Thursday, February 09, 2012

Academics

 

Preparation for Industry Certifications

The CIT Department offers many courses to help you prepare for industry-recognized certifications, as well as to fulfill requirements for the AAS in CIT degree and the AAS in EET degree.

The material in these courses can act only as a guide for the material that will be covered in the certification exams. You will have to review and practice to achieve mastery of the concepts and skills. Passing of these classes does not guarantee that you will pass the certification exams.

As of Fall 2011, fees for 3-credit courses are about $250; for 4-credit courses the fees are about $335. Textbooks are an additional expense. The fees for the certification exams are NOT included in CSN's fees.

The certifications and the corresponding CSN courses that will help you prepare for the exams are presented further down on this page.  All courses are 3 credits, unless noted otherwise. Use the links in the list below to "jump" to the details of each certification.

  • Cisco

    • CCNA -- Cisco Certified Network Associate 

      The Cisco CCNA network associate certification validates your ability to install, configure, operate, and troubleshoot medium-size routed and switched networks, including implementation and verification of connections to remote sites in a WAN. This certification consists of one exam. Learn more about CCNA certification from Cisco.

      The following four courses at CSN will prepare you to take the CCNA exam (640-802):

      • CSCO 120 -- CCNA Internetworking Fundamentals
      • CSCO 121 -- CCNA Routing Protocols and Concepts (Prerequisite: CSCO 120)
      • CSCO 220 -- CCNA LAN Switching and Wireless Fundamentals (Prerequisite: CSCO 120)
      • CSCO 221 -- CCNA WAN Fundamentals (Prerequisite: CSCO 220)

      These courses are each 4 credits. These courses may also be used to fulfill requirements for several Associate of Applied Science Degrees.

      For more information, contact Tom Lisa at (702) 651-4798 or thomas.lisa@csn.edu.

    • CCNP -- Cisco Certified Network Professional

      CCNP certification validates your ability to install, configure and troubleshoot converged local and wide area networks with 100 to 500 or more nodes. Learn more about CCNP certification from Cisco.

      The following three courses prepare you to take the three CCNP exams needed to obtain the CCNP certification:

      • CSCO 280 – CCNP ROUTE (prerequisite CCNA certification or completion of CSCO 221)
      • CSCO 282 – CCNP SWITCH (prerequisite CCNA certification or completion of CSCO 221)
      • CSCO 284 – CCNP TSHOOT (completion of both CSCO 280 and CSCO 282)

      The above courses prepare you for the Cisco certification exams 642-902 ROUTE, 642-813 SWITCH, and 642-832 TSHOOT.

      For more information, contact Tom Lisa at (702) 651-4798 or thomas.lisa@csn.edu.

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  • CompTIA

    • A+

      According to CompTIA, "The CompTIA A+ certification is the industry standard for computer support technicians. The international, vendor-neutral certification proves competence in areas such as installation, preventative maintenance, networking, security and troubleshooting. CompTIA A+ certified technicians also have excellent customer service and communication skills to work with clients."

      To attain A+ Certification, you need to pass two exams:

      • CompTIA A+ Essentials (Exam 220-701)
      • CompTIA A+ Practical Application (Exam 220-702)

      Learn more about the certification from CompTIA.

      The following classes at CSN will prepare you for the A+ certification:

      • CIT 110 -- A+ Hardware and CIT 111 -- A+ Software

        These two courses may be taken concurrently. For more information contact Tom Lisa at (702) 651-4798 or thomas.lisa@csn.edu.

      • CSCO 109 -- PC Troubleshooting and Repair

        For more information, contact Tom Lisa at (702) 651-4798 or thomas.lisa@csn.edu.

    • Linux+

      The Linux+ certification validates your ability to explain management of Linux systems from the command line, your knowledge of user administration, your understanding of file permissions, software configurations, and your ability to manage Linux-based clients, server systems and security. Learn more about the certification from CompTIA.

      CSN's course offerings in Linux (CIT 173, CIT 174 and CIT 175) are not directly tied to the objectives of the CompTIA exam. However, the courses can certainly provide a fundamental knowledge of the operating system and of its installation, configuration and administration. For more information, contact Randy Harwood at randy.harwood@csn.edu.

