Certiport announces 2016 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship

Salt Lake City, UT - 9 December, 2015

2015 Microsoft Office Specialist U.S. National Championship

Certiport (www.certiport.com), a Pearson VUE business and leading test delivery solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, today announced the 2016 Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) U.S. National Championship, the country’s most popular Microsoft Office competition and the only one endorsed by Microsoft. Competitors will showcase their expert skills using Microsoft Word, Excel® and PowerPoint® and the top winners will represent the United States at the 2016 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship.

The 2016 MOS U.S. National Championship will be held June 28 – 30 in Orlando, Florida. U.S. students age 13 to 22 are eligible to participate in one of six competition tracks by submitting a qualified, passing score on any of the following exams by December 18, 2015 for the Fall Qualifier or May 1, 2016 for the Spring Qualifier: Microsoft Office Specialist Word (2013 or 2010), Microsoft Office Specialist Excel (2013 or 2010), and Microsoft Office Specialist PowerPoint (2013 or 2010). Up to twelve MOS State Champions, one per track during each Qualifier, will be named and invited to represent their state and compete at the 2016 MOS U.S. National Championship.

"We are thrilled to once again expand the MOS U.S. National Championship by inviting up to twelve champions to compete from every state with qualified entries," said Bob Whelan, president and CEO of Pearson VUE. "We are widening the playing field to make sure every student interested in getting certified and competing has a chance no matter when they take a course and complete an exam during the academic year. Earning MOS certification gives students an edge up in preparing for the next step in their life including college and career."

During the 2016 MOS U.S. National Championship event, student competitors will take a unique competition exam in their track, further testing their knowledge of the applications. In conjunction with the event, Certiport will host CertifiED™, a Certiport educator conference. CertifiED is a place for teachers who offer certification in their classrooms to share best practices, learn what is new, and learn why certification is valuable.

One winner per track will be named the 2016 MOS U.S. National Champion, and each will win an all-expenses-paid trip to compete in the 2016 MOS World Championship in Orlando, Florida August 7-10, 2016.

About Certiport

Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 13,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Technology Associate certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit QuickBooks Certified User certification program, and the IC3 Digital Literacy certification. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in more than 148 countries and 27 languages worldwide. For more information, please visit www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/certiport.

"Certiport" and "IC3" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact:

Allison Yrungaray
+1-626-841-1640
allison.yrungaray@pearson.com

"We are thrilled to once again expand the MOS U.S. National Championship by inviting up to twelve champions to compete from every state with qualified entries."
Bob Whelan President, CEO Pearson VUE