Codefi, a Cape Girardeau-based co-working space and technology incubator, announced Monday, Aug. 5, a partnership with Mineral Area College in Park Hills and Crowder College in Neosho to offer articulated credits for students who complete the company's Code Labs course.

The partnership is an expansion of Codefi's Innovate SOMO network — designed to unlock the "full potential of entrepreneurship and innovation to transform entire communities in the southernmost 47 counties in Missouri" — and will allow incoming and current students to earn 18 credit hours, equal to six courses, of transferable college coursework toward an Associate of Arts degree by completing the company's free, one-year adult education program Code Labs. Code Labs is a full-stack web development program that prepares students for entry-level computer programming positions through "study in HTML, CSS, Javascript, Ruby on Rails web development, Angular development and a final coding capstone project.

Codefi's Digital Workforce director Cara Dirnberger said the lack of a financial burden on students is the greatest benefit of the partnership.

"Not only are they getting the training for free, but they're also able to now transfer into Mineral Area or Crowder and get 18 college hours for free," Dirnberger said. "There's no cost at all for this. The only cost throughout the whole thing would be the remaining courses toward the associate's degree."

While many of Codefi's students go directly into the workforce following graduation from Code Labs, Dirnberger said some still want to receive a degree. The partnership with MAC and Crowder "made sense" for those students because of the curriculum overlap.

"It just made sense to partner with these colleges who maybe don't have a full computer science department or may be struggling to get instructors," Dirnberger said. "The pieces of the puzzle kind of fit together when we realize we have amazing instructors here that meet those competencies. Then, they're able to provide the prerequisite courses in your gen ed studies."

In 2024, 54 students graduated from Code Labs, receiving a certificate of completion in full-stack web development.

MAC provost and vice president of Academic Affairs Keith Zoromski and Crowder's associate vice president of Workforce and Innovations Chett Daniel commented on the partnerships in a news release, expressing their commitment to their respective schools' missions.

“Through now offering expanded academic pathways in computer programming, MAC continues to fulfill its mission to serve the Cape Girardeau community and the rest of our service region,” Zoromski said.

“Crowder College’s vision is to change lives and strengthen communities — one person at a time," Daniel said. "The vitality of rural areas depends on innovative partnerships to develop skills that create jobs and lead to well-paying careers. We look forward to working with area learners and employers that will benefit from this partnership.”

According to Dirnberger, Codefi plans to expand the program to other colleges in the future.

For more information on the Code Labs program, visit www.codefiworks.com/codelabs or contact Dirnberger directly by emailing Cara@codefiworks.com or calling (573) 335-9675. To apply to either partner institution, visit www.MineralArea.edu or www.Crowder.edu.