Southwest Tennessee Community College
October 22, 2004

For more information, contact: Kimberly Stark at (901) 333-4023 or 489-4771

Southwest to present Memphis City Schools with software licenses to encourage Internet learning

Dr. Nathan L. Essex, President of Southwest Tennessee Community College will be presenting Memphis City Schools Superintendent Carol Johnson with the opportunity to get students in the system involved with Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW) Classes. The presentation will be made on Monday, October 25 at 2 p.m. in the President’s office at the Macon Cove Campus.

Southwest will be donating licenses for the CIW software for the next 12 months. These licenses will allow the teachers, currently being trained at Southwest, to teach their students in area high schools the CIW courses. The licensing was purchased through a Tech Prep grant given to the Business, Career Studies, and Technologies Division of Southwest.

Students, through dual enrollment, will be able to take the first two CIW classes while in high school. Once they graduate they will be able to continue their education at Southwest in preparation for the national CIW Exam. They will also be able to apply the courses taken in high school to an Associate Degree in Information Technology.

Background of CIW

Certification establishes and validates critical job skills for Web team members. CIW certification establishes an individual as an expert in Internet technologies. Like a professional license, the CIW designation offers structured, reliable evidence of Internet skills competency. CIW certification exams are built on rigorous and standardized criteria. Benefits of CIW certification include:
  • Objective validation of critical Internet skills
  • For employers, a verification tool to distinguish among candidates for hiring and promotion
  • For individuals, a worldwide credential attesting to their mastery of important skills
  • International acceptance

CIW Professional Designation

The first step toward CIW certification is the CIW Foundations series. After successful completion of the Foundations exam, candidates are awarded a CIW Associate certification. After achieving CIW Associate status, candidates can choose from four Master CIW certification tracks. Candidates who pass the CIW Foundations can earn the CIW Professional designation upon passing any CIW job role series exam. CIW Professionals may earn Master CIW Administrator, Master CIW Designer, Master CIW Enterprise Developer, or Master CIW Web Site Manager designation after completing all the series in a track. CIW is endorsed by the National Workforce Center for Emerging Technologies (NWCET). The NWCET has created the only nationally recognized and validated IT skill standards, which describe the skills and knowledge required of IT workers in the new economy. NWCET sponsors the CIW program and convenes the CIW Certification Council.