Central New Mexico Community College has approved a new social media marketing certificate, a program it developed in conjunction with Facebook.
Donna Diller, CNM’s dean of the School of Business and Information Technology, said the college’s governing board approved the certificate in November. The program will officially launch in January, though Diller said students were able to take classes that count toward the certificate during the fall 2018 term.
“We’re really excited to provide this education for our students,” said Diller. “CNM is here when the workforce needs updated training in response to changes in the industry . . . We’re excited to continue working with Facebook.”
Facebook, which is building a $1 billion data center in Los Lunas, provided the Journal with information about its role in the program but declined to comment on the record.
The social media giant announced its partnership with CNM in June at Albuquerque Community Boost, a weeklong event at the National Hispanic Cultural Center aimed at the small business community. Company officials said then that the certificate will be the first educational program of its kind for the social media giant, and its first partnership with a community college.
Diller said the certificate is either 26 or 27 credit hours, depending on the student’s electives, and can be completed in as little as two terms. The courses, a mixture of existing classes and new ones, can be taken either online or in traditional classrooms. Among the course titles: Principles of Marketing, Visual Communication, Project Management Fundamentals and Social Media Strategies. Diller said she expects between 20 and 50 graduates in the first year.
For New Mexico residents, the cost is about $1,400, including tuition and fees, and financial aid may be available for those who qualify through CNM’s existing financial aid resources.
In addition to Facebook, the certificate’s curriculum was developed with input from organizations such as Albuquerque Economic Development and local public relations firms, Diller said. She described Facebook’s role as primarily that of a consultant, and said the company is developing new curriculum that will be used in some of the courses.
Diller said the program won’t focus solely on Facebook, but also Twitter, Instagram (which is owned by Facebook), LinkedIn and other social media platforms.
Asked whether CNM’s certificate would include an ethics component in light of recent international scrutiny over the role of social media platforms in spreading disinformation, Diller said such discussions are likely to arise in the program’s business marketing courses where current events are regularly discussed.
