Office Software Core Certificate - Credential As You Go

New Playbook: Incremental Credentialing in Graduate Education

Case Study

Office Software Core Certificate

Pitt Community College

CREDENTIAL TITLE

Office Software Core Certificate

CREDENTIAL LEVEL

ACADEMIC PROGRAM

CREDIT/NON-CREDIT # OF CREDITS (IF CREDIT BEARING)

14 credits

INCREMENTAL CREDENTIALING FRAMEWORK APPROACHES

Learn As You Go
Stack As You Go

Partner As You Go

Specialize As You Go

Transfer As You Go

Retro As You Go

Why the Credential Was Developed

The decision to develop this credential was based on student demand for accelerated study in core software competencies
This credential will help students and active employees gain knowledge and specific skills in office software
The fast paced progression will give students the opportunity to advance to a future job and it will give active employees the opportunity to update their skills using a faster approach than the traditional method of higher education
This credential meets the workforce need by shortening the time required for employees to reskill in office administration areas

How the Credential Was Developed

The credential was developed based on current course offerings in the Office Administration program
Fellow faculty members and other Advisory Committee members were involved in the development of the credential
The credential was added as a new certificate to the Office Administration Program of Study and submitted for approval at the local school level then at the state level

The Targeted Learners

The targeted learners will be our current students who want to fast track through the beginning of their Office Administration program of study
Other targeted learners will be from local businesses who have employees who wish to quickly brush up on their office administration skills
We will advertise the credential through our courses and enlist the help of our marketing department to promote the credential throughout the community, as well as post on our media outlets

Lessons Learned

Even though we see a great need and benefit for this credential, we must have the proper resources and support to promote and make the credential a success
This process was a reminder that we must support our students and fellow faculty members to ensure that our students are successful in their programs of study
It takes all of us to implement change – we update and change for the success of our students and future employees in our community.

Top Competencies/Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate basic computing skills
Create, edit, and format documents using word processing applications
Format letters, memos, reports, tables, minutes, itineraries, medical documents, and legal documents
Design and create presentations using multimedia software
Create and edit worksheets and workbooks using spreadsheet applications
Create and modify tables, forms, and queries using database applications

Credential Components

Five courses:
- OST 131 Keyboarding
- OST 137 Office Applications I
- OST 134 Text Entry and Formatting
- OST 136 Word Processing
- OST 138 Office Applications II

Improving Education and Employment Outcomes

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FUNDING STATEMENT

Credential As You Go has acquired three phases of funding to date. Lumina Foundation funded Phase I, resulting in the Incremental Credential Framework for testing. The Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education funds Phase II (Grant R305T210063), which focuses on rapid prototyping of and research on incremental credentials with a national campaign. An anonymous private donor fund at the Program on Skills, Credentials & Workforce Policy at George Washington University funds the development of the prototype Learn and Work Ecosystem Library. Walmart funds Phase III, which focuses on systems change for expansion and sustainability of incremental credentials. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of Lumina Foundation, Institute of Education Sciences, the U.S. Department of Education, Walmart, or George Washington University.