By Scott Shireman, Global Head of Campus at Coursera
Today’s workplace requires digital skills, and businesses report a lack of skilled talent as an increasing threat. At the same time, in a competitive and fast-changing labor market, college students are expecting their degree programs to land them a well-paying job. State higher education systems will play a crucial role in solving both sides of this challenge: improving student employment at scale and fulfilling skilled talent shortages for local employers.
Today, I am excited to announce that Coursera and Google have partnered with the University of Texas System to launch an innovative, system-wide initiative that will equip students and faculty across eight campuses with the skills and credentials they need to unlock their full career potential in the digital economy.
“The UT System’s partnership with Coursera allows our students to pair a bachelor’s degree with a Google certificate – this leads to graduates who are both broadly educated and specifically skilled. With the Texas population expected to double by 2050 and Texas projected to have the highest net job growth of any state by 2030, UT institutions are proud to be leading efforts to meet our state’s workforce and industry demands while positioning our graduates for success and professional growth in the modern job market.”
–James B. Milliken, UT System Chancellor
This three-year partnership will provide all eight University of Texas (UT) campuses with access to 5,300 online courses and 3,400 Guided Projects from university and industry leaders on Coursera including Yale University, Google, AWS, and Microsoft. In addition, Google is providing each campus with an additional 500 licenses to distribute to students, faculty, and the larger campus community to access Google’s transformative career certificates on Coursera at no cost.
The initiative will also provide UT students and faculty with access to over 25 entry-level Professional Certificates, also known as industry microcredentials, from top companies like Google, IBM, Meta, and Intuit, that prepare students without prior work experience to enter attractive digital careers in areas like UX Design, Data Analytics, Software Development, and Bookkeeping.
–Lisa Gevelber, Grow with Google Founder
“Google is proud to work with Texas universities and workforce development organizations to help more students and workers take advantage of the incredible job opportunities created by the state’s growing economy. Our mission is to expand opportunities for all, and we’re thrilled to further that effort by widening access to tech workforce training through the Google Career Certificates program.”
Several of the industry microcredentials come with ACE Credit Recommendation, and in fact, several universities have recently begun integrating content on Coursera into their for-credit curriculum including UT Arlington, UT El Paso, UT San Antonio, and UT Tyler.
UT campuses are using the courses and certificates to supplement various programs. For example, UT Dallas Jindal School of Business is offering the Google certificates as a co-curricular resource for business students, and UT Tyler is integrating the certificates into its Psychology courses. UT Austin is integrating courses from Coursera into several programs including Beginner and Advanced Excel and the NACE-aligned Career Readiness program to help students develop skills like leadership, communication and critical thinking.
As digital job growth and skilled talent gaps accelerate, universities and colleges must look for innovative ways to deliver job-relevant training and skills development opportunities to students. Innovative state-wide initiatives like this one offer hope and promise of a future where students benefit from multiple signals in the labor market: the degree they earn from their local campus, and the career credentials they complete along the way.
We’re honored to partner with the University of Texas System to prepare the next generation of Texan talent for new career opportunities, while building a competitive and resilient local workforce that can propel the state economy.
Learn more about Coursera for Campus today.