Home Computer Proficiency Exam Registration Computer Proficiency Exam Details

Important Note:  The Computer Proficiency Exam (CPE) is only necessary for those students pursuing a Bachelor's degree and are under catalogs beginning Fall 2005.  For students who are pursuing a major leading to teacher certification: passing EDM 310 Microcomputing Systems in Education will also satisfy this requirement. A passing score on the CPE will satisfy the prerequisite for CIS 250 Advanced Computer Applications.

 

The Computer Proficiency Exam is designed to assess computer proficiency in the following areas:

  • General Computer & Office Application Concepts
  • Internet/WWW/E-mail terminology and skills
  • Microsoft Word 2007
  • Microsoft Excel 2007

How the Exam is Administered

The exam is administered by School of Computer & Information Sciences faculty in the CIS computer labs.   A simulated testing environment from Prentice Hall's Train & Assess IT system is used for the exam. The exam is limited to one hour to complete 60 questions.  Questions consist of multiple choice and performance-based questions.  Performance-based questions require the student to perform a series of actions in the simulated environment to demonstrate they possess the specific skills being assessed.  Upon completion of the exam, students are presented with their score. No outside materials or assistance from the applications' Help files are allowed. A score of "70" or higher is considered "passing."

Note: Only two (2) attempts are allowed for the CPE, and you may only take the CPE once each semester.

Specific Concepts to Review

General Computer, Internet, WWW, E-mail & Office Application Concepts

  • File management functions and terminology
  • General terminology relating to operating system concepts, Internet, WWW, and e-mail (i.e. objects, screen elements, etc.)
  • Accessing context sensitive menus
  • Open, Close, and Save files
  • Print documents or selected areas of text
  • Insertion of graphical and text elements into a document

Word 2007

  • Create and save documents
  • Import from an existing file
  • Control the format of a document (i.e. alignment, headers and footers, bullet lists, visual display of text)
  • Add visual objects such as charts and diagrams
  • Create and edit tables

Excel 2007

  • Add, modify, or remove worksheets from a workbook
  • Add data from the Clipboard to a worksheet
  • Add or delete rows/columns
  • Format cell contents
  • Manually create formulas for simple mathematical expressions
  • Use built-in functions to perform mathematical expressions
  • Create visual elements such as charts to represent data

 

Where the Exam is Administered

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Computer Lab location: Shelby Hall

150 Jaguar Drive
Suite 2101
Mobile, AL 36688
251-460-6390
Room 1304

 

What to Bring to the Exam

Bring your Jag ID (if available) or some other form of photo identification.

Still Have Questions?

Contact the SoC Department at (251) 460-6390