Contract House, class and certification

["Larry Kunz ((919) 254-6395)" <ldkunz -at- VNET -dot- IBM -dot- COM>]

On July 31 Tim Altom (betelgeuse -at- DELPHI -dot- COM) said he's looking
for a certification course or test his company can use.  I'd
also like to hear from anyone who's using courses or tests....
It would help us determine what criteria to include in a
certification program should STC ever start one.

Tim also complained that his state, Indiana, doesn't "have a
single, solitary technical writing program at ANY COLLEGE"
(shouting his).  Unless he's a dyed-in-the-wool IU Hoosiers fan,
he should be pleased to learn that Purdue University has both BA
and PhD programs.  I wouldn't be surprised if they make a 101-
or 201-level course available to the public.

In fact, most U.S. states and a good many Canadian provinces have
colleges with tech comm programs.  A list, called "Academic
Programs in Technical Communication," is available from the STC
FTP server (clark.net/pub/stc/school.txt).

Ken Rainey, STC Assistant to the President for Academic and
Research Programs, tells me the STC office also has a brochure
titled "Careers in Technical Communication," and that everything
-- online list and brochure -- will be updated in the fall.
(That's "fall," with a small f.  :-)

Larry Kunz
STC Assistant to the President for Professional Development
ldkunz -at- vnet -dot- ibm -dot- com