April 16, 2024
This article is a summary of the Weber State University news release. Read the full release here.
With the help of a $2.5 million grant from the Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO), Weber State University (WSU) is developing a program that will offer certificates and degrees through classes taught entirely in Spanish.
“This is one of the first programs of its kind nationwide and the very first in Utah,” said Ryan Starks, director of GOEO. “We see this as an opportunity to upskill our workforce, especially in northern Utah where there’s a higher population of Spanish-speaking people.”
The Building Puentes program will offer “stackable credentials”— courses designed to build on each other so that a certificate could count toward an associate’s degree, which could then count toward a bachelor’s degree in the same area of study.
WSU will soft-launch the program this fall with several classes taught in Spanish, then further develop the program over the next five years, taking curriculum already taught in English and tailoring it for Spanish speakers.
By 2028, it plans to offer a bachelor’s degree in computer science, with plans for several other associate’s degrees. The university will also offer nine certificates in skills such as web essentials, cybersecurity, and other high-demand areas.
With Hispanics and Latinos being the second-largest ethnic group in Utah and the United States, the university wants to be a leader in meeting the workforce’s needs by graduating career-ready, bilingual graduates.