Kathy Liebler
                        Director of Public Information

C   O   M   M   I   S   S   I   O   N                N   E   W   S             R   E   L   E   A   S   E   

  Contact:    Carl DeFebo, 717-939-9551, extension 2934
                    cdefebo@paturnpike.com

PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE IS PREMIER STATE AGENCY
TO LAUNCH MICROSOFT OFFICE CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Turnpike recently confirmed its commitment to employee development and leading-edge technology when it became the first state agency in Pennsylvania — and among the first in the United States — to participate in an innovative software training and certification program authorized by Microsoft Corp., Redmond, Wash.

The Turnpike kicked off its Accredited Computer Expert (ACE) program earlier this fall to prepare employees at its central administration office and two regional offices for Microsoft Office User Specialist (MOUS) certification — the globally recognized standard for demonstrating skills with the Microsoft Office suite of business productivity applications.

"This program essentially enables the Turnpike to cultivate a team of in-house specialists who can acquire software expertise and share their knowledge with coworkers," said N. Elaine Torain, the Turnpike’s manager of user services and support. "Involvement in our ACE program signifies a major commitment of time on behalf of these dedicated employees."

The MOUS program is the only Microsoft approved certification program designed to measure and validate users’ skills with the Microsoft Office suite of applications including Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Access.

Currently, 11 Turnpike employees are undergoing the in-depth ACE training, attending weekly, eight-hour sessions. Alternate Training Solutions — a Mechanicsburg-based computer instruction firm and a Microsoft Authorized Training Center — is providing the focused education essential to the testing process.

These initial 11 employees are expected to complete the online battery of examinations and receive their "Master Mous" certifications by March 2000. Another 12 Turnpike employees have been selected for the program and are scheduled to begin the five-month ACE training in the early spring 2000.

"Once they have completed the MOUS training and examinations, our experts will have the proficiency they need to answer a variety of software-related questions in the real-life work environment," said Torain. "They will communicate their knowledge to colleagues via an online database, through our help desk, and during informal brown-bag ‘sharing’ sessions."

About 90 percent of the Fortune 500 companies use Microsoft Office products. Major corporations, such as Electronic Data Systems (EDS), report gains in productivity attributable to MOUS certification. By participating in the program, the Pennsylvania Turnpike also hopes to realize similar productivity gains through this Information Technology initiative.

These efforts also fit into a statewide initiative by the Ridge administration to more effectively utilize and promote technology within state government.

The Commonwealth is one year into a three-year effort known as the "Commonwealth Connect" project to standardize 40,000 state-government personal computers on Microsoft software for handling primary desktop functions such as word processing and e-mail. The use of different software packages by state agencies had been identified as a drain on productivity and a barrier to interagency communications. Software standardization also had been shown to offer considerable potential cost savings.

Following a one-on-one meeting with Microsoft Chairman and CEO Bill Gates, Gov. Tom Ridge earlier this month also announced that Pennsylvania and Microsoft have reached an historic alliance for the 21st century that builds on the already strong partnership between the Commonwealth and the computer software leader. The new partnership includes the creation of an E-commerce Center at Penn State's Capital College, Harrisburg campus, and an initiative to equip 20,000 Pennsylvania high school students with high-tech skills for the 21st century.

For more information on Gov. Ridge’s technology initiatives, visit the Pennsylvania homepage, www.state.pa.us. Information on Microsoft and its strategic partnership with Pennsylvania can be found at www.microsoft.com/greaterpa.

Members of the ACE program's ongoing training-certification initiative:

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 P.O. Box 67676, Harrisburg, PA 17106-7676         Phone: (717) 939-9551         Fax: (717) 986-9649