Novell Education Academic Partner Program Celebrates Second Year Success

FETC — ORLANDO, Fla. — March 5, 1998 — Novell Inc., the world's leading network software and education/training company, today reported more than 350 schools throughout the country have enrolled in their Novell Education Academic Partner (NEAP) and NEAP-Secondary programs. The announcement was made at the Florida Educators Technology Conference (FETC), the largest national technology show for the academic market. Of the 350 schools, Novell cited 63 new NEAP sites, 112 new NEAP-Secondary sites and more than 175 new teachers certified to teach the Novell curriculum in 1997 alone.

"Novell's academic programs are preparing students to be the IT workforce of tomorrow," said Dr. Angel A. Sanchez, chief administrative officer for information resources and technology services, Kern County Superintendent of Schools. "It is imperative that we provide teachers and students with the most current tools available, because if we don't, our children will be prevented from competing in an increasingly sophisticated technology market. The NEAP program provides the essential tools to teachers, who in turn provide students with the skills they need to excel in the workplace of today and tomorrow."

At the conference, Novell reiterated the importance of providing accessible, applicable, technology training to teachers. "Well-trained teachers are the key to successful learning," said Bob Puissant, vice president of Novell Education. "Schools need to be at the forefront of technology, lead by teachers who are savvy with computers and networking. Novell's NEAP program pays special attention to instructor training and testing, ensuring the teachers, not the books, are teaching the students."

This focus supports United States President Bill Clinton's 1996 Technology Literacy Challenge, which called for broadening educational technology objectives to include not only hardware and connectivity, but also digital content and professional development. According to the CEO Forum on Education and Technology, founded in 1996 to help ensure America's schools prepare students to be contributing citizens and productive workers in the 21st century, only 13 percent of all public schools reported that technology- related training for teachers was mandated by the school, district or teacher certification agencies. And, when asked to rate the greatest barriers to integrating the Internet into the classroom, 50 percent of teachers cited the "lack of time to train."

"By training the school faculty first, Novell helps the school build a self-sustaining infrastructure, regardless of the location or socio-economic situation, to effectively use the new technology they are acquiring," said Kent Christensen, academic programs manager for Novell Education. "The educators prepare students with valuable real-world skills that are marketable worldwide. Novell, on the other hand, provides the curriculum that allows students to obtain a Novell certification — a driver's license for a career on the information superhighway."

To provide educators an up-close and personal view of the NEAP curriculum, Novell will be administering sample instructor examinations at FETC. "Many teachers are afraid of technology and are worried about the students breaking something," said Christensen. "Students are not afraid, but they need direction and a confident teacher guiding them. Giving a hands-on sample of our exam will give those interested a taste of what we have to offer."

Created in 1992, the NEAP program was Novell's and the entire information technology industry's pioneer training program for bringing vendor training to colleges, universities, and trade schools. The NEAP- Secondary program enables participating non-profit secondary schools to offer Novell-authorized classes, providing high school students an opportunity to prepare for the Certified Novell Administrator (CNA) credential, a globally recognized technical certification. Due to the success of the NEAP program, Novell has added yet another academic program to their offerings called the Internal Campus Training (ICT) program. The ICT program enables a school district to set up an authorized Novell training program to service all schools within a given geographic area. Once a teacher certifies as a Certified Novell Instructor (CNI), that instructor can begin to offer Novell authorized training to all teachers and faculty in that geographic area. Schools interested in these programs should call (800) 233-3382, opt. 4 or visit the Novell Web site at http://www.novell.com.

Since the program's inception, Novell Education reports over 350 U.S. schools, including colleges, universities, trade schools and high schools, currently enrolled in the NEAP and NEAP-Secondary programs, with a projected 300 new schools participating by the end of the 1999 academic year. There are currently over 200 NEAPs worldwide offering training to over 25,000 students per year. Novell was the first vendor to bring IT training to the secondary level.

About Novell

The pioneer in information technology education programs, Novell Education has been certifying IT professionals since 1986. Worldwide, there are currently 290,000 CNAs; 135,000 Certified Novell Engineers (CNEs); 10,000 Master CNEs, 800 Certified Internet Professionals (CIPs); and 5,500 Certified Novell Instructors (CNIs).

Founded in 1983, Novell (NASDAQ: NOVL) is the world's leading provider of network software. The company offers a wide range of network solutions for distributed network, Internet, intranet and small- business markets. Novell Education and technical support programs are the most comprehensive in the network computing industry. Information about Novell's complete range of products and services can be accessed on the World Wide Web at http://www.novell.com.

Press Contact:
Laura Kvinge
Novell, Inc.
Phone: (801) 222-4029
Internet: lkvinge@novell.com