Article

NESTA: Setting Standards for the Bootcamp Industry

Liz Eggleston

Written By Liz Eggleston

Last updated on March 27, 2015

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During our last trip to the White House, it was clear that standardized reporting of outcomes at bootcamps would become a focus in 2015. While the coding bootcamp industry is growing quickly, in many ways it is still in its nascency, and we have to pay special attention to accountability and reporting if we want to maintain healthy growth. At that meeting, whispers of a trade association for bootcamps were heard- and last week, a group of top bootcamps announced the New Economy Skills Training Association (NESTA).

 

What is NESTA?

A new trade organization that will establish best practices, standards, and increase accountability for outcome-based NEST organizations.

 

Who is NESTA?

Currently, it’s 10 top coding bootcamps: App Academy, Dev Bootcamp, Flatiron School, Galvanize, General Assembly, Hackbright Academy, Hack Reactor, MakerSquare, Turing School, and Wyncode. Are you a NEST organization that wants to be a member of NESTA? Apply here: http://thenesta.org

 

Why is NESTA critical now?

NESTA Chairman and Hackbright Academy CEO, David J. Phillips, said it best: "As our industry continues to grow rapidly, it is crucial that our schools provide consistent and reliable statistics to ensure we're held to the highest standards demanded by our students and America's top companies. We are excited to collaborate with leaders of other top coding schools to establish these best practices." Their first initiative is to develop and agree on a standardized outcomes reporting methodology. As part of their commitment, NESTA wrote a letter to President Obama outlining their commitment to publish outcomes on an annual basis and have them verified by a third-party Certified Public Accountant, based on the following agreed upon criteria: http://bit.ly/NESTAletter. What will this report look like, exactly? It's hard to say, but we're guessing it will follow the precedent set by Flatiron School in their 2014 Jobs Report

 

Why do We Like It? 

Our encouragement for NESTA will likely manifest itself in several ways; suffice it to say, Course Report is excited to see efforts made to regulate admissions and outcomes reporting. We want these statistics to not only be reported, but also readily available for potential students. So, as verified job placement and admissions statistics are published by NESTA, expect to see them front and center on Course Report school pages.

We’ll continue to support, follow, and report on NESTA as it evolves. Up next? We’ll explore the standards that NESTA has established for coding bootcamps in the US, break down what they mean and how they should affect your decisions when researching and applying to a bootcamp!

 

What do you think about this new trade association? Is it about time someone stepped up to enforce these standards? Or is regulation in some ways going against the nature of coding bootcamps to begin with? Tell us in the comments!

About The Author

Liz Eggleston

Liz Eggleston

Liz Eggleston is co-founder of Course Report, the most complete resource for students choosing a coding bootcamp. Liz has dedicated her career to empowering passionate career changers to break into tech, providing valuable insights and guidance in the rapidly evolving field of tech education.  At Course Report, Liz has built a trusted platform that helps thousands of students navigate the complex landscape of coding bootcamps.

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