Press Releases

2010

New Trade Association Aims to Raise the Bar on IT Service Management Training
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — March 25, 2010 — Today, the IT Service Management (ITSM) industry welcomes the announcement of a new trade organization that promotes quality standards for ITSM training. The Accredited Training Council Trade Association (ATCTA) aims to serve as the voice of its members, including avocation for transparency and accountability on issues that directly impact ITSM professionals.

Benchmark Learning Honored as Citrix Strategic Education Partner
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – January 22, 2010 – Benchmark Learning was named the recipient of the Citrix “Most Strategic Education Partner of 2009” award. This is the fourth year Benchmark Learning has been recognized as a commendable partner by the Citrix community. This prestigious award is given to partners who have been instrumental throughout the year developing new and innovative delivery solutions for Citrix courses.

Benchmark Learning Offers a Remedy to Students of Closed ComputerTraining.edu
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – January 7, 2010 – The abrupt Christmas Eve closure of the for-profit school ComputerTraining.edu left a number of current and prospective students in the lurch right before the holidays. Benchmark Learning is providing free tuition on a number of their technology certification programs including Microsoft and CompTIA to students who registered and paid for training at ComputerTraining.edu.

Minnesota Education Center Announces Name Change to Benchmark Learning
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – January 1, 2010 – Today, a leading provider of technology and business training headquartered in Edina, MN, changed their name to Benchmark Learning. The change in name reflects the range of opportunities they will offer, now that they are operating as an independent school and have ended their franchise affiliation.

2009

Benchmark Learning is now Workforce Investment Act certified
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — July 8, 2009 — Benchmark Learning is now WIA certified, meaning that students now have another education choice when utilizing WIA or Federal funding.

Benchmark Learning Earns Finalist Spot for Worldwide Microsoft Award
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — July 6, 2009 — Today, Benchmark Learning announced it has been selected as a 2009 Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference Awards finalist in the Innovative Learning Solutions category. Benchmark Learning is one of three finalists from a pool of nearly 2,000 entrants worldwide.

Benchmark Learning Subsidizes ITIL Certification for Unemployed IT Pros
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — May 2, 2009 — On May 1, Benchmark Learning launched their Headway program to help unemployed IT professionals improve their odds of gaining employment with ITIL certification. The goal of the Headway program is to provide an affordable option for unemployed IT professionals looking to expand their skills and earn ITIL Certifications employers want.

TechFuse Cuts the Fluff and Brings on the Learning
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — March 18, 2009 — Benchmark Learning impressed TechFuse 2009 attendees with a technical conference that was exactly what it should be — technical. TechFuse aimed to surpass other conferences of its kind by giving attendees the learning experience they wanted rather than sessions filled with propaganda and marketing fluff.

Companies Learning How to Spend their Training Budget Wisely
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – February 24, 2009 – In this economy more than ever, IT professionals are looking for inexpensive ways to get training that will put them above the competition. Benchmark Learning offers a solution this month with their second annual educational conference, TechFuse, which provides education through the 36 available breakout sessions and two keynote lectures.

Twin Cities SharePoint Users Devote their Saturday to Learning
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – January 24, 2009 – More than 170 SharePoint users spent their weekend absorbing knowledge and advice from local experts at Benchmark Learning's second biannual SharePoint Camp. Attendees ranged in roles from SharePoint developers to administrators to end users and had all come with one goal in mind—to learn the latest and greatest about SharePoint from their peers.

2008

Slade Demonstrates Mastery of the 2007 Microsoft Office System
MINNEAPLOIS, MN – July 11, 2008 – Benchmark Learning instructor, Mark Slade has passed a series of exams to become the learning center’s first Microsoft Certified Applications Specialist (MCAS). This certification is a globally recognized performance standard that validates skills needed to use the full features and functionality of the 2007 Microsoft Office programs and Windows Vista operating system.

Students Benefit from Extended ITIL v3 Foundation Bridge Course
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – July 1, 2008 – Benchmark Learning formally announced today that their ITIL v3 Foundation Bridge course is shifting to a two-day approach. This decision came in response to student, customer and partner feedback received over the past 12 months on the one-day class built upon APMG’s accredited ITIL v3 Foundation Bridge course syllabus.

Benchmark Learning Brings a Fresh Look to Technical Conferences
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – February 27, 2008 – Benchmark Learning drew over 400 participants to its new educational conference in Minneapolis on February 26. TechFuse, a one-day event, aimed to recreate the IT conference image. It provided IT professionals and developers with 200-300 level education on newly released technologies in a fun and fresh way. Participants were able to attend up to four educational sessions from six different technology tracks in addition to the keynote presentation, comedian Robin Getman. During breaks, a game room with Guitar Hero and Halo 3 was available for attendees and food and prizes were plentiful. Keeping in the spirit of fun, a networking cocktail reception followed the event.

Microsoft Chooses Benchmark Learning to Deliver .NET 2008 Beta Teaches
Edina, MN – Benchmark Learning and their instructor, Ron Hovland were asked by Microsoft to deliver beta teaches of their three new .Net 2008 classes following their participation in an alpha review. During a five-week period, Benchmark Learning delivered the three classes with the participants providing feedback directly to Microsoft, on a module by module basis. Benchmark Learning was the only training center involved in the beta teaches. At the end of each of the three classes, Ron Hovland worked directly with the content writers, critiquing the courses, reviewing the student feedback, and helping direct changes to improve the material before its final release.

Benchmark Learning Wins Citrix Strategic Education Partner Award
EDINA, MN – January 28, 2008 – Benchmark Learning won the Citrix “Most Strategic Education Partner of 2007” award at the Citrix Summit in Orlando, FL. This is the third year Benchmark Learning has been recognized as a commendable partner by the Citrix community. This prestigious award is given to partners who have been instrumental throughout the year developing new and innovative delivery solutions for Citrix courses, keeping Citrix Education positioned at the forefront of technical education training. As a Citrix Authorized Learning Center, Benchmark Learning has collaborated throughout the year with the Citrix Education team and provided input and technical expertise.

11 Minnesota Non-Profits Picked for Free Overnight Website Makeover
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – February 18, 2008 – Eleven Minnesota non-profits will lose sleep while gaining a free professionally-designed and fully-developed website to further their mission at Sierra Bravo’s F1 Overnight Website Challenge presented by VISI, an event matching talented volunteer web pros with non-profits.

Press Releases

2010

2009

2008

2007

2006

2005

2004