March 03, 2021
Coveted, skills-based Microsoft certification motivates students
By Charlotte Smith ’20 & ’21G
A Data Applications in Business course offered by the Providence College School of Business helped students prepare for the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel 2016 exam in Excel programming that leads to their Microsoft Office Excel Associate 2016 certification — a key benchmark sought by employers.
The preparation that the PCSB provides for this exam for business students and that the Center for Career Education and Professional Development provides for students at large has proven its worth and made a huge difference in their knowledge and skills, say students.
Ryan Warner ’24 (Ridgefield, Conn.), an economics major who took the Excel 2016 version of the exam during the fall 2020 semester, scored 978 out of a possible 1,000 points, establishing him as the Rhode Island top qualifier and earning him the right to advance to the national competition. Classmates Caroline Dwyer ’24 (Westfield, N.J.) and Elizabeth Houghton ’24 (Manchester, N.H.) finished second and third. This specific Excel exam was taken in Rhode Island during the fall by PC students. Salve Regina University is the only other school in the state that offers a means for students to receive their Excel Associate certification. It offers a different version of the Excel exam.
The Microsoft Office Specialist exams demonstrate students’ ability to command the full features and functionality of the various sectors of Microsoft Office — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. At PC, the Microsoft Excel version of the exam is offered. In the past, the Center for Career Education has offered Excel Core and PowerPoint exams and will be offering its first section of Excel Expert this spring. Students who pass the Excel exams have proven that they carry the skills needed to earn the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Associate certification.
Students who have earned the certification have shown the ability to correctly apply the principal features of Excel while completing tasks independently. An individual who passes the exam through the Data Applications in Business course has approximately 150 hours of instruction and hands-on experience with the product. Students who take the exam with the Center for Career Education go through a different preparation process. In both instances, certification is a key indicator of a student’s readiness to enter the job market.
A total of 310 PC students sat for the Excel exam last fall. Roughly 200, including Warner, took the exam through the business school course. Data Applications in Business not only introduces students to Excel but also provides them with the skills necessary to use data to make business decisions. All business majors are required to take the Data Applications in Business course, and the Excel certification has become a critical component of this course.
Warner expected to be challenged going into the exam, but he felt well-prepared by his Data Applications in Business course taught by Faith Lamprey, practitioner faculty in accountancy.
“A thorough knowledge of Excel and how to use it to analyze data is an essential skill for everyone in the business world,” Lamprey said. “Passing the MOS Excel certification exam enables students to prove to potential employers that they have this skill. Many companies are now requiring Excel certification as a prerequisite to get an interview for a position.”
Dr. Jacqueline Elcik, senior associate dean in the School of Business, also endorsed the importance of strong Microsoft Excel skills when preparing for careers in business.
“The reasoning behind the Data Applications in Business course, and the MOS Excel certification, is rooted in skills development and employability,” she said. “Through meetings with employers and members of the Student Advisory Board, we know that employers expect graduates to be proficient in Excel. Additionally, based on tracking feedback from internships, we know that these skills are essential for those experiences, too.”
While the majority of students took the Excel exam through the Data Applications in Business course, the remaining students who sat for the exam in the fall took it through a certification workshop series run by the Center for Career Education. This group consists of non-business majors who participate in the workshop to add the certification to their résumé, including health policy and management majors and business and innovation minors who are required to obtain the Excel certification.
For the past year, Sarah Soule, associate director of the Career Education Center, has been leading this certification program, which was commissioned three years ago.
“This program has become a lot more robust this past year, not only because students are required to take the exam, but because they want to. The competitive nature of the exam is a great way for PC students to stand out among other applicants when applying for jobs,” Soule said.
Through weekly Zoom class meetings, the workshop walks students through a self-paced software program that offers them a chance to work through a variety of lessons and practice exams covering the Excel content.
Three of Soule’s students who took the MOS PowerPoint 2016 certification exam this past fall distinguished themselves at the state level. Finishing as the top three state qualifiers were Madison Palmieri ’22 (Barrington, R.I.), Katherine Buonfiglio ’22 (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.), and Tara Cooney ’21 (Ossining, N.Y.).
Due to his impressive score on the Excel exam, Warner was invited to compete and represent the state of Rhode Island in Certiport’s 2021 MOS U.S. National Championship in June in Orlando, Fla. Unfortunately, the event was canceled. At the championship, he would have taken another Excel exam alongside the other state qualifiers. The winner of the national championship will have gone on to the world championship in July.
Warner expressed excitement at being named the state champion and was honored to have the opportunity to represent PC in Orlando this summer.
“After finding out that I did in fact have the opportunity to travel to Orlando to represent Rhode Island, I was ecstatic,” he said.
