Get College Credit For CyberStateU.com Courses!

ITCAP is the first and only national program through which vendor-authorized technical education centers can offer college credit for Microsoft technical classes. The program was founded to bring together the public and private education sectors for the purpose of increasing the academic recognition, professional certification, knowledge, and abilities of information technology workers.

Course credits are issued by Pima Community College (PCC) in Tucson, Arizona. PCC is the nation's fourth largest multi-campus community college with a student body of over 60,000.

CyberStateU.com is one of the first Authorized ITCAP Centers (AIC) whose training is web-enabled. CyberStateU.com’s relationship with ITCAP enables students to obtain college credits along with their training.

To become an AIC, CyberStateU.com was required to meet the very highest standards in professional IT education set forth by ITCAP. ITCAP has established Instructional Guidelines that include adhering to specific curriculum, instructor, student support, assessment and administrative requirements. All must be met before an organization can become an AIC. This ensures that students will receive the highest caliber of training.

The availability of college credits for professional IT courses enables students to use corporate tuition reimbursement and continuing educational funds which are a significant part of the employee benefits programs within many companies today. Some companies are finding that they can fund the majority of their IT-related training through ITCAP.

Before ITCAP was founded, alternative funding sources have been limited. ITCAP is opening new ways for students to finance IT training. Moreover, because CyberStateU.com conducts training via the Internet, students and corporations anywhere can take advantage of ITCAP. Whether your organization is in Piscataway, NJ or Redmond, WA, geography is no longer of any consequence. Ultimately, IT users and vendors will also benefit from having a greater number of qualified IT personnel.

 

Course Name	Credits	Fees*
IntranetWare Administration	2.5	$237.50
IntranetWare Advanced Administration	1.5	$142.50
NDS Design and Implementation	1.5	$142.50
IntranetWare Installation and Configuration	1	$95
Networking Technologies	1.5	$142.50
Building Intranets with IntranetWare	1	$95
Service and Support	2.5	$237.50

*Per credit fee is $95. Credit fees are independent of CyberStateU.com's individual program tuition fees.

• What is an AIC
• Why is accreditation important?
• What Was Required for CyberStateU.com to Become An AIC?
• What is tuition reimbursement and who qualifies?
• How does ITCAP work with the Microsoft Skills 2000 IT Career Loan Program?
• Will these credits be accepted by (a specific college or university)?
• Who issues ITCAP education credits?
• Are the credits "Real" credits or are they just "Vocational" or "Technical" Credits?
• What do students think of ITCAP?

Question: What is an AIC?

Answer: An AIC is an Authorized ITCAP Center. CyberStateU.com is an AIC. As an AIC, CyberStateU.com is able to offer students college credit for ITCAP approved courses.

Question: Why is accreditation important?

Answer: Accreditation is the standard whereby many businesses determine whether tuition reimbursement funds that are part of many corporate benefits packages may be used for training and education. Although most businesses in the medium- to-large size category provide some sort of tuition reimbursement programs to their employees, these funds have not, historically, been available for vendor-authorized computer technical training simply because these education providers have not been able to offer college credits.

Question: What Was Required for CyberStateU.com to Become An AIC?

Answer: Specific core academic requirements have been met by CyberStateU.com. These requirements have been established to meet the standards of accreditation and the real world demands of a technical education center. This ensures that college credits awarded by Pima Community College (PCC) are earned. Neither CyberStateU.com nor PCC is "selling" credits through ITCAP nor is either organization a form of diploma mill. Rather, CyberStateU.com is an AIC offering IT education courses for which students receive college credit from PCC upon satisfactory completion. The courses for which PCC will award credits are only those, whose contents and method of delivery have been and evaluated and certified to meet rigorous academic standards.

Question: What Is Tuition Reimbursement And Who Qualifies?

Answer: Students employed by corporations with a tuition reimbursement program as part of their employee benefits packages may be eligible to have the costs of ITCAP-approved courses paid for by their employers.

Although the principal requirement for reimbursement is that the ITCAP-approved courses carry college credits, each employer’s benefit package is administered by that company’s Human Resource (HR) department, and the plans and their eligibility requirements can be different for each employer. While the trend is that these plans will provide tuition reimbursement for courses that carry college credits, this is not an absolute rule with every employer, and in some cases other requirements must be met that could prevent the employee-student from being reimbursed for ITCAP-approved courses. All students interested in being reimbursed by their employers for training at your AIC must first speak with their employers’ Human Resource or Employee Benefits staff to gain prior approval.

