August 13, 2020
The sky’s the limit for one of the newest programs being offered at Laurel Ridge. This fall, students can enroll in the cloud computing career studies certificate program.
Designed for individuals just starting their careers, as well as those already in a technology career but looking for a new focus, the 16-credit program can be completed over two semesters.
Cloud technology allows a business or organization of any size to store vast quantities of data without the need for on-site servers. A $100-billion industry, cloud computing is considered one of the biggest growth areas in technology today.
“Whether from home or from the office – both are often in one place these days – more and more workers are relying on the cloud to provide the infrastructure, data, collaboration tools, and a host of other technologies that in the past had to be maintained in-house by their employer,” said Professor Art Lee, Laurel Ridge information technology program lead. “It is expensive to perform that constant maintenance while also keeping up with upgrades.
“Cloud computing provides more of a pay-as-you-go model, which is growing increasingly attractive to businesses of every size. While Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure are the top three cloud service providers, Oracle and IBM Cloud are also vying for a share of this industry, which has grown to more than $100 billion and becoming more crowded by the day.”
Students in Laurel Ridge’s cloud computing program will take courses in administration of network resources; cloud computing: infrastructure and services; information storage and management; virtual infrastructure: installation and configuration; and more.
Learn more at laurelridge.edu/cloud, or by contacting Professor Lee at [email protected].
Founded in 1970, Laurel Ridge Community College is a multi-campus public institution of higher education. With three locations — Middletown, Warrenton, and Luray-Page County — the College serves eight localities in the Shenandoah Valley and northern Piedmont regions. The localities are the counties of Clarke, Fauquier, Frederick, Page, Rappahannock, Shenandoah and Warren and the city of Winchester. Laurel Ridge offers more than 75 associate degree and certificate programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Laurel Ridge also serves the business community by offering workforce preparation programs for employees and employers. Laurel Ridge serves more than 9,000 unduplicated credit students and more than 11,000 individuals in professional development and business and industry courses annually.
Laurel Ridge Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate degrees. Laurel Ridge Community College also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Laurel Ridge Community College may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling (404) 679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC’s website (www.sacscoc.org).
Laurel Ridge Community College is an equal opportunity institution providing educational and employment opportunities, programs, services, and activities. Laurel Ridge shall promote and maintain equal employment and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, marital status, pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions including lactation, age (except when age is a bona fide occupational qualification), status as a veteran, national origin, or other non-merit factors. Laurel Ridge also prohibits sexual misconduct including sexual violence or harassment. Inquiries may be directed to the Associate Vice President, Human Resources, [email protected], 173 Skirmisher Lane, Middletown, VA 22645, 540-868-7226.
Laurel Ridge Community College was known as Lord Fairfax Community College until June 2022. For consistency purposes, the college will be referenced as Laurel Ridge going forward.