The beta testing will be offered free to volunteers who
would like to participate and will take place through May 30, 2016 (or until
enough exams have been administered to provide complete results). The college
is waiving the regular
exam proctor fee for the duration of the beta testing period.
The college began working with the Microsoft testing
administrator earlier in 2016 to assist in beta testing the suite of programs
that make up Microsoft Office 2016. Beginning with Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, the
Microsoft
PowerPoint exam is now ready to be tested.
Officials at Community Business College report they will be
starting the testing with current students and graduates but are also opening
the testing opportunity to members of the public who would like a no-cost
attempt at earning technical computing certifications.
These exam certificates are the official acknowledgement
from Microsoft that holders possess certain levels of competence in the program
and this information has been independently verified.
MOS Certification
The purpose of the Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS)
certification is to allow people to earn a certificate in a specific Office Suite
program. Microsoft states that one of the advantages of earning an MOS
certification is that holding a MOS certification can earn an entry-level
business employee as much as $16,000 more in annual salary than uncertified
peers.
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 beta testing program, Community Business College is
providing free MOS
Certification vouchers to volunteers who would like to assist in the beta
testing of these fully online exams. In exchange for their evaluations of the
exam system, participants who pass the exams will receive official certifications
at no charge to them. 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.
Exams are
primarily performance-based and conducted in a "live," or simulated,
environment. Exam candidates taking these certification exams are asked to
perform a series of tasks to clearly demonstrate their skills. For example, a
Word exam might ask a user to balance newspaper column lengths or to keep text
together in columns. MOS 2016 presents the candidate with a project to build,
with tasks and steps that build on each other.
Each beta exam takes about 2 hours to complete (although
some test takers may finish quicker).
Why Community
Business College?
Community Business College’s director, Dan Guerra, said,
“Our goal in participating in this high technology 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. It’s also an excellent opportunity for people
in the Central Valley to earn an official technology certification at no cost
to them.”
People who do well on this exam, even if they don’t pass,
might want to try their hands at the Microsoft
Office Specialist World Championships.
The Microsoft Office
Specialist World Championship is a global competition that tests students’
skills on Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Top students are invited to
represent their respective countries at the World Championship. In some
countries or regions, students are required to participate in a National
Championship, and the winners of that event continue on to the World
Championship.
Community Business College
is also offering a complimentary 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.
People who would like to participate in the beta test can
contact the school’s main office either by phone or e-mail through the webpage www.cbcwebcollege.com.
