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For Immediate Release
CERTIPORT TO ACCELERATE ACADEMIC SUCCESS IN WASHINGTON STATE VIA MICROSOFT CERTIFICATION INITIATIVE
Collaborative effort to ensure Microsoft Office certification is available to both students and educators at a reduced price
SALT LAKE CITY (March 13, 2002) - In an effort to ensure school districts can afford to offer a certification program to every student interested in learning the Microsoft Office suite, Certiport, Inc, the exclusive administrator of the Microsoft® Office User Specialist (MOUS) program today announced that it will offer its MOUS exams to high schools across the state of Washington at a reduced price and will waive the set-up fee associated with designating a school facility as an authorized testing center. As part of the initiative, Washington educators can also become MOUS Master certified at a discounted rate through Bellevue Community College.
This price-reduction offer, which is made possible via Certiport’s relationship with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) and Washington State University, will also provide a substantial discount for post-secondary schools to purchase exams through Washington State University’s Social and Economical Sciences Research Center (SESRC) – the state’s distributor for MOUS materials. According to WSU, more than 306 high schools are involved in this collaborative initiative.
“We are convinced that training and certification are essential to the educational process,” said Dale Green, director of professional and technical education, South Kitsap School District. “MOUS certification measures training effectiveness and allows our students and educators to take their career potential to the next level.”
In a recent study by the U.S. Department of Education, 27 percent of public school teachers felt “not at all” prepared to make word processing and spreadsheet assignments to students*. The National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (NWCET) at Bellevue Community College, in concert with Certiport, hopes to raise the level of instructor confidence and validate instructor proficiency by extending MOUS Master certification to educators at a discounted price. Such certification ensures that students are receiving state-of-the-art instruction based on a globally recognized standard.
"OSPI is working toward a long-term goal of making sure every student choosing a vocational education pathway either leaves high school with industry certification in hand or is fully prepared to enter a post-secondary program that leads to the same," said Kyra Kester, OSPI's special assistant for industry partnerships. "Certiport's interest in making sure school districts can afford to offer a certification route to students learning the Microsoft Office suite is just one example of the way the business community has really come to support Washington schools. These are real and valid skills students are already learning, and earning MOUS credential is one more way students can enrich their education."
"There are some real benefits to being MOUS certified as an educator," said Cathy Robertson, a teacher at South Kitsap High School who is MOUS certified. "Through the knowledge I've gained during my MOUS training, I've been able to augment my classroom activities by providing accurate and specific knowledge relating to Microsoft products, pass on my testing experiences to others who are looking to obtain their MOUS certification, reduce the number of hours spent preparing materials, and better collaborate with colleagues. And because of these experiences, I believe Certiport's effort to provide affordable MOUS certification to both students and educators is a valuable contribution to the community."
“The combination of training and testing encourages student and teacher growth while laying a solid foundation for future career opportunities,” said Tom Rhoton, senior director of marketing, Certiport. “And because MOUS certification provides students and educators with a portable credential that’s recognized worldwide, we believe it raises academic success to the next level.”
School districts that are interested in signing up for or obtaining more information about the MOUS certification program should contact Lisa Brooks, Washington State University’s SESRC, at 360-586-9292 or via e-mail at brookslj@wsu.edu.
About MOUS
The Microsoft® Office User Specialist (MOUS) program is globally recognized as the skill standard for Microsoft's Office suite of business productivity applications, including Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint®, Microsoft Access and Microsoft Outlook® and Microsoft Project. MOUS certification is available at three levels: Core, Expert, and Master. More information on MOUS can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/mous/.
About OSPI
The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) is the primary agency charged with overseeing K-12 education in Washington state. Led by State School Superintendent Dr. Terry Bergeson, OSPI works with the state’s 296 school districts to administer basic education programs and implement education reform on behalf of more than one million public school students. For more information, visit the OSPI Web site at http://www.k12.wa.us.
About Certiport
Certiport, Inc. is the leading provider of global, performance-based certification programs and services designed to enable individual success and lifetime advancement through certification. As the exclusive worldwide provider of the Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) program, Certiport is responsible for the development, marketing and administration of certification programs for the Microsoft Office suite of products. For more information about Certiport’s offerings, visit http://www.certiport.com.
Note: Certiport is a registered trademark of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) program is a trademark of Microsoft.
*SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, NCES, Fast Response Survey System, "Public School Teachers' Use of Computers and the Internet," FRSS 70, 1999.
Press Contacts
John Pilmer
Certiport
801-847-3128
jpilmer@certiport.com
Kim Schmanke
OSPI
360-725-6015
kchmanke@ospi.wednet.edu
Kimberly Culp
Lone Peak Communications, for Certiport
801-356-0650
kimberly@lonepeakagency.com
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