Dev Bootcamp, one of the schools that kicked off the coding bootcamp craze, is shutting down at the end of the year.
The company is closing because it isn't profitable, according to an announcement posted on Facebook. An email to students said that career support for the school’s last cohort will continue for at least six months after they graduate in December. The school is owned by education company Kaplan Inc., which is based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Dev Bootcamp has six locations, including in Austin at 1705 Guadalupe St. An employee said Friday that the last Austin cohort will start classes on Monday.
The company launched in San Francisco in 2012 and offered an 18-week crash course in software development skills for those interested in entering the tech industry. It often touted the success of its training to bring women and minorities into the field.
“Every three weeks, we’re putting out more people of color and women with this skill set into the workforce,” Michael Walker, the San Francisco campus director of Dev Bootcamp told the San Francisco Business Times last year.
Over time, the company's workforce ballooned to 175 full-time instructors and part-time employees. Tuition for Dev Bootcamp’s programs ranges from $12,700 to $14,000.
Since the founding of Dev Bootcamp more than 300 bootcamps have popped up worldwide, according to research by bootcamp directory Course Report. Some Dev Bootcamp graduates went on to start their own programs, such as San Francisco-based App Academy.
Austin is no exception with more than half a dozen schools pumping out graduates to meet the demand of local tech companies hungry for talent.
Texas regulators have stepped up scrutiny of coding schools in the past year to ensure their education standards are up to snuff.
But the proliferation of such programs has led to concerns about a bubble within the industry, which is pumping out tens of thousands of graduates annually. Those in the industry say the crowded market makes it difficult for programs to stand out and attract students.
Critics of these bootcamps say the lack of curriculum standards has created low-quality programs.
The industry is in the midst of a consolidation, with bootcamps like Zipfian Academy and Bootcamp House either closed or acquired. Kaplan, owned by Graham Holdings Co. ( NYSE: GHC), bought Dev Bootcamp in 2014 after the school's founding CEO Shereef Bishay left.
Sylvain Kalache, CEO of the Holberton School, a San Francisco software development training program, said Dev Bootcamp’s influence on the industry is felt in its curriculum.
“Their mark on in the education field was was in really highlighting skills-based training,” Kalache said. “The bootcamps brought back what was previously only being done by trade schools or apprenticeships.”
Still, Kalache said that Dev Bootcamp's closure is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to industry consolidation. He added that the closure of Dev Bootcamp, a big name in the bootcamp world will act as a “strong signal” for investors who are looking to back similar ventures.
“The industry is starting to become saturated,” he said. “I think we’ve reached the bootcamp peak.”
