LOMBARD, Ill., — June 11, 2001 — Broad-based industry acceptance of CompTIA's vendor-neutral technical certifications received another boost this week when Novell announced a plan to integrate CompTIA curriculum into the NetWare 6 CNE program. Novell will integrate its existing Networking Technologies curriculum with CompTIA's Network+ as a core requirement for the CNE certification.

In a similar move, CompTIA's Server+ curriculum will be offered as an elective toward Novell's Master CNE and its IT Project+ curriculum will become a core requirement as a Continuing Certification Requirement (CCR) for Master CNE.

"Novell and CompTIA both represent the best in supporting open standards for the cross-platform Net economy," said Debbie Maucieri, Novell vice president of education. "By incorporating CompTIA curriculum into our certification programs, we offer a real-world knowledge base for IT professional seeking to simplify the complexities of systems support."

"CompTIA has a longstanding relationship with Novell," said Lutz Ziob, CompTIA vice-president of Certification. "As a supporter of CompTIA programs, Novell has made significant contributions to the development of our vendor-neutral certifications, promoting industry-defined standards applicable to the broadest range of manufacturers and vendors."

Novell has contributed subject matter expertise to the development of a number of CompTIA certifications and has supported CompTIA's i-Net+ and Network+ programs as a cornerstone partner. Most recently, Novell became a cornerstone partner for CompTIA's Server+ certification program that launched in February 2001.

About CompTIA
CompTIA, the Computing Technology Industry Association, is a not-for-profit trade association of more than 10,000 companies and professional IT members in the rapidly converging computing and communications market. CompTIA has members in more than 60 countries, providing the technology community standards in the areas of Internet-enabled service provision, e-commerce, vendor-neutral certification, customer satisfaction, public policy and workforce development. More than a third of a million individuals worldwide have earned CompTIA certifications in PC service, networking, document imaging, Internet and PC server technologies. More information is available at www.comptia.org and www.xspertise.com

Contact:
Elizabeth J. Spalding
CompTIA
(630) 268-1818, ext. 330
espalding@comptia.org