David VanLandingham (from left), Stephanie Hicks, Michael Clark, Christopher Dietz, Michael Roberts and Jessica Poole.

Southwest Georgia Technical College (SWGTC) Computer Information Systems (CIST) students recently completed and passed the TestOut PC Pro Certification Exam (TPCPC).

Seven SWGTC CIS students have been preparing for two semesters to take the TPCPC. This particular certification is a true 100% performance-based certification that measures students on various topics, such as system components, peripheral devices, networking, printing, storage, system implementation, Windows system management, trouble shooting, security, and more.

The certification is focused on validating job skills and is comprised of several questions incorporating lab activities, each requiring multiple tasks. In preparation for the TPCPC exam students completed two preparatory courses (in addition to their regular course load), CIST 1122 – Hardware Installation and Maintenance, and CIST 2122 – A+ Preparation.

Students receiving certificates were David VanLandingham of Cairo, Timothy Sanders of Cairo, Jessica Poole of Thomasville, Michael Clark, Michael Roberts of Thomasville (also has taken and passed A+ Certification exam), Chris Dietz of Thomasville, and Stephanie Hicks of Ochlocknee.

As a caveat to the normal final exam for the Summer Semester of the CIST 2122 course, students were given the opportunity to use the certification exam score. The SWGTC CIST faculty felt the rigorous nature of the TPCPC would suffice not only as a comprehensive decree of each student’s knowledge and abilities for the course, but also as a stellar indicator of the knowledge needed to sit for the A+ certification exam.

“I am very proud of these students and their accomplishments. They have all worked extremely hard learning the material and practicing in the lab. I have no doubt they are all prepared to enter the workforce as IT professionals,” said Chris Parrish, CIST instructor for SWGTC.

The Computer Information Systems program is a five semester sequence of courses designed to provide students with an understanding of the concepts, principles, and techniques required in computer information processing.

For more information on this program please contact Parrish at (229) 227-2581 or cparrish@southwestgatech.edu or Charles Everett at (229) 227-2582 or ceverett@southwestgatech.edu.

SWGTC offers more than 80 certificate, diploma, and degree programs. Many of these programs provide training for some of the nation’s fastest-growing career fields including Nursing, Automotive Technology, Clinical Laboratory Technology, and Emergency Medical Technology.

For information, call 229-225-4096.