New IT Certification Programs Start in January through College of Charleston?s Center for Continuing Education and Professional Development

Charleston, SC--November 29, 2010--The Center for Continuing Education and Professional Development at the College of Charleston is pleased to announce four new information technology (IT) certification programs that will be offered starting in January.

The computer programs, designed for IT professionals and those interested in the field, are: Certified Database Developer, Certified Windows Developer, Certified Web Developer and Certified Database Administrator. The courses will be taught at the College of Charleston North Campus, 5300 International Blvd, near the Charleston International Airport.

"There is a demand in the Charleston area for more opportunities to earn these certifications," says Aspen Olmstead, director of the new information technology professional development program. "Employers will be able to promote their current employees to more technical jobs and employees with these certifications will be able to earn close to $100,000 annually. In fact, according to Redmond magazine, 43% of survey respondents report salary increases as a result of a Microsoft certification."

The Certified Database Developer program offers two courses -- 1) SQL Database Development and Designing Database Solutions from Jan. 10-Feb. 28, 2011, and 2) Data Access Using SQL from Aug. 24-Oct. 5, 2011.

The Certified Windows Developer program offers four courses -- 1) Net Framework Application Development Foundation from Jan. 11-Feb. 24, 2011, 2) Net Framework 3.5 Windows Application from March 3-April 26, 2011, 3) Net Framework 3.5 Data Access from May 10-June 23, 2011, and 4) Net Framework 3.5 Service Communication Applications from Oct. 18-Dec. 6, 2011.

The Certified Web Developer program offers four courses -- 1) Net Framework Application Development Foundation from Jan. 11-Feb. 24, 2011, 2) Net Framework 3.5 Data Access from May 10-June 23, 2011, 3) Net Framework 3.5 Service Communication Applications from Aug. 5-Oct. 6, 2011, and 4) Net Framework 3.5 Web Application from Oct. 18-Dec. 6, 2011.

The Certified Database Administrator program offers two courses -- 1) SQL Implementation and Maintenance from March 2-April 25, 2011, and Designing, Optimizing and Maintaining a Database Administrative Solution Using an SQL Server from Oct. 15-Dec. 6, 2011.

Each of the courses is two nights a week for seven weeks and costs $1,500 ($750 for College of Charleston students). To register for any of the programs, visit ccpd.cs.cofc.edu or call the College of Charleston North Campus at 843.953.6684.

Aspen Olmsted, a computer science professor at the College, will be teaching most of the courses. He has 25 years of software engineering experience starting and running companies that develop database software. Olmstead earned an MBA from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Science in Computer Science from the College of Charleston and is pursuing a PhD in Computer Science at the University of South Carolina in Information Assurance.

For more information about any of the certification programs, email Aspen Olmsted at olmsteda@cofc.edu or call 843.953.6600.