51福利社

What began as an experimental course for business and marketing education students, has transformed into one of the hottest courses on campus. It has also given 51福利社 students a leg-up in the job market.

BUED 376 is a five-credit, online elective, open to all 51福利社 students with junior standing. There are no books, three instructors and is now state-supported thanks to the efforts of CBPA Dean Martine Duchatelet, Taryn Fletcher, director/lecturer business and marketing education, and course instructor/MOS certification coordinator Leah Silvieus.

Eastern is one of the only universities in the country that offers an electronic communication course that gives students skills to attempt Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification.

It鈥檚 not a point-and-click class, but rather, the course, developed by Fletcher and Silvieus, is comprised of specially developed curriculum to cultivate critical thinking and real-world problem-solving skills through workplace scenarios while teaching Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and more.

鈥淚t鈥檚 unconventional, so in that respect, it could be frowned upon,鈥� said Duchatelet. 鈥淚nstruction is not supposed to lead to a certificate, but as long as we don鈥檛 teach to the test, but we teach in a very thoughtful manner and critical thinking is part of the process than the certification is a bonus. Our students are in a very good position to do this.鈥�

Currently, 137 51福利社 students are MOS certified, including four who are 鈥渕aster鈥� certified. This quarter 50 students are enrolled, including business education students, accounting students, management students and other majors.

Five times as many high-growth/high-salary positions require experience with Microsoft Office. Eighty-six percent of hiring managers indicate that IT certifications are a high or medium priority during the candidate evaluation process.

Two 51福利社 students have seen firsthand how having an MOS certification has put them in a position to succeed in their chosen fields.

Luke Kemper is a senior completing his finance degree this quarter. He is currently working as a marketing specialist for TNG retail services. Kemper has enhanced his r茅sum茅 by earning Microsoft Office Specialist certificates in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.聽 He has multiple interviews scheduled with Fortune 500 companies after graduation.

鈥淚 can say with complete confidence that having these MOS certifications has helped me land these interviews,鈥� said Kemper. 鈥淣early all, if not all, of the positions I applied for had 鈥榚xperience to advanced knowledge with Microsoft Office and Microsoft Excel鈥� as absolute requirements for the positions. The more advanced you are with Microsoft Excel for finance positions, the more likely you would be to land the position over an equally qualified candidate.鈥�

Senior Anthony Brommer, an accounting major, agrees.聽 鈥淚n many accounting jobs they require a certain knowledge of Microsoft programs. They have found that it is hard to judge how well someone knows the programs when they state that they are proficient on their r茅sum茅. Taking this class actually helped me get a summer internship at UTC Aerospace Systems since they are mostly looking for an in-depth knowledge of Excel. My manager has told me that this class was one of the reasons he hired me.鈥�

Arsen Djatej, professor of accounting, meets with accounting firm hiring managers from across the Northwest. 鈥淲e have one of the largest accounting programs in this area,鈥� Djatej said. 鈥淲e recently had a fall recruiting season for accounting majors 鈥� about 20 firms from all over and they were fighting for our graduates. Every firm I heard from said that having a professional certification is becoming a must-have now. They made it very clear that they wouldn鈥檛 give consideration to any candidate who doesn鈥檛 have a professional certification from Microsoft.鈥�

Eastern goes beyond just offering the course 鈥� the university is licensed to administer the MOS exams on all 51福利社 campuses: Cheney, Spokane, Bellevue and Longview. The exam fee for 51福利社 students (enrolled in BUED 376) is only $50, well below the educational reduced price of $96.

鈥淭he passing rate is high,鈥� said Fletcher. 鈥淲e鈥檙e at a 99 percent pass rate for Word and approximately 88 percent for Excel. I know across the nation, that鈥檚 one of the highest pass rates you鈥檒l find.鈥�

Fletcher said the evolution of the MOS certification course has been a group effort. 鈥淚f Martine (Duchatelet) had not supported the course in the CBPA, it would still be a self-support class and people would have to find the money to take the class. They wouldn鈥檛 really understand the certification value until they entered the job marketplace. With Martine鈥檚 support, and the support of (accounting department chair) Arsen Djatej and (management department chair) Tricia Nemetz-Mills, this class has grown. We鈥檙e also working with Dave Bunting in economics. We鈥檝e noticed a lot of his students in the class and we鈥檙e asking what they need to know, because we鈥檙e also trying to prep them for their higher level class work.鈥�

鈥淚t really reflects the fact that we鈥檙e in the 21 century and we鈥檙e evolving,鈥� said Duchatelet. 鈥淲e are an institution of innovation and impact.鈥