The student must find out the unique guidelines his/her employer may have for qualification, e.g., there many be a cap on the reimbursable amount or they may have percentage amounts available for reimbursement depending on the grade received.

Upon completion of an ITCAP-approved course, PCC will provide the student customer with a certified transcript showing the credit issuance, which will serve as proof of performance to the student’s employer.

Question: How Does ITCAP Work With The Microsoft Skills 2000 IT Career Loan Program?

Answer: The Microsoft Skills 2000 IT Career Loan Program is a great way to finance MCSE training, but only MCSE training; it does not apply to Novell. Also, the financing provided through the Career Loan Program is a loan that must be repaid; tuition reimbursement, if available to the student, does not need to be repaid. Individuals who need financial assistance to take the MCSE courses, and who are not covered by a corporate tuition reimbursement program, will find the Microsoft Skills 2000 IT Caareer Loan Program to be an excellent solution for their training needs.

Even students who are covered under a corporate tuition reimbursement program may find the Microsoft Skills 2000 IT Career Loan Program to be very helpful and important to them. If a student eligible for tuition reimbursement receives 100% reimbursement only if they get a grade of "A" for an MCSE course, it may be necessary to finance the rest of the cost. If your center requires full payment for the MCSE courses up front, the Microsoft Skills 2000 IT Career Loan Program can serve as a source of "bridging" funding to cover the interim period until the student receives their tuition reimbursement. Note that there is no prepayment penalty for the Microsoft Skills 2000 IT Career Loan Program, so it can be paid off as soon as the corporate tuition reimbursement funds are received. More information and an application process for the Microsoft Skills 2000 IT Career Loan Program can be obtained at www.itloan.com.

Question: Does Accreditation Guarantee That Credits Can Be Transferred To Another Institution?

Answer: No. Transferability of credits and degrees is a matter determined by the institution receiving the credits. Transferability depends on several factors: the institution at which credits were earned; how well the credits offered for transfer mesh with the curriculum offered by the institution to which the student wishes to transfer; and how well the student did in the courses. Accreditation speaks only to the first of these factors and, therefore cannot by itself guarantee transfer of credits. Many institutions choose to accept transfer credits only from accredited institutions and some institutions have specific agreements with other institutions guaranteeing transfer of credits. Anyone planning to transfer credits should consult the receiving institution about the transfer before taking the courses.

Question: Will These Credits Be Accepted By (a specific college or university)?

Answer: While the validity and legitimacy of the credits earned from PCC through the ITCAP program is unquestioned, the decision about transferring credits to any particular institution is always an individual matter up to the receiving institution to determine. The decision will be based on the specific courses taken and the specific program into which the student wishes to transfer at the receiving institution. For example, many institutions place limits on the total number of credits that may be transferred from any other institution(s). If the combined total of credits for other courses the student may wish to transfer plus the credits for the ITCAP courses exceed the permitted number, then some units will not be allowed for transfer. The decision to allow credit to transfer to a spedivic degree program will be based on whether or not the ITCAP courses correlate with courses in that degree program. The ITCAP courses submitted for transfer credit may be acceptable for the student’s major, acceptable only as electives, or not acceptable at all.

Question: Where Do The Credits Come From?

Answer: The credits are issued by Pima Community College, located in Tucson, Arizona - the same town where ITCAP is headquartered.

Question: Are The Credits "Real" Credits Or Are They Just "Vocational" Or "Technical" Credits?

Answer: The credits provided through ITCAP are absolutely "real", issued from the fourth largest multi-campus public community college in the nation. This college is backed by one of the six regional accrediting bodies that accredit all of the major colleges and universities in the U.S. These accrediting bodies themselves, including the one supporting the institution issuing the credits for the ITCAP program, are accredited by the US Department of Education.

There is really no such thing as a "vocational" or "technical" credit. The credits provided by ITCAP-approved courses are simply "college credits" per se. If the student seeks a technical vocation after taking these courses, that would be putting those credits to work for a vocational or technical purpose based on the student’s preference; but not on the nature of the credits. The use to which a student puts his or her education does not characterize, change, or reflect back on the basic nature of the education itself.

Question: What Do Students Think Of ITCAP?

Answer: Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine, the leading publication for Microsoft professionals, recently conducted a survey of its readership of 56,000 qualified key players in the Microsoft marketplace, 97% of whom have or are attaining Microsoft Certifications. Of an overwhelming 47.8% response, 77% indicated they would like to earn some type of credits for their Microsoft Certification.

Please contact Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine at elleng@mcpmag.com or 714-225-4905 for further information about the survey.