Eliminating the certification gap: How The Meridian Program has helped embed ServiceNow curriculum directly into college coursework
The Meridian Program is a unique partnership approach to college-level internships designed to equip STEM and Computer Science students with the skills and experience needed to launch successful careers in IT. By collaborating closely with colleges and universities, Provalus, a division of Optomi Professional Services, provides interns with opportunities to work on real-world client projects before graduation, ensuring they gain meaningful, hands-on experience and a clear pathway to a career in IT. This innovative model not only prepares students for the workforce but also strengthens a sustainable talent pipeline, furthering our mission to create high-quality jobs in rural America.
Now aligned with seven colleges and universities, Provalus partnered with Stephen F. Austin State University (SFA) in Nacogdoches, TX, to build the first iteration of Meridian in 2022, aiming to combine classroom learning with real-world training under the guidance of industry experts.
Our partnership established a clear path to hire interns at SFA as full-time employees at Provalus upon graduation. However, one valuable prerequisite was missing: students began the Meridian Program internship without ServiceNow skills. Meridian interns were spending too much internship time training rather than gaining hands-on experience, limiting their scope of work within the program and hindering development.
SFA aimed to create a course to prepare future ServiceNow interns to make an immediate impact as soon as their internship starts. The result was immediate for Provalus interns. In 2024, the first ServiceNow course was introduced at SFA, enabling students to earn credits while also completing their ServiceNow certifications. Now, students arrive at The Meridian Program certified and ready to contribute to meaningful work right from the beginning.
According to Dr. Matthew A. Beauregard, SFA Associate Dean for Faculty and Administration, the new ServiceNow course has shrunk the gap to onboard an intern working in ServiceNow by an entire semester. Eliminating this certification gap transformed student career readiness, with nearly 100% of the inaugural class securing internships. Additionally, multiple students have shifted from internships to full-time employment with Provalus.
See the full story on ServiceNow.com: https://www.servicenow.com/customers/sfasu-servicenow-university.html
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