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SOUTH JORDAN -- There's a university in town, you may have never heard of. It only offers one kind of degree, but just about every one of its graduates gets a good paying job and its enrollment is the highest it's ever been.
Neumont University in South Jordan has been open for five years. It offers degrees in computer science, and it's possible to get a bachelors in two and half years. Christopher Jensen wants to get done with school as quickly as he can. He said, "I'm married with three kids. I want to get in school, get it done and get out."
After only two and half years he'll graduate with a bachelors in computer science and wants to become a software developer.
Neumont University Communications Director Stacy Hughes said, "Our last graduating class, even in this economy, had a 94 percent job placement. The average salary is about $62,000, so they are doing very well."
There were only 18 students in that graduating class, but within three months, just about everyone of them had a high-paying job at companies like Microsoft or IBM.
Since the economy hit bottom, enrollment has tripled at the school. Hughes said, "Our students are really taught the specific skills the industry is looking to hire."
Jensen still has take generals, just like at a nonprofit University or college, but says their curriculum is always changing, and that's what gives him the edge over other graduates.
He said, "A lot of the technologies they teach us here are new. Things they aren't teaching in other schools are things they're teaching, Neumont is teaching."
There's currently 200 students enrolled at Neumont, all with a passion for technology and computers. Jensen said, "Yes, we do spend a lot of time on our laptops." But to make sure the students don't spend too much time in cyberspace and lose interpersonal skills, they have to take classes where they work in groups.
"We have to communicate and say, "Have you done this? Have you done this?"
Jensen will be done in another half a year and hopes to make at least $60,000, like the seniors before him are.
Tuition here's not cheap. You'll pay $72,000 for a bachelor's degree. The University also offers an associates and masters in Computer Science.
E-mail: abutterfield@ksl.com