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    • Network+

      The Network+ certification validates your ability to describe the features and functions of networking components and to install, configure and troubleshoot basic networking hardware, protocols and services. You must pass one exam to become Network+ certified. Learn more about the certification from CompTIA.

      The following class will prepare you for the Network+ certification exam:

      • CIT 112 -- Network+

      If you are interested in pursuing MCITP certification, but have no background in networking, CIT 112 will provide you with the prerequisite knowledge for the MCITP courses.

      For more information, contact Tom Lisa at (702) 651-4798 or thomas.lisa@csn.edu.

    • Project+

      The Project+ certification validates fundamental project management skills. The exam covers the entire project life cycle from initiation and planning through execution, acceptance, support and closure. Learn more about the certification from CompTIA.

      The following class will prepare you for Project+ certification exam:

      • CIT 263 -- Introduction to IT Project Management (Students should have basic computer skills.)

      CIT 263 fulfills a core requirement for the Associate of Applied Science degree in CIT. For more information, contact Diane Pannell at (702) 651-4594 or diane.pannell@csn.edu.

    • Security+ 

      The Security+ certification validates your knowledge of communication security, infrastructure security, cryptography, operational security, and general security concepts. This certification counts as an MCSE elective. Learn more about the certification from CompTIA.

      The following class will prepare you for Security+ certification exams.

      • CIT 217 -- Security+ (Prerequisite: CIT 112)

      For more information, contact Tom Lisa at (702) 651-4798 or thomas.lisa@csn.edu.

      If you are interested in learning about computer security, but are not interested in certification, consider enrolling in CIT 160 Introduction to Computer Security. CIT 160 fulfills a core requirement for the Associate of Applied Science degree in CIT. For more information about CIT 160, contact Margaret Taylor at (702)  651-2631 or margaret.taylor@csn.edu.

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  • Microsoft

    • MOS -- Microsoft Office Specialist

      Certifications are available for the main components of MS Office 2010 (Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint), for Outlook 2007 and for Windows Vista. Learn more about specific exams from Microsoft and Certiport.

      The following classes at CSN will help you prepare for MOS exams:

      • CIT 201 -- Word Certification Preparation (Prerequisite: IS 101)
      • CIT 202 -- Excel Certification Preparation (Prerequisite: IS 101)
      • CIT 203 -- Access Certification Preparation (Prerequisite: IS 101)

      For more information, contact Margaret Taylor at (702 651-2631) or margaret.taylor@csn.edu.

    • MCITP -- Microsoft Certified IT Professional
      (Enterprise Desktop Support Technician, Server Administrator and Enterprise Administrator)

      Learn more about the certification from Microsoft.

      The following courses will help you prepare for the MCITP certifications:

      • CIT 211 Microsoft Networking I
        Exam 70-680 TS: Windows 7, Configuring
      • CIT 212 Microsoft Networking II
        Exam 70-646 Pro: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator OR
        Exam 70-647 Pro: Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Administrator
      • CIT 213 Microsoft Networking III
        (You should have a strong foundation in IP addressing, as presented in CIT 112, or equivalent.)
        Exam 70-642 TS: Windows Server 2008 Network Infrastructure, Configuring
      • CIT 214 Microsoft Networking IV
        (You should have a strong foundation in IP addressing, as presented in CIT 112, or equivalent.)
        Exam 70-643 TS: Windows Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure, Configuring (Needed only for the MCITP Server Enterprise certification)
      • CIT 215 Microsoft Networking V
        (You should have a strong foundation in IP addressing, as presented in CIT 112, or equivalent.)
        This course can be taken up to 3 times. The following could be offered, check current schedule for specific topic.
        Exam 70-640 TS: Windows Server 2008 Active Directory, Configuring
        Exam 70-236 TS: Exchange Server 2007, Configuring
      • CIT 218 MCSE Special Topics
        This course can be taken up to 3 times. The following could be offered, check current schedule for specific topic.
        Exam 70-685: Pro: Windows 7, Enterprise Desktop Support Technician

      For more information contact Tom Lisa at (702) 651-4798 or thomas.lisa@csn.edu.

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Page Updated: 8/3/2011