Certiport Selected as Exclusive Provider of New Autodesk Certification

Autodesk Certified User exams validate students' 3D design skills to bolster college applications and resumes; help meet federal funding criteria

SALT LAKE CITY, UT – May 12, 2011

Certiport (www.certiport.com), the official test delivery solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, today announced that it is offering the new Autodesk Certified User certification program beginning in May 2011.

The new program, developed by Certiport and Autodesk, offers students the opportunity to validate their design skills and abilities. Obtaining certification enhances college applications and resumes, allowing schools and employers to verify that candidates have the skills necessary to continue their design careers by working toward additional levels of industry certification, seeking advanced education degrees or entering the workforce.

Grant opportunities also exist for schools to receive funding when adding certification program, particularly in career oriented programs. The Autodesk Certified User exams validate students are performing at a certain level and help to meet assessment requirements set forth in the Perkins Funding Act.

Autodesk Certified User certification program: www.certiport.com/autodesk
Video News Release: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JzLKLOCIG4

The Autodesk Certified User program includes AutoCAD Certified User and Autodesk Inventor Certified User certifications and tests students for entry-level job skills based on academic and industry requirements. The exams use multiple-choice and performance-based questions to ensure students understand and can effectively use Autodesk software.

"Autodesk has become prevalent in schools for design, architecture and engineering students in recent years, and we recognized the need for a certificate to validate the skills these students have worked hard to master," said said Ray Kelly, Certiport CEO. "Our exams ensure students can effectively use these tools beyond memorization, and earning these user-level certifications while still in school provides evidence of competency and proficiency as students complete college applications and resumes."

These new certifications are recommended for students who have completed a semester-equivalent course plus 50 hours of hands-on use of the applications. Students can later build on their academic training to attain professional-level Autodesk certifications including Autodesk Certified Associate and Autodesk Certified Professional certifications, which suggest at least 100 and 400 hours of hands-on application, respectively.

"The Autodesk Certified User program helps validate students' design skills and the hard work of teachers' classroom instruction," said Joe Astroth Ph.D, Chief Education Officer at Autodesk. "We're thrilled to be working with Certiport to provide schools and students with a standardized testing program." Schools can deliver Autodesk Certified User certifications directly in their classrooms by registering to become Certiport Authorized Testing Centers. This allows schools the opportunity to provide industry recognized Autodesk certification exams conveniently and cost effectively to all their design, engineering, and architecture students.

Through the Autodesk Education Community, which provides free Autodesk software for personal use to students and teachers, Autodesk is also making available an online Digital Study Packet to help students prepare for certification. Certiport Authorized Testing Centers will also have access to practice tests to help students prepare to take the exams.

Certiport will simultaneously release the Autodesk Certified User exams in its popular Classroom Site License format. These options allow schools to conduct unlimited online testing for an affordable annual fee that simplifies budgeting by eliminating per-test costs. Schools can sign up to become Certiport Testing Centers at www.certiport.com/go.

About Certiport

Certiport, a Pearson VUE business, is the leading provider of certification exam development, delivery and program management services delivered through an expansive network of over 12,000 Certiport Authorized Testing Centers worldwide. Certiport manages a sophisticated portfolio of leading certification programs including: the official Microsoft Office Specialist certification program, the Microsoft Technology Associate certification program, the Microsoft Certified Educator program, the Adobe® Certified Associate certification program, the Adobe® Certified Expert program, the HP Accredited Technical Associate, the CompTIA Strata™ IT Fundamentals, the Autodesk Certified User certification program, the Intuit QuickBooks Certified User certification program, and the IC³ Digital Literacy certification. Certiport reliably delivers over three million tests each year throughout the secondary, post-secondary, workforce, and corporate technology markets in more than 148 countries and 27 languages worldwide. For more information, please visit www.certiport.com or follow Certiport on Twitter at www.twitter.com/certiport.

"Certiport," "IC³" and "MeasureUp" are registered trademarks of Certiport, Inc. in the United States and other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Press Contact:
Brenda Armstrong
Certiport
1.801.602.0305
barmstrong@certiport.com