Posts Tagged ‘certiport’

Advance CTE 2023 Fall Meeting Sponsor Blog: Diamond Sponsor, Certiport – Earn College Credits with Industry Certifications

Wednesday, October 11th, 2023

When learners earn an industry certification, they’re not just earning a credential for their resume. They’re also potentially saving money on higher education. It’s no secret that pursuing higher education in the United States comes at a high cost to learners. According to EducationData.org, the average federal student loan debt is $36,510 per borrower, and students with private student loans have debt averaging $54,921 per borrower. Any chance learners can get to earn college credit while in high school is a great move. That’s where ACE CREDIT comes in.

Career Technical Education (CTE) programs across the country are embedding industry-recognized credentials in their programs of study as a measure of program quality and to ensure that learning is validated, recognized, and portable. Certiport offers exams for a number of commonly state-approved certifications. In addition to providing state and local leaders with valuable information about program quality, our exams provide the added learner benefit of conferring ACE credit.

What is ACE CREDIT?

Founded in 1918, the American Council on Education (ACE) is the major coordinating body for all the nation’s higher education institutions, representing more than 1,600 college and university presidents and more than 200 related associations nationwide. It provides leadership on key higher education issues and influences public policy through advocacy.

ACE CREDIT connects workplace learning with colleges and universities by helping adults gain access to academic credit at colleges and universities for formal courses and examinations taken in the workplace or other settings outside traditional higher education. For more than 40 years, colleges and universities have trusted ACE CREDIT to provide reliable course equivalency information to facilitate their decisions to award academic credit. And now, learners who pass select Certiport exams can earn this valuable credit as well.

Which Certiport Exams Qualify for ACE CREDIT?

The American Council on Education’s College Credit Recommendation Service (ACE Learning Evaluations®) has evaluated and recommended college credit for multiple Certiport programs, including:

  1. Autodesk Certified User
  2. Adobe Certified Professional
  3. Communication Skills for Business
  4. Entrepreneurship and Small Business
  5. IC3 Digital Literacy
  6. Intuit
  7. IT Specialist
  8. Microsoft Certified Fundamentals
  9. Microsoft Office Specialist

You can find the full list here.

How Do Learners Obtain ACE College Credit?

Certiport’s partnership with ACE’s Transcript Service makes obtaining college credit simple.

First, learners should verify with their university/college admissions office that they grant credit for the specific certification.

Second, learners should send their transcript to their college or university via Credly’s Acclaim platform. Information on transcript services is available in the ACE Student Resource Center.

Interested in having your certified learners earn college credit? You can learn more here.

Hannah Davis, Certiport, a Pearson VUE business

By Layla Alagic in Advance CTE Fall Meeting
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Setting Students on the Path for Professional Development with Certifications

Monday, April 1st, 2019

This post is written by Certiport, a Platinum Level sponsor of the 2019 Advance CTE Spring Meeting.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM occupations grew twice as fast as others between 2009 and 2014.  STEM jobs are also expected to grow faster than any other job category through 2024 with a projected growth rate of 28.2 percent, compared with the average projected growth for all occupations of just 6.5 percent.  

In order to meet this need in the future, former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recently pointed out the need for U.S. education institutions to “create opportunities for people to develop 21st-century skills and level the playing field for all demographics.”

Duncan continues, “If we expect to compete in a global economy that demands increasingly higher skills, we need to concentrate on closing the digital divide. The reversal must begin in K-12, where currently only one in four schools teach computer programming.”

High school graduates will typically need a lot of additional training to fill the high-tech jobs of the future, but starting in K12 sets students on a path for continued learning – it opens the door and helps them to realize an interest in and an aptitude for a career in computer science.

Certifications Validate those Entry Level Technology Skills

Industry-recognized certifications are one way to get K12 students started on a path to a career in technology.  CTE programs around the country are adopting certification programs to set students on a path to professional development, and one fantastic example is Sun Valley High School in Monroe, North Carolina.

When teacher Eddie Mull arrived at Sun Valley High School three years ago with a 35-year background in the drafting industry, he aimed to rejuvenate the drafting program to make sure students learned work-ready skills.  Over his career, he earned several Autodesk Certified Professional certifications and has seen their value in the workforce.

“I knew I wanted to get Autodesk certifications going at Sun Valley,” said Mull. “The professional-level certifications are valuable in the workforce and if I could get my students earning the user-level certifications they would be on the path for career success.”

