Bant Breen:
Capitol Technology University, which is squarely focused on all things STEM, computer science and cybersecurity, and artificial intelligence, is defining the present and the future. Before we get there, tell me a little bit more about what you’re doing at Capitol Technology University.
Bradford Sims:
Capitol Tech is unique. It’s a small university. So many people haven’t heard of it. It’s been around since 1927. It was started in Washington, DC by a Navy vet, who wanted to teach other people how to build radios. While they started in DC, it moved to a couple of different locations and ended up north of DC here in Laurel, Maryland. They built a small campus, we’ve got several buildings here, and are surrounded by a residential neighborhood. It’s always been focused from the beginning on STEM type or management of STEM degrees. That’s all we do in those types of in-demand degree areas. I came here about five years ago. And working with the folks here I’ve expanded the degree offerings and all the STEM areas from the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate. We aggressively look at where the market industry needs are, and those are the degree programs that we add. So we’re right between NSA and NASA. Lots of our students go to work or are working in those programs. We have many online doctoral programs that are all designed for working individuals. That’s really where our global students are at home. We just had graduates this semester from Singapore to Switzerland, but they’re all focused on degree areas that are in demand. We were the first university before 9/11 to have an online master’s degree in Information Assurance, and then it grew dramatically after 9/11 and now it’s called “course cybersecurity.” That’s one of our largest programs at all degree levels. Then a few years ago, because my background was construction management industrial facilities, I said, “Hey, let’s add critical infrastructure.” Because if you look at the Department of Homeland Security, the 16 sectors, most of them are facilities. They operate the same way with pumps and valves. So specifically critical infrastructure can be attacked through operational technology and industrial control systems. So we added degrees in that area, even before you heard about the Colonial Pipeline attack. We’re aggressively going after these segments that the industry is in huge need of, and we want our students to walk out the door with a well-paying job, and a great career in order to advance in it. That’s our only focus.
Bant Breen:
All of these subjects are the hottest topics out there. And, I would imagine, probably the best jobs for anybody graduating from school these days.
Bradford Sims:
We here at Capitol tech for undergraduate students that come to us on campus as a freshman or transferring with two years left to go, we guarantee them a minimum of $50,000 a year starting salary. And if they don’t make that when they graduate, they’re alone and their parents’ loan quarterly payments will be repaid until they exceed $50,000 starting salary. Now, that’s easy for us to do. It’s like a scholarship, we give it out because we pay for it. But none of our students walk out the door making less than $50,000. Because our degrees are just that needed in the marketplace. We have almost a 90% placement rate just with the undergraduate program, because again, the industry, that’s what they need.
Bant Breen:
We’ve been living in a moment where higher education certainly has been challenged on “how do you teach?” when you can’t be with the students, and just be curious to hear your learnings from that and how that’s reshaped or impacted Capitol tech going forward?
Bradford Sims:
Whenever we were closed down due to COVID, beginning in March 2020, we used a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning. For the on-ground classes, we took a two-week break, we had staff get trained up on those types of technologies plus zoom, so we could start working from home. Then we finished out the semester, pretty nicely with our students, because we’re already in that modality with our doctoral programs being completely online. So that wasn’t too bad for us. The comeback was harder because we opened up operations for on-ground in the fall of 2020. You had to do it for the students. You had to have the classrooms with limited numbers and all sorts of measures in place for cleaning and things when we did that. I’d say since we came back in some hybrid mode in the fall of 2020, we have a very good COVID-19 response team. I’m going to say, realistically, we’ve had less than probably 15 cases.
Bant Breen:
Bradford, thank you so much for being on UNCAGED today and we look forward to having you back.
To see the full interview on the Uncaged Youtube channel, go to: