10/15/2009 -- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) last week made official the accreditation of two of Microsoft's professional certification titles. Specifically, ANSI granted accreditation to the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP) Enterprise Administrator and Server Administrator titles.

"Microsoft certifications are the first to achieve the ANSI accreditation for product-specific IT certifications; no other IT product specific certification in the market carries this distinction," said a Microsoft spokesperson through an e-mail. "ANSI accreditation is one of a number of efforts underway to make sure the value of certification remains high and that certification reflects and validates real-world skills that are relevant to the marketplace."

In an ANSI-issued press release, Dr. Roy Swift, ANSI's senior director of personnel credentialing accreditation programs, said, "This achievement marks the culmination of a multi-month effort to demonstrate compliance to a rigorous internationally recognized accreditation process, which involves both a desk review and an on-site visit."

Andy Barkl, owner and MCT at Phoenix, Ariz.-based WeTrainIT.com, gives kudos to Microsoft for getting through the process. "This recognition may benefit the Microsoft certification program in employers eyes going forward," he said. "For those holding the newest certifications, will ANSI's recognition benefit them in any way? Only time will tell."

ANSI is part of an the International Accreditation Forum, which provides criteria and guidelines for vendor-independent standardizing of the assessment and credential process, and represents the U.S. in the International Organization for Standardization. ANSI accreditation spans a variety of practices, from IT to toy manufacturing to food protection practices. To read more about the MCITP accreditation, go here. Michael Domingo