Coding Bootcamp

Coding Bootcamps are short (usually 8 - 12 week) programs offered by private companies that teach students computer programming in a short period of time.

Overview

The demand for coding bootcamps reflects the shortage of adequately trained computer scientists graduating from universities and the relative demand for them from the technology sector.^[1] They provide a vocational training for free or a fraction of the cost of a college degree and are a part of the "Edtech Disruption of Higher Education".^[2] These alternative education programs are starting to garner more attention in the media and higher education as the industry includes several university and coding bootcamp collaborations. There are 91 full-time coding bootcamps across the US & Canada, although each are nuanced in terms of teaching language, tuition cost, location, and teaching style.

History

Coding bootcamps made their debut with Dev Bootcamp, founded in 2012. App Academy, Hack Reactor and General Assembly were also founded in 2012 and in 2013, several coding bootcamps launched. 6,740 developers graduated from coding bootcamps in 2014, and grew to 10,333 graduates in 2015. As of June 2016, there are 91 coding bootcamps in the US and Canada.^[3]

Market Growth

As of June 1, 2016, there are coding bootcamps in 69 US cities and 34 states. Coding bootcamps continue their rise in the tech industry with an estimated 17,966 bootcamp graduates in 2016, a 1.7x growth rate from 2015. As a point of comparison, it is estimated that there were 61,408 undergraduate computer science graduates from accredited US universities in 2015.^[4]

Reception by US Government

On August 16, 2016, the US Department of Education announced up to $17 million in loans or grants for students to study with nontraditional training providers, including coding bootcamps.^[5] These grants or loans will be administered through the pilot program, EQUIP which stands for Educational Quality through Innovation Partnerships. This will allow students, especially those who are low-income, to access federal student financial aid. Eight entities were selected to participate in the pilot program including four coding bootcamps - Flatiron School, MakerSquare, Epicodus, and Zip Code Wilmington.^[6] Two of the bodies selected to oversee EQUIP partnerships are industry lobby groups, which has raised eyebrows among skeptics. The groups are the American Council on Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. Programs must partner with an accredited college and third-party quality assurance entity (QAE) in order to receive federal financial aid.^[7]

Collaboration with Higher Education

Universities have started to take note of the coding bootcamp model, and these partnerships are on the rise. Traditional colleges are trying to meet the demand for people with coding and data analytic skills. They are doing this either by starting their own intensive coding programs, like Northeastern’s Level, or by partnering with an existing private coding bootcamp.^[8] Examples of these partnerships include General Assembly and Lynn University,^[9] Trilogy Education with Northwestern and UT Austin,^[10] and Coding Dojo and Bellevue^[11] – all of which are not part of EQUIP.

Online Coding Bootcamps

There are various online coding bootcamp options to provide students with flexibility in their learning. These remote programs offer convenience and structure, usually by matching students with a mentor. These online coding bootcamp options are also more likely to be cheaper and more accommodating to specific student needs.^[12]

Some coding bootcamps with online offerings include:

• Thinkful
• Bloc
• General Assembly
• The Tech Academy
• Coding Dojo
• Software Guild
• CareerFoundry
• Hack Reactor
• Designlab

Data Science Bootcamps and Fellowships

The demand for skilled data scientists and data engineers remains strong in 2016 and will continue to grow.^[13] Big data analysis is becoming a necessity for companies to prosper in all industries from agriculture to finance. The requirements for enrollment are more stringent than those of coding bootcamps.

Tuition

According to a 2016 market research report, tuition ranges from free to $21,000 for a course, with an average tuition of $11,451. Courses range from 8 to 36 weeks, but most courses are in the 10-12 week range with an average of 12.9 weeks.^[14]

In 2016, 6 schools offer “Deferred Tuition,” including App Academy and Grace Hopper Academy. Deferred Tuition refers to a payment model in which students pay the school a percentage (18%-22.5%) of their salary for 1–3 years after graduation, instead of upfront tuition.^[15]

In Europe, coding bootcamps tend to be 'more reasonably priced'. One reason for this is because university tuition can be free or a couple thousand euros per program. In contrast to formal university education, private offerings for training appear expensive. As of 2016, the most 'affordable' bootcamp offered in Europe in English is,^[16] according to an article on Switch Up,^[17] a leading programming bootcamp review source. Elium Academy is based in Brussels and offers programs as low as 1,800 Euros, or free with their Learn and Train model.

Acquisition

The first coding bootcamp acquisition was in June 2014 where Dev Bootcamp was acquired by Kaplan Test Prep. With rapid market growth in the bootcamp industry, large for-profit education companies and universities are stepping in to acquire more coding bootcamps. Additional acquisitions include, but are not limited to:

• Apollo Education acquiring The Iron Yard^[18]
• Strayer Education acquiring New York Code & Design^[19]
• Capella Education acquiring Hakcbright Academy^[20] and DevMountain^[21]

Controversy

Experts are worried that partnering private coding bootcamps with federal financial aid could attract less reputable organizations to create coding bootcamp programs. Some believe that “integrating bootcamps into the established system, might just saddle them with all the established system’s problems.”^[22] Barriers to entry and exit mean established schools face less competition than in a free market, which can lead to deterioration of quality, and increase in prices. Also, problems within traditional university models could easily transfer to the university/bootcamp partnerships.^[23] On the other hand, others believe that enhancing policy around financial aid will help lower income prospective students attend. There are several sentiments of coding bootcamps being accessible only for the rich.^[24]

References