Training Services to Offer Free Introductory Computer Courses

Jeanne Cavanaugh

As of July 1, IS Training Services will offer many of its previously 
fee-based introductory hands-on courses at no charge. This change in 
policy is the culmination of many years' work on the part of Training 
Services to bring more free training opportunities to the MIT 
community.

Free introductory courses include those on:

* Macintosh and Windows operating systems

* IS-recommended word processing, spreadsheet, and database 
applications - i.e., Introductions to Microsoft Word, Excel, and 
FileMaker

* Browsing the Web with Netscape

Registration will still be required for all free hands-on courses. 

Meeting Demand
Training Services anticipates that this new "no-charge" policy will 
result in additional demand for introductory courses. If you are 
interested in taking any of these courses, sign up early. Training 
Services may not be able to meet the increased demand for these 
courses during the next few quarters, although it will add extra 
sections for oversubscribed classes as resources allow.

Training Services still needs to charge for intermediate and advanced 
courses on Microsoft Word, Excel, and FileMaker, as well as on topics 
such as desktop and HTML publishing, presentation graphics, and 
non-supported products like Microsoft Access. These fees are used to 
help recover Training Lab expenses and instructor fees.

Other Free Offerings
Training Services will continue to offer a full complement of free 
Quick Start demo classes on topics such as Eudora, Word, Excel, and 
FileMaker. The free Technology Orientation for New Employees is 
also open to seasoned employees who have just started to use 
computers in their jobs. The Orientation session provides very basic 
information about the campus computing environment and related 
resources. 

Redesigned Training Catalog
Each quarter, Training Services publishes a course catalog that 
is mailed to all MIT faculty and staff. The Summer 97 Computer 
Training Catalog should arrive in campus mail the week of June 16.

Starting with the Summer 97 Catalog, courses will no longer be 
broken out by platform, but rather by software category (i.e., 
operating system, word processing programs, databases, and so on). 
Training Services welcomes your comments on this new organi-
zation; you can send them to Jeanne Cavanaugh at <cavan@mit.edu>.

Descriptions and scheduled dates for all IS hands-on courses, Quick 
Start demos, user group meetings, and other scheduled computer 
events are also available online at 

http://web.mit.edu/ist/training

Links from this page give detailed information on IS courses and 
allow you to register and pay (where applicable) electronically.