Have anyone taken any of these exams from ICCP? I need to take the following exams and I was wondering if anyone on this board has taken any of them and if they would like to share their experience. I'm working towards BSCIS from Excelsior. Please any help would be greatly appreciated. - Database Administration - Systems Development - Data Communications and Internetworking Regards Kenny
I took the core exam which will cover the database administration you need for Excelsior. If you pass the core exam you will recieve 18 credits for Excelsior. Check with your advisor to see which core requirements it will cover. Also took the communications exam to cover a core. The exams are not easy, but they are passable. I used Bird materials and ICCP guides, as well as recommended textbooks. It was a lot of work, but worth every bit of it. They test on some older technologies, that was the only suprise I ran into.
certifiednetpro, Thanks for responding to my posting. I was told by my advisor that ICCP exams alone would not be enough to satisfy all the core requirements for BSCIS. Could you please post the list of the ICCP test that you took to get 18 credits? About recommended textbooks, I haven't been able to find any source that indicates what books to read for the ICCP exams. The study guide from ICCP doesn't have any detail. Where can I find a list of the recommended textbooks for the ICCP exams? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Regards Kenny
For materials and textbooks that relate to the ICCP exams: http://www.iccp.org/iccpnew/materials.html (scroll to the bottom for the textbooks)
The exam I took to receive 18 credits was the ICCP core exam. This gave me 9 credits in " management electives " which shows up on my transcript as Applied Professional. The other 9 credits are 1) Introduction to computers 3 credits 2) Datbase Concepts 3 credits 3) Systems Analysis and Design 3 credits. The 3 I listed are core requirements. I also took 3 indivual tests from ICCP to satisfy core requirements. They are !) Communications 2) Cobol Language 3) Systems Programming. There is also a test from Ohio University that satisfies a core requirement.
certifiednetpro, Thanks for responding. I really appreciate your input. I need 23 credits for the BSCIS. How long did it take you to complete all ICCP exams listed above? Regards Kenny
It all depends on the person and knowlege level to complete the exams. I took other exams between some, so it is tough to judge how long it took me. I think a test a month is a reasonable time frame, but that depends on your study habits and motivation level. Your advisor should tell you what credits you need, and what tests from ICCP will cover them. DANTES also has a lot of test out options. I tested out on a large majority of my credits, I have only had to attend 2 online classes to get the credits I needed and one of them was not actually a requirement, I wanted to take it anyway. If you have a lot of networking experience, take the communications exam first to see what it is like. Do you have any industry certs? ( Comptia, Microsoft,Novell)
Yeah, OhioU at least used to have a assembly/microarchitecture course/exam that took care of Excelsior's computer architecture requirement. However, I can't find the course listed anymore: http://www.ohiou.edu/independent/ccecourse.htm
I've CNE, CNE,A+, MSCE, MCDBA, ORACLE DBA act. I've 15 years experience in IT, mostly as a DBA. I started as a Novel Engineer, Microsoft engineer and switch to a DBA role about 13 yrs ago. I’m currently schedule to take ICCP databases administrator exam on the 26 of this month. I saw several books listed for the communication exam. Which of them did you use? I really appreciate you help. Regards Kenny
Interestingly, a book ICCP recommends for the Database Resources Management exam is the same book used at Excelsior College: Database Systems: Design, Implementation and Management; Rob & Coronel; Course Technology-ITP; ISBN 0-7600-4904-1 (Data Resources Management) I certainly recommend the above book since I liked it for my database systems course at Excelsior. You can buy the latest edition at Amazon used for $15 or bid at eBay. But since you ideally would have the book in your hands right now, eBay is probably not a great idea.
Don't forget, there are a lot of free books online. Be sure to check out: http://freecomputerbooks.com/
The communications exam was a lot of the material covered on the Network Plus exam and the CCNA exam. It was all stuff you should be familar with from your cert exams. The only thing that threw me off was some real old school stuff about telephones. Make sure you get a list of the objectives from the ICCP web site and cover that. As Daniel Allen posted earlier there are books they mention on the web site. The ICCP site sells sample practice exams for 25 dollars These are close to the actual eaxm if you want to get a feel for them. Bird publications also sells materials(books and tapes are expensive) they have question and answer software that is around 50 dollars I think. I didn't pass the datbase test, but then again I am not a DBA. I would spend about 100 dollars on study materials and practice tests, plus the 250 for the exam. If I passed it was still a deal at 3 credits for 350 dollars. Also if you pass the core and 2 other tests you will be a certified computing professional(CCP). More letters to add to your resume in addition to the BS\CIS you will be adding soon. Study hard and go for it, you got nothing to lose and a lot to gain. The "ICCP's Complete Guide to Professional Computing" (Examinations Study Guide) may be purchased directly from the ICCP office. This book includes an expanded outline of the Core Examination, each Specialty exam and the Programming Language exams. The expected depth of knowledge for each area is included. Also included is a detailed analysis of sample questions and answers. Why incorrect answers are wrong and why correct answers are correct. The above book is expensive but I thought it was worth it, because it helped in other exams as well. I don't know how the electronic copy is, but it is half the price. (And the answer is no, I don't want to sell mine, but I did see some for sale on one of these threads) Also there is a free sample on the ICCP web site of a practice test.
Having failed more ICCP exams than having passed, I totally agree with paying for the examination guide. Also, the Bird materials are excellent and were similar to some of the actual questions, at least in 2001. My biggest mistake was just not studying enough, e.g. not reading the textbooks they recommended. A little more detail about the "Data Resource Management" test: I failed the ICCP db exam in 2001. However, if I took the exam right now, I would think I would pass since I read most of the textbook for my Excelsior class.
Check with your advisor on the database requirement. Mine was met by passing the core exam.I ended up taking ( and failing) the database exam for no reason except I failed to do all my homework ahead of time.
Companion site for Database Systems textbook with slides, chapter tests, video tutorials, glossary, etc: http://www.course.com/downloads/mis/robcoronel/index.cfm
I am hoping to get through 5 ICCP exams. I wish there was more prep materials for these tests, or at least more info/advice about them. I checked with Excelsior and was told (Dec 08) that the core exam no longer counted for anything towards the BS IT degree.
I also asked about the new IS Core exam and just got a repsonse today from my Excelsior business advisor with requirments for MIS degree:
Any progress on this? I have been weighing options and some of the ICCP exams seem like they may be more trouble than the equivalent courses. I am thinking of doing the core requirements like this: Excelsior IT 370 Database Concepts (Database Concepts) TESC COS-352 (EP) Operating Systems (Operating Systems) Excelsior IT 320 Computer Architecture (Computer Architecture) ICCP Communications and Networking (Data Communications and Networking) Broome CST103-K01 General Security Concepts (Overview of Computer )Security ICCP Integrated IT Project Management (Project Management) Just 2 ICCP exams. I just can't seem to find more than 1 or 2 people online who have succeeded with ICCP and it makes me nervous! Courses take more time, but I know that I won't fail
You understand that you are reviving a 11 year old thread...right? ICCP exams were once ACE credit evaluated, and that was how they used to be credit-bearing. ICCP decided to drop their ACE evaluation (probably financial reasons). They still list Excelsior as their "Partner" college and claim you get credit, but I haven't seen any proof of this claim. Excelsior does not have anything about ICCP on their website anymore.
