Thomson Reuters Company, UW-Stout Collaborate on Search Engine Optimization Course

A media giant with strong ties to Eagan has teamed up with the University of Wisconsin–Stout to create a new minor program to school students in the fundamentals of web-based content creation.

FindLaw, a division of Thomson Reuters, and the university have joined forces to create what may be the only post-secondary course in the nation on search engine optimization (SEO). The course will help students understand how websites and web content are identified and indexed by search engines like Google, Yahoo and Bing. It will be part of the Web Development minor in UW–Stout’s Information Communication Technologies program.

According to the the university's student newspaper, The Stoutonian, the course came about after UW–Stout Chancellor Charles W. Sorenson toured Thomson Reuters' Eagan campus. During Sorenson's visit, FindLaw executives mentioned that the business has encountered a scarcity of employees with web technology skills, and that it was particularly difficult to find job candidates with expertise in SEO. 

FindLaw will not only help develop the course materials, it has also given a substantial financial donation to the school. The Stoutonian reports that the financial contribution will be parsed out over five years.