Regional Joint Ventures
BACCC NetLab – Regional Private Cloud
BACCC Netlab has expanded to include North Far North colleges starting summer 2026
In summer 2026, the BACCC Netlab has expanded to include the following colleges from the North Far North region: American River College, Butte College, Consumnes River College, Folsom Lake College, Sacramento City College, and Sierra College.
We are excited for this opportunity to expand the BACCC Netlab to serve more students in California.
What is Netlab+?
- Netlab+ is a versatile solution for facilitating Information Technology (IT) courses.
- Netlab+ allows students access to real lab equipment, virtual machines and lab content via the Internet 24/7.
- Netlab+ supports a variety of IT disciplines including courses in networking, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
Network Development Group (NDG) Article on BACCC Netlab
In 2015, community colleges across the San Francisco Bay Area recognized that they all faced a similar challenge: delivering hands-on ICT training to students in the latest technologies in spite of pervasive funding challenges. Together, they formed the Bay Area Community College Consortium (BACCC) and obtained a grant from the State of California to build a state-of-the-art, centralized ICT training lab capable of serving all of their students using NDG’s NETLAB+ platform. The BACCC estimates that this approach saved millions of dollars while vastly increasing the number and range of ICT labs they can offer.
“It was a no-brainer to use NETLAB+. As an instructor, preparing a lab activity, creating it, delivering it, and maintaining it is a lot of work. NETLAB+ gives us thousands of labs that have already been produced and are available for instructors to use. So having something readily available that teaches the desired outcomes is like a teacher’s best friend. That’s one of the great advantages of NETLAB+.”
– Richard Grotegut, San Jose State University Lecturer, Undergraduate Program Academic Advisor and BACCC Netlab Advisor
Project Description
BACCC Netlab+ provides students with free, 24/7 access to networking labs, virtual machines, and course content, all through the browser, no hardware required. Established in 2015 through a Bay Area Regional Joint Venture, the platform supports instructors across disciplines including networking, cloud computing, and cybersecurity, with thousands of labs available to build or supplement curriculum.
Participating Colleges
The Need
Per the Bay Area ICT/Digital Media sector profile, job demand in ICT/DM significantly outpaces the supply of graduates: projected annual job openings for 2026 total 38,993, against a projected 2,661 Bay Area ICT/DM graduates that same year.
Project Purpose
NetLab+ is a regional data center that provides hands-on lab technology and equitable remote access for ICT students to train on industry-standard hardware and software. The system saw especially heavy use during COVID, when it provided free, equitable access to technology students who otherwise lacked it. In the 2025-26 academic year, the system supported 34,000 labs and 49,675 hours of student work.
Measurable Goal
An average of 10,000 students participate in NetLab annually, receiving direct positive impact through equitable access to hands-on ICT lab training. A key system performance deliverable is maintaining data center uptime above 99%.
Activities
- Updating hardware and software infrastructure (including redundancy and security)
- Data center administrator who manages troubleshooting, error correction, and planning/implementation of new technology and features, and coordination with faculty across partner colleges, student assistants, and IT support staff
- Equitable access to hands-on learning and skills development
- Student outcomes for completion, employment in field of study, and jobs that pay a livable wage in the Bay region
- Supports the Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics (AIDA) project by providing a remote access lab facility.
BACCC Priorities
K-14 to Career Pathways; Faster Response through Workforce Development Partnerships & Short-term Training; Career Services; Work Based Learning and Apprenticeships; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging
NetLab+ provides hands-on lab technology and equitable remote 24/7 access for ICT students to train on industry-standard hardware and software to acquire skills and experience across many jobs and sectors: Artificial Intelligence, Audiovisual Technology, Cloud Computing, Computer User Support, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Network & Systems Administration.Vision 2030 Connection
Action 3: Quality online programs + Equity in Access · Action 7: Educational Access for Low-Income Learners
The project increases and improves access, success and support to quality online programs of study. It also provides educational access for prospective low-income learners to enhance their socio-economic mobility by developing a high-tech/high-touch system.