VGCC Offers Computer Certification Courses
People who work with computers are finding more and more that they need to be certified in certain fields in order to obtain jobs or to get promotions or advancement.
Vance-Granville Community College is offering these certification opportunities, and students may earn them from their own homes through Online Learning and not have to travel to Raleigh or Durham and pay extremely high course fees.
“Employers are looking for professional certifications as a way of guaranteeing what potential or current employees know,” said Ann Behar, coordinator of VGCC’s Computer Extension Program. “Many employers are sending their workers to school to get them up to date and to qualify them for more responsibility and greater pay.”
Professional computer courses are designed for Information Technology and Information Systems professionals to prepare them for certification in specific areas or by specific vendors. Vance-Granville is offering courses established by Microsoft and Novell and with final exams created by those companies. Also available are A-Plus certification courses, which are created by a trade association to be vendor neutral.
VGCC began general computer courses online last spring after receiving requests from individuals and from businesses who wanted to train their people,
Behar said. “In talking to students, we found they needed the certification courses, but with work and family obligations, they didn’t have time to attend classes. By putting them online, we are making the courses more convenient and affordable for those who need them.”
Most certifications require completion of multiple courses, Behar said, and students can generally expect to take one to two years on their own time after work and on weekends to achieve certification. At the completion of the courses, they will go to a certified testing site for their final exams.
The professional courses taught through Vance-Granville Community College were designed by SmartForce/CBT Systems, which trains Microsoft personnel. The courses are designed to simulate questions students get on their certification exams, and students have achieved a high passing rate after completing the courses, Behar said.
Persons taking the courses should have access to computers with Windows 95 or greater, and Netscape Communicator 4.0 or greater or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater.
A Course Catalog listing the specific courses offered and details on registration, requirements and costs is available by calling the VGCC Computer Center at (252) 492-2061, etc. 437 or 417, by stopping by the VGCC main campus or by visiting the Computer Center Web site at http://oit.vgcc.edu/coned/ .
VGCC has made it easy to register for the certification courses. Registration can be done online at the Computer Center Web site, by phone by calling (252) 492-2061, etc. 417 or 437, in person at Room 6110 or 6146 in Building 6 on the main campus, or by writing to the Computer Center at VGCC, P.O. Box 917, Henderson NC 27536 for a registration form.