As a result of Mull’s efforts and the support of the CTE department, Sun Valley students quickly caught the fire of earning Autodesk Certified User certifications. Each semester approximately 40 to 50 students take Drafting 1 and most earn Autodesk Certified User AutoCAD certification, and another 15 or so take Drafting 2 and most of them earn the Autodesk Certified User Revit certification.

“They want that bullet point on their resume, they want the certificate,” said Mull. “They want to get good at something so they can get a head start and differentiate themselves in a career.”

A new statewide initiative directs Drafting 3 students to earn a professional level certification – which is very difficult.

“It is hard but doable, I have had two students earn the Autodesk Certified Professional certification so far with about a dozen more preparing,” said Mull. “The program will be formally implemented next year.” Mull works with students to make sure their Autodesk Certified User level and Autodesk Certified Professional level certifications stand out on their resumes and even provides a resume template.

Some of his recent graduates with Autodesk certifications have interviewed at as many as five places and have been offered jobs by all five. Whether his students plan to go to college or enter the workforce, Autodesk certification helps with admissions and job interviews.

“The certification indicates that students have the skills and are able to perform the tasks necessary to utilize the Autodesk applications,” said Robert Filter, Union County Public Schools Director of Career Readiness. “It provides the students an opportunity to spotlight their skills and knowledge over other potential candidates when applying for a job.

Recent Sun Valley graduate Gabriel Blount said earning an Autodesk Certified User certification has already helped him as he builds a career in drafting.

“Adding Autodesk certification to my resume has been extremely beneficial since it shows my ability to learn and be flexible in a professional setting. Autodesk certification has helped in my future career – the principles I learned are now a part of my new job and I would have never guessed how helpful it would be when I was taking the drafting courses.”

Learn More

We invite you to learn more about how to implement certification in your CTE program to prepare students for college and career.  Certiport offers learning curriculum, practice tests, and performance-based IT certification exams to open up academic and career opportunities for learners.  Our offerings include:

Please join us the evening of Tuesday, April 9th from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at our Hospitality Suite at the Advance CTE Spring Meeting to learn more.

By admin in Advance CTE Spring Meeting
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Computer Skills No Longer Optional

Friday, April 21st, 2017

This post is written by the Certiport, a Diamond Level sponsor of the 2017 Advance CTE Spring Meeting.

It’s easy to think of the millennial generation, those born roughly between 1982 and 2002, as tech-savvy digital natives — and in many ways they are. Immersed in consumer technology since birth, today’s youth has mastered the art of the swipe, the selfie and social media. So it may come as a surprise that millennials often lack essential digital skills needed to succeed in the workplace — be it a conventional office setting, an auto mechanic’s shop, or in a tractor on a farm.

Technology: Ubiquitous in Every Industry

Digital technology has extended its reach into every field imaginable — and it isn’t limited to white collar careers. Ninety-six percent of working Americans use new communications technologies as part of their daily life, while 62 percent use the internet as an integral part of their jobs.1 Nearly all industries today require at least some on-the-job interaction with a digital device, including sectors the general public often doesn’t consider technology dependent.

Succeeding in the Modern Workplace

Basic digital literacy skills are requisite in virtually every industry everywhere you go, but students often enter the workforce without them. This is why performance-based digital literacy certifications — such as Certiport’s IC3 Digital Literacy Certification — are critical for both employers and students.

“A certificate provides an excellent opportunity for kids to reach a goal. There’s a lot of discipline in obtaining a certificate, and a lot of structure in certificate programs. These elements help students become successful at whatever they pursue beyond high school.”
–Dan Ramirez, National Coalition of Certification Centers (NC3)

Learn More

We invite you to read more about the need for globally-recognized, third-party validated digital literacy skills in the issue brief that will be included in your Advance CTE Spring Meeting conference bag.

Certiport offers performance- and knowledge-based certification exams, as well as courseware and practice materials for the following programs:

Please join us Tuesday evening for drinks and discussion at our hospitality suite (Room 825 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel) from 5 to 7 PM. Click here to RSVP.

We look forward to visiting with you at the Spring Meeting.

Eldon Lechtenberg, Vice President, Sales-Americas
Mike Maddock, VP, Microsoft Volume Licensing Business – Americas
Lori Monson, Senior Director, NOAM Sales
Brent Clark, Director, Strategic Accounts – NOAM

 

 

By admin in Advance CTE Spring Meeting, Meetings and Events
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