How To Establish a Culture of Certification - Part 2!

Jump To Questions:

• 00:46 - Does anyone use certification exams as part of the course assessment?
• 03:36 - How common is it for 4yr universities to blend certifications with their curriculums?
• 06:10 - When you say "degree," do you mean Bachelor's? Will Associate's work as well?
• 07:32 - Where do you stand on requiring the certification exam as a final exam in the course? How do you get students to take the not required cert exams?
• 10:15 - Very interested in data on first-time pass rates of CC and tech school students on the most common industry certification exams (A+, Security+, Network+); Also interested on strategies for increasing those exam pass rates and data on how many CCs embed certification exams in their curriculum -- does doing so affect/boost student and faculty commitment and student exam pass rates?
• 14:16 - How do you convince your students to take the CompTIA certs? My students take the TestOut Pro exams but very few go further. How can we communicate the value of certifications to students? We offer vouchers for certifications and instructors communicate value, but many students do not take the exams. There is ample research out there that illustrates value - particularly as it relates to employability and earning potential but are there any recommendations for particular sources?
• 16:23 - Are you aware of resources that can help students pay for these industry certifications? Grants?
  • Students can use the code "TESTOUT10 to receive a 10% discount.
• 21:12 - Does the DoD accept the TestOut certification?
• 24:06 - How do you manage new students vs. those trying to do a career change? What about older students?
• 31:19 - Can you give an example of a volunteer tech project?
• 35:37 - Industry standards continually evolve and it is a challenge to keep up (at our understaffed Community College). A couple of our courses would be considered "Cert Prep" but some are more "generic" and we promote them as "aligned" with Industry certs. Any suggestions on making that transition?
• 44:01 - Do you have any idea about IBM Skills academy certificates?
• 45:06 - Does the ITIL Certification provide value in IT careers?
• 46:33 - I was wondering if you can share with us monthly articles which we can post on our website and other format to promote the importance of certification?
• 49:10 - Could we get a Certification Progression Chart key for the acronyms?
• 50:31 - What are your thoughts on Cybersecurity?
  

Ideas for helping students with experience and TestOut Pro Certification recognition:

• Ideas for hands-on experience and internship ideas: We use Work Base Learning (WBL) internships to get hands-on experience; Our college also offers a PC Diagnostic Clinic so students can do hands-on labs actually repairing students, faculty and community members a chance to have their PC repaired for free – Gerald Kearns
• We have had several students work with other students and head hunters to gain experience. We also have had job offers during their freshman year of the Associate program. We have made the Cert. Test as the final exam. - Marie Patrick
• Are the TestOut certifications recognized by industry employers as a valuable certification like the industry standards (Cisco, CompTIA, etc...)? Lucinda Caughey
  • Answer provided - Hi Lucinda, TestOut Pro certs are not recognized on the same level as CompTIA or vendor certifications. TestOut designed these exams to compliment the training and provide a different value than CompTIA and others and not to replace them. When it comes to employers accepting them, YES, these are recognized and will help your students get the job, but students will need to sell it or if you have a Professional Advisory Committee, you'll need to tell your local employers about them.
  • I require certification testing and use internship for work. I have educated my local industry and IT persons on TestOut Pro exams and they really love them. - Scott Adams