Technical Support

Certificate of Proficiency

A one-year certificate can enable students to gain core IT skills offering employable skills in PC installation, computer help desks, and other entry-level positions. This certificate will also serve as the core for all CIS programs at OC.

Additionally, if a student has to withdraw in their second year, they will already have a certificate to assist them with employment options. Many employers may assist students who do get a job after earning their certificate with completing their ATA at OC through their company’s training programs.

Moreover, the Technical Support certificate will give students who may have only an industry certification (such as MSCE or Cisco certification) a set of courses to broaden their IT knowledge base and enhance their “soft skills” area through general education (which are transferable) classes as well as teamwork training building in many CIS classes. This would target high school students and “paper tigers” certificate holders in need of more than just their paper.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, successful students will have demonstrated the ability to apply their skills and knowledge in the following ways:

1. Communicate the role of IT and its support for the organization.
2. Demonstrate basic computer skills in areas such as: applications, operating systems, and programming.
3. Provide basic computer user support with a help desk, software maintenance, and hardware maintenance.
4. Discuss and support networking technologies such as LAN/WANs and Internet protocols.
5. Demonstrate employment skills in organizational communication, presentation, and collaboration.
6. Clarify how to gather and track key sources of information.
7. Communicate technical information to a variety of audiences in a clear and precise way, and be open to constructive criticism.
8. Learning new technical skills quickly and willingly take on new challenges.

*See course description for prerequisite.

Source: 2009-2010 Olympic College Catalog

Common Course Numbering Crosswalk (Effective Summer 2008)

for Former and Continuing Students