit is awarded as advanced standing upon enrolling in the University.

To view how your high school awards credit for the Early IT courses, please choose your school below.

Princeton High School

Lebanon High School

The Early IT Program offers students the opportunity to experience a college campus setting.  High School students are encouraged to participate in the summer camp and the annual IT Expo, both of which occur on the UC main campus. These extra-curricular opportunities help students to enhance skills and provide a unique opportunity to engage with local business providers who may be their future employers!  For more information about summer camps and the IT Expo, click below.

Summer Camp

A two-week day camp for Early IT students is designed to give them a solid foundation in Information Technology including: cybersecurity, software development, game development and simulations, data and cloud technologies. Students will have the opportunity to:

• Experience hands-on learning of current technologies
• Work in groups to develop their own IT solution
• Learn from college professors and IT business leaders 

This program is offered at no charge to students.

Summer Camp Dates 2022 and Enrollment Application

IT Expo

The annual IT Expo is a major celebration and showcase of innovation in Information Technology initiated by the School of Information Technology at the University of Cincinnati. High School students in Early IT are chosen to participate in this event. The IT Expo showcases Information Technology projects by the senior class of the Bachelor of Science in Information Technology program, Master of Science in Information Technology program, high school students, and applied research centers and industry.

IT EXPO 2022 Dates and Participant Information

High School Seniors who successfully complete the Early IT program classes (earn a grade if “C” or better) have multiple options for pursuing a post-secondary degree in Information Technology:

1)   Enter UC School of Information Technology Bachelor’s program

2)   Enter a Community College Partner and pursue an Associate’s Degree

3)   Enter a Community College and pursue a Bachelor’s degree online while remaining at the Community College

4)   Enter a Community College and complete the Associate’s degree and transfer back to UC campus to complete the Bachelor’s degree

Students who complete Early IT and enter the UC School of Information Technology (SoIT) receive support to succeed socially and academically.  Support Services available to UC SoIT students include:

Student Success Program

The Student Success Program, in the School of Information Technology, is an initiative to support students and ensure their academic and career success. The SoIT Student Success Program is designed to empower each SoIT student for optimal academic success throughout their academic career.  

Trained Student Success Coaches are available to help all School of Information Technology students build successful college practices. These coaches help students with getting organized, learning how to be efficient and effective with study time, and much more. Students are encouraged to request a coach when they enter UC School of Information of Technology.

IT Learning Center

The School of Information Technology provides support to students in the IT Learning Center. This Learning Center is open to all students taking School of Information Technology courses. Teaching Assistants (TA) are available in the Center to assist students and are also available virtually.   

The Learning Commons

The Learning Commons provides free centralized academic support for all University of Cincinnati students. The Learning Commons services are designed to help students build confidence, integrate on camps and master challenging course content. Programs provided through the Commons include:

• One-on-one and group-based tutoring in more than 200 courses
• A nationally-recognized Learning Communities program that brings together first-year students and campus mentors to promote social integration and academic success
• Academic Coaching for students seeking improved organization, motivation, and learning strategies
• Learning Assistants for faculty who use active and collaborative teaching methods
• Collaborative learning opportunities such as our Success Skills Workshops or Supplemental Instruction program

Coming soon!