Press Release

Novell Education Announces Integration Of WordPerfect CI, Novell CNI Programs Complete

March 22, 1995--BRAINSHARE, SALT LAKE CITY, UT--Novell, Inc. the pioneer and global leader in certification programs for the Information Technology (IT) industry, announced today the integration of the world's two leading IT instructional certification programs.

Effective immediately, Novell's Certified Instructor (CNI) program and WordPerfect's Certified Instructor (CI) program will merge, resulting in the most powerful training infrastructure available for teaching "Systems" and "End User" courses.

"The merging of these two programs has created synergy and added strength to the CNI program," said Brent Done, director of Programs and Services for Novell Education. "The linking of networking with network applications training allows Novell to offer holistic training that directly corresponds to Novell's drive toward pervasive computing."

"We are encouraged at the positive and wide acceptance of this merger among both parties involved," Done said. "This combined approach will play a key role in building the infrastructure to reach the users who are crucial to Novell's vision of global pervasive computing and supporting one billion users by the year 2000."

Success of the CNI Program

The success of the CNI program is evident as Novell celebrates the 3,000th CNI, Daniel Meservy of Corona, California, an employee of New Horizons Learning Centers, an NAEC in Southern California. This success is further illustrated as Novell Education's overall student throughput continues to increase at a phenomenal rate. Novell Education's student throughput for 1994 was half a million. That growth is expected to increase to three quarters of a million in 1995.

Novell's training infrastructure, which started with 30 sites in the United States, has spread to more than 1,300 Novell Authorized Education Centers (NAECs) throughout the world.

"Representing an NAEC, I respect Novell's vision of the CNI program and credit them with building a channel that offers authorized centers an edge over the rest of the industry," said Cathy Schaefer, vice president of Training, Entre Computers, Metairie, Louisiana. "I was impressed, being a former Certified Instructor (CI), that Novell listened to everyone involved and tried to accommodate and integrate WordPerfect's CI program into the CNI format without compromising what has become the industry benchmark."

More than 175,000 people have passed or are currently enrolled in Novell Education certification programs. Additionally, Novell's CNE program has reached a new milestone with the March 1, 1995 announcement of the 50,000th CNE, Jan Schipper, of Houten, The Netherlands.

CNIs comprise one-third of the differentiating requirements that uniquely qualify NAECs as the source for networking and network applications training, which are: quality hardware/software facilities, Novell-developed courseware, and CNIs to teach that courseware.

Details of the Integration

The integration of the two programs has been structured to support WordPerfect CIs during the transition, allowing them to follow up and provide valuable on-going training and support for their current student customer base as they migrate into the CNI program. Specific details regarding the CI / CNI integration include the following:

  • All CIs are invited to participate in the CNI program. All current requirements completed under the CI program will be applied toward CNI certification. Novell has created a specific group in the CNI program to include networking applications training.
  • CIs have a well-defined migration path to CNI. CIs who choose to migrate to CNI status have until November 1, 1995 to complete additional requirements for the CNI program.
  • CIs migrating to CNI status will receive benefits under both programs until November 1995.
  • Depending on current certification, CIs not choosing to migrate to CNI status may be eligible to migrate to other Novell certifications as they are announced.
  • All CIs who choose to migrate to CNI status will have their CNI fees waived until November 1, 1995.
  • For those who choose to migrate to CNI status, Novell will help defray the expense of additional certification requirements through testing and training coupons.

Novell Education Perspective

Novell Education's mission is to drive global pervasive computing through quality education programs and products. Novell has championed a leveraged model of reaching student customers, wherein Novell Authorized Education Centers (NAECs) around the globe provide instructor-led training and self-study options for student customers.

In addition to pioneering the leveraged education model, Novell Education also pioneered certification in the IT industry with its industry-leading products and programs. CNEs are the global standard for servicing and supporting networking; CNAs are the global standard for administering networking and network applications; and CNIs are the global standard for teaching networking and network applications.