West Virginia University (WVU) is a prominent public research university located in Morgantown, West Virginia. With an annual enrollment of nearly 27,400 students, WVU provides a diverse array of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees across major disciplines such as business, engineering, and health sciences.
The John Chambers College of Business and Economics at WVU is particularly focused on preparing students for the future of business innovation. Through targeted majors, the college aims to enhance students’ job placement and marketability. A key element contributing to this success is Certiport’s full pathway approach to Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certification.
Why Microsoft Office Specialist certification?
The business school integrated MOS certification into its curriculum in 2020 to ensure that all business students acquire knowledge in Microsoft Office for their academic and professional careers. Virtually every employer recruiting from the business college required interns and employees to be proficient in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
Sarah Glenn, Director of the Center for Career Development in the Chambers College of Business, emphasized the importance of upskilling students in these areas to align with workplace expectations.
“One of the big things that we see when students enter college is that they have very minimal exposure to Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, and Word when they’re coming in from high school. These are skills that our employers are going to expect them to have when they enter the workplace.”
One of the big influencing factors of integrating MOS certification from Certiport, specifically, was that it was the only Microsoft endorsed certification that validates Microsoft Office skills. This provided the confidence that their students were taking a professional-level certification.
How was the certification program implemented?
They incorporated MOS certification into a course designed for first-time students, aiming to equip them with these sought-after skills. Instructors prioritized enhancing students’ proficiency in Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
They utilized Jasperactive for Microsoft Office and CertPREP Practice Tests, powered by GMetrix, to help students acquire the necessary skills in these applications. Jasperactive, a kinesthetic prescriptive learning product, offered tailored exercises that instructors were able to integrate it into the class and assign sessions as homework.
Then, the CertPREP Practice Tests provided a quantifiable way for the instructors to measure their students understanding, as well as prepare students for the actual certification exams. The practice tests provided both testing (a simulated testing environment) and training modes (step by-step instructions for each task), which gave the instructors flexibility. Additionally, students had to pass the practice tests to be able to take a Microsoft Office Specialist certification.
In the course, there was a particular focus on Microsoft Excel, and it contributed more significantly to the students’ overall grade. This was due to these skills being foundational to subsequent courses, including their Accounting, Management Information Systems and many other business classes. They also focused on Microsoft Excel due to the employer demand in the key business fields that their students were pursuing.
The impact of Microsoft Office Specialist certification
Since the integration of MOS certification into the business college’s curriculum, it has had a significant impact on students, educators, and the college.
Increased Opportunities
MOS certification has played a crucial role in helping students secure internships and professional jobs.
Post-Graduation Impact
Graduates have reported that MOS certification was influential in opening up post-graduation opportunities and continues to be valuable in their professional lives. Vince Dobilas, Professor of Practice, Department of Management Information Systems in the WVU John Chambers College of Business, notes that he still has students that have graduated call him to discuss how his class and certification have been applicable in their daily work.
Increased marketability for institution
In addition to the notable success of their students, the program has helped the college of business increase their own marketability in showcasing to prospective students and employers on how they are instilling the skills needed for the future economy and workforce.
To learn more about Microsoft Office Specialist certification, please visit www.certiport.com/MOS.