Students in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) and the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs are now eligible to earn their Microsoft Excel Certification for free during 2017-2018 academic year.  Students must have a declared major or minor in the Maxwell School or the College of Arts and Sciences, and be actively enrolled in courses to be eligible to participate.

Part of the Microsoft Office Suite of tools, Excel provides users with spreadsheet, calculation and data manipulation tools that are widely considered to be the industry standard. Expertise in Excel is recognized as one of the important abilities employers are looking for when hiring across different professional fields.

Economics professor Gary Engelhardt, along with Dean Karin Ruhlandt, took the lead in seizing this opportunity for students; recognizing the importance of building skill sets beyond daily course work. The cooperative project also received support from the Maxwell Information and Computing Technology group, led by Stan Ziemba, who have provided advanced technical and staff support for the certification testing. 

“This is a major step towards career preparedness,” explains Dean Ruhlandt. “Whether your course of study is in the social sciences, the natural sciences, or the humanities, being proactive to develop these type of added proficiencies will help make you more attractive to future employers.”

This MOS certification is being provided through Certiport, which is the premiere certification organization endorsed by Microsoft for its office products. 

Though Syracuse University’s partnership with the on-line learning platform Lynda.com, students can study and prepare for the certification testing at their own pace. 

Practice and testing exams will be administered through GMetrix.com. Participants must pass five GMetrix exams with a score of 800 or higher in order to qualify for the Excel Certiport certification exam.

Certification testing for the fall semester will be available on Mondays from 1:30-2:20 p.m., starting on Oct. 2. The Maxwell School Testing Center is located in 030 Eggers Hall.

Students must register for the exam at least 48-hours in advance of the test date in order to reserve a seat. Maxwell and College of Arts and Sciences students are allowed two attempts at the certification exam at no charge. Students wishing to take the exam after their second attempt must pay for subsequent exam attempts.

For more information on how to register for training and testing, visit: http://ict.syr.edu/maxwell-testing-center/#Facts_About_Certification_Exams.