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Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Training (MCAS)

GES 804 -- 120 hours

Course Overview/Description

The Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Training program is the only comprehensive, performance-based certification program approved by Microsoft to validate business computer skills using Microsoft Windows Vista® and Microsoft Office® productivity software: Excel, Word, Power Point, Access, and Outlook.

This is a significant change in the certification process. For the past 10 years, all of the Windows training and assessment was in the MSCE Engineering track.

"The new Microsoft Business Certification requirements demonstrate a more realistic view of how computers are used in an office," according to Elizabeth Nofs, Microsoft Office instructor. "For example, when a document doesn’t print, it isn’t a problem that can be fixed in Microsoft Word. It’s about finding the answers in the user’s Windows operating system."

Standards and Alignment
The Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Training program is aligned with the following standards:

• MOS Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Requirements
• ISTE NETS standards for Teachers, Administrators and Students
• Michigan Grade Level Expectations and Benchmarks for 6th grade Technology, Math and Science
  
  Learn now. Earn now. Students who complete Microsoft Office certification training earn more (about 12%) than employees who are not certified. In addition, 82% of the students who get certified report getting a raise upon receiving their certification. The Comma Method of Microsoft® Office training was designed to meet the needs of college students, educators, administrators and business professionals. The need for Microsoft Office training is vast -- it is now a requirement in education, as well as in virtually all business, technical and professional jobs. It is a "must" for small business and entrepreneurs. Over 2 million MOS certificates have been issued. Microsoft is currently granting approximately 38,000 certificates per month.
  
  This comprehensive, performance-based program teaches students to be proficient in Microsoft Office 2007: Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, and Access. The MOS program provides computer-program literacy, measures proficiency, and identifies opportunities for skills enhancement. Participants receive a certificate of completion from the college upon successful completion of the course. Students are then well prepared to take the Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Tests.
  
  How to Become MCAS Certified To earn the Microsoft Certified Application Specialist (MCAS) certification for Microsoft Office or Microsoft Project, a student must pass one or more Microsoft certification exams (offered by Microsoft). Office Specialist exams provide a valid and reliable measure of technical proficiency and expertise by evaluating your overall comprehension of Office or Microsoft Project programs, your ability to use their advanced features, and your ability to integrate the Office programs with other software programs. This Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Training program will prepare you to sit for the Microsoft exams.
  
  Note: Students should have these Microsoft products already loaded on your computer in order to take this course: Word 2007; Excel 2007, Access 2007; Outlook 2007 and PowerPoint 2007.
  
  Upon registering, you are given an initial six months to complete the program. Should you need more time, you may request a 6-month extension at no additional charge.