This summer vacation, the university’s Information and Computer Center offered IT Certification Training Courses for students and unemployed graduates. This program was a part of the Education Empowerment Project supported by the government and was offered free of charge. Select students benefitted from the program, most of whom are university students in their senior year.

Registration was done online and on a first come, first served basis. The maximum number of students for each class was thirty, and the total number of students was two hundred and forty. The first courses offered were MOS Master, Level 1 Computer Literacy Test, and Office Automation Engineering. The second courses offered were SCJP, CCNA, and MOS Master.

The MOS Master was quite a popular course. MOS stands for Microsoft Office Specialist. It is an international certification created by Microsoft (MS). The MOS Master certification is designed to demonstrate proficiency in the use of Microsoft stable Office products, namely, Excel, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, and Access. To earn the MOS Master certification, candidates are required to pass four exams. The MOS Master Certification exam is implemented in many countries including USA, France, UK, Germany, Hong Kong, and Mexico. An MOS Master certificate is considered highly valuable for graduation and is given credits by many universities in Korea.

Son In (Dept. of English Language & Literature), a student taking the MOS Master class kindly agreed to have an interview. I asked him how the classes were and how he felt after taking the course:

1. What was your purpose for taking MOS courses?

- I think that most people took the courses for graduation certification, and so did I. But I thought that various certifications are helpful when I write my resume so I took those courses.

2. What did you learn from MOS courses?

- I learned the basics of Microsoft Office programs. I learned PowerPoint on the first week, Excel on the second week, MS Word on the third week, and Outlook Express on the fourth week. From Monday to Thursday, students studied with the teacher and practiced on their own. On Friday, we took an exam for each subject.

3. Do you think taking MOS Master Course was beneficial to you?

- Yes, I think it was meaningful and very profitable.

4. How did you feel when you took the classes?

- Though we studied basic things about Microsoft Office programs, I think these things are helpful when we go out into the world.

5. I know IT Certification Training Courses such as MOS Master Course are offered free for our university students. What do you think are the benefits of taking these courses?

- Students think that the training courses are free, but actually, they are not. They should pay ten thousand won as an allotment at first. Most of IT certification courses require a minimum of 80% attendance whether you pass or fail. After complying with the requirements, students can get a full refund. If they take these courses outside school, they have to pay a lot.

Free certification training courses can bring valuable rewards to students. I hope the university continues to offer more programs like these in the future.

Park Ji-Min  applemaro@changwon.ac.kr

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