Students will be prepared for careers dealing with network hardware systems analysis, planning and implementation. Students will gain the necessary skills to design, build and maintain small to medium size networks and manage network hardware systems. Skills acquired will assist students in preparing to take industry certification exams.

Program contact: Learn more

This degree program contains one or more embedded certificates which will be automatically awarded when the certificate requirements are completed. If you do not want to receive the embedded certificate(s), please notify the Office of the Registrar at RegistrarOffice@tri-c.edu.

Learn more about how certificate credits apply to the related degree and about related training programs.

Related Degrees and Certificates

Related Training and Credentials

Program Admission Requirements

  • High School Diploma/GED not required, but highly recommended
  • ENG-0995 Applied College Literacies or appropriate score on English Placement Test.
  • MATH-0955 Beginning Algebra or qualified Math Placement.

Program Outcomes

This program is designed to prepare students to demonstrate the following program outcomes:

  1. Communicate effectively utilizing verbal, written and presentation skills in person, on the phone, and via the Internet with all levels in the organization.
  2. Communicate appropriately with diverse audiences to provide high level customer service to internal and external constituents.
  3. Work independently and effectively within a team to meet the needs of the organization.
  4. Operate within diverse business cultures with professionalism, integrity and accountability.
  5. Demonstrate ethical behavior and recognize legal issues.
  6. Adapt to change within their profession by demonstrating a commitment to continuous learning and the flexibility to deal with different requirements from different clients with a wide range of personality styles and prior computer knowledge.
  7. Plan, organize, and prioritize tasks in order to meet project deadlines.
  8. Apply analytical, critical and creative thinking and problem solving/troubleshooting techniques to develop effective information technology solutions in the context of business needs.
  9. Apply fundamental concepts of computer hardware, operating systems, business applications, networking, security, backup and recovery procedures to troubleshoot, maintain and support PC hardware and software to ensure an efficient and effective operation.
  10. Apply knowledge of network hardware, the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model, protocols, diagnostic tools and troubleshooting to assist in the design, selection of equipment, installation, configuration, testing and optimization of an organization’s production network to ensure appropriate access and response time.
  11. Use knowledge of network backup hardware and software to implement, maintain, and execute an organization disaster recovery plans.
  12. Sit for A+ and CCNA certification exam.

Suggested Semester Sequence

Plan of Study Grid
Summer StartCredit Hours
EET-1015 Introduction to Computer Maintenance and Repair 3
IT-1025 Information Technology Concepts for Programmers 3
Select one of the following: 3
Computer Applications
Honors Computer Applications
 Credit Hours9
First Semester
BADM-1020 Introduction to Business 3
EET-1035 Operating Systems and Software for PC Technicians 4
EET-1055 Computer Hardware Support 4
ITNT-2300 Networking Fundamentals 3
 Credit Hours14
Second Semester
BADM-1050 Professional Success Strategies 3
ITNT-2320 Network Administration I 3
Select one of the following: 3
College Composition I
Honors College Composition I
MATH-1XXX1000-level MATH course or higher 3
 Credit Hours12
Third Semester
EET-1303 Cisco I 3
EET-2303 Cisco II 3
Arts and Humanities/Social and Behavioral Sciences requirement 3
Select one of the following: 3
Fundamentals of Speech Communication
Honors Speech Communication
 Credit Hours12
Fourth Semester
EET-2313 Cisco III 3
ITNT-2990 Networking Capstone 3
ITNT-2370 Network Security Fundamentals 3
Natural and Physical Sciences requirement (lecture) 3
Select one of the following: 1-3
IT-2XXX
IT or ITNT elective
Cooperative Field Experience
 Credit Hours13-15
 Total Credit Hours60-62

MATH-1140, MATH-1141, MATH-1200, MATH-1270, and MATH-1280 can no longer count towards fulfilling the college-level mathematics requirement.  These courses were re-classified as developmental mathematics by the state of Ohio in 2016.  Tri-C established a 5-year transitioning window for students who had completed these courses prior to 2016 to apply them towards meeting graduation requirements, which expired in Summer 2021. It is highly recommended to see a counselor to determine the appropriate math required for your current major.