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Re: Certifying Liberal Arts Majors for a High-Tech World



I don't know how much a test will do.

But it is a start. I'd rather see then offer some kind of real certification
like A+ where students could choose what they wanted to get certified in.
Perhaps the test could also be used as a way to help students decide which
later certification they'd like to persue.

I had practically no computer skills when I graduated from undergrad w/a degree
in English. I did gain some from working for 18 months at an insurance company,
but I have to say that when I came to SILS in Aug 98, I felt like I knew
nothing about computers and the web. And for the most part, I did.

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> This in from NewsScan, but I recommend the full NYTimes article at
> http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/cyber/education/03education.html
> 
> TECH CERTIFICATION FOR LIBERAL ARTS GRADS
> A four-hour online certification examination called Tek.Xam has been
> developed to offer liberal arts graduates a way to demonstrate to potential
> employers that, whatever their degrees may indicate, they have mastered the
> technical skills necessary for careers in today's organizations. "It's very
> clear there are millions of college students who are earning degrees in
> areas that don't indicate technology skills -- liberal arts, education and
> other non-tech areas," says Tek.Xam executive director Brian Regrut. "While
> many of the students taking the exam may not be able to program C++, they
> could work in marketing or manufacturing where those skills are needed.
> There's a big hole American businesses need to fill." So far, 67 academic
> institutions in 24 states have offered a pilot or formal version of the
> test, and about 1,700 students have taken it. (New York Times 3 May 2000)
> http://www.nytimes.com/library/tech/00/05/cyber/education/03education.html
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