Community Business College has been selected as a beta testing center for the international rollout of the new IC3 GS5 industry certification examination. The selection means the Modesto, California vocational college will be participating in the beta testing of the new IC3 GS5 exams and cloud-based testing environment. Officials at the school report they have started the testing with current students and graduates and are opening the testing to members of the public who would like a no-cost attempt at earning technical computing certifications.

  

What is IC3?

The IC3 abbreviation stands for "Internet and Computing Core Certification." The IC3 exam is a global certification, designed to certify an individual's digital literacy skills associated with fundamental computer and Internet use. IC3 is the first computer certification to be recognized by the National Skill Standards Board (NSSB). The newest edition of the IC3 certification track, known as IC3-GS5 (Global Standard 5), will be updated to include new technologies including Microsoft Windows 7 OS and the Microsoft Office suite of programs.

Community Business College was selected because of its expertise in the technologies required for implementing the exams and its extensive experience in beta testing technical certification exams.

To implement the program, Community Business College is providing free vouchers to those who want to assist in the beta testing of these fully online exams. In exchange for their evaluations of the exam system, participants will receive official certificates for each exam they pass. The school is absorbing all costs for this high-technology project and will provide these services all at no cost to the participants. The vouchers will be distributed on a first-come-first-served basis up until the project is complete.

Dan Guerra Community Business College’s director, said, “The overall goal of the project is to test the functionality of the updated exams and their new delivery engine environment. Modesto, with its new initiatives to kick start its technology sector, is a great place for this to happen.”

The IC3 GS5 beta exams are completely interactive and consist of approximately 115 questions. Exam takers are given 120 minutes to answer as many questions as possible.

The IC3 exams are divided into three categories:

            Key Applications

            Computing Fundamentals

            Living Online

The exams test users’ abilities to solve basic digital literacy problems, use basic productivity applications, and understand the structure of common technologies. In addition, the exam questions assess the ability to apply existing knowledge to deal with unfamiliar situations and scenarios.

Community Business College is also offering a study guide and informational outline on its website for those interested in learning more about the exam. Once the beta testing is complete, the live version of the exam will be continuously available at the institution.

One of the reasons the college is participating in the program to help to continue to bring high technology certifications to California's Central Valley.

People who would like to participate in the beta test can contact the school’s main office either by phone or e-mail.

What Community Business College Does 

Community Business College also offers online short courses

Community Business College has been training people in workforce development skills for over 17 years. The school offers job placement assistance to its unemployed graduates and enrichment classes for its working graduates to meet its goal of helping students practice lifelong learning. On-ground and distance-learning vocational classes include Computer Office Specialist; Legal Secretary; and Medical Billing And Coding.

Students attending the school are funded by veterans programs, the MyCAA military spouse scholarship program, and the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) training funding.

The school’s other enrichment programs include advanced technology training, specific software classes, Business Spanish, English As A Second Language (ESL) and certifications.

Enrichment courses focus on common operating systems such as Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, and Android. Software classes are based on Office applications (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, LibreOffice, Office 365, Google Docs, and iWork) and standard computer productivity applications such as word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, multi-media, and file and data management.

The college also participates in programs which assist adult students in completing high school diplomas and obtaining their GEDs free of charge.

The college maintains an A+ rating with the Ne-Cal Better Business Bureau.