Seattle Pacific University Excel Certification Requirement
School of Business, Government, and Economics · MO-210
At Seattle Pacific, several School of Business, Government, and Economics majors route first-year students through a one-credit course built around a single exam. Here is what it requires.
Requirement details verified against SPU’s own pages on September 16, 2026. Always confirm your deadline with School of Business, Government, and Economics.
What SPU requires
Seattle Pacific's undergraduate catalog describes BUS 1700, Spreadsheets, as a tutorial course that prepares students to take the initial MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) Excel exam, with practice exams culminating in the actual first-level MOS Excel exam at the end of the course. The catalog states plainly that passing the exam fulfills the spreadsheet competency requirement in SBGE.
That requirement reaches beyond one major. SPU's own program pages list BUS 1700 as required coursework in the Accounting (BS) major and in every Politics, Philosophy & Economics concentration we checked — Applied Economics, Financial Economics, International Affairs, and Law — each with freshman-year notes stating that spreadsheet competency is required for courses early on and instructing students to take BUS 1700 in winter or spring quarter.
The Accounting (BS) page uses the same pattern, listing BUS 1700 among the major's required courses and adding a freshman note to take it winter or spring quarter at the latest — first-year timing, stated by quarter rather than a specific date.
SPU's catalog names the exam only as the initial or first-level MOS Excel exam, with no year or version. The current Microsoft 365 Apps associate-level exam is MO-210, which is what our practice exams are built for.
At a glance
Why passing on the first attempt matters
- The catalog ties passing the exam directly to satisfying a named school requirement — spreadsheet competency in SBGE — not merely to completing a low-stakes elective.
- Every program page we checked places BUS 1700 in the freshman year, on a quarter-specific timeline, so an unprepared first attempt lands early, when a student has the least context for how the course and exam actually work.
- Because SPU names no exam version, preparing from the wrong source is a real risk, not a hypothetical one.
- MO-210 is performance-based: you complete tasks in a live Excel workbook rather than answering multiple-choice questions about Excel. Reading about Excel does not prepare you for that.
The course description calls this the initial or first-level MOS Excel exam and states no year or edition anywhere we could find. The current Microsoft 365 Apps associate exam is MO-210, which is what our practice exams are built for. Confirm with SBGE which exam version BUS 1700 currently books students into before you prepare.
SPU's catalog does not carry a single page stating that all SBGE undergraduates must complete BUS 1700. What we found, and cite below, is that Accounting (BS) and four Politics, Philosophy & Economics concentrations each list it as required coursework in their own program pages. If your major is not one of these, confirm with an SBGE advisor whether the spreadsheet competency requirement applies to you and how.
How we help you pass MO-210
Our practice exams are timed, task-based, and scored out of 1000 against the same 700 pass mark MOS exams use. Your first one is free and needs no card — take it before BUS 1700's own exam session.
You do the tasks in your own desktop Excel and upload the workbook. We grade what you did, task by task, and show you which tasks cost you points, so your next attempt is aimed at something specific instead of at studying Excel in general.
Our practice exams are built from Microsoft's published skills-measured outline for MO-210, and our exam guide reproduces the objective domains and their weightings so you can see what is actually tested.
Everything we do runs in your own copy of Excel and is graded on the workbook you upload. There is no travel involved in practicing, whatever BUS 1700's own exam session looks like this quarter.
SPU Excel certification FAQ
Do I have to pass an Excel exam at Seattle Pacific?
If your major is one of the ones we verified — Accounting (BS), or the Applied Economics, Financial Economics, International Affairs, or Law concentrations within Politics, Philosophy & Economics — the program page lists BUS 1700, Spreadsheets, as required coursework, and SPU's catalog says passing the MOS Excel exam at the end of that course fulfills SBGE's spreadsheet competency requirement. If your major is not one of these, confirm with an SBGE advisor.
Which Excel exam does BUS 1700 use?
SPU's catalog calls it the initial or first-level MOS (Microsoft Office Specialist) Excel exam and does not name a year or version. The current Microsoft 365 Apps associate exam is MO-210, which is what our practice exams are built for — confirm with SBGE which version BUS 1700 currently books.
When should I take BUS 1700?
SPU's program pages place it in the freshman year. The Accounting (BS) page and several Politics, Philosophy & Economics concentration pages specifically say to take it winter or spring quarter at the latest.
What does passing the exam actually satisfy?
SPU's own course description for BUS 1700 states that passing the exam fulfills the spreadsheet competency requirement in SBGE, the School of Business, Government, and Economics — described as a school-level requirement rather than a grade in the one-credit course itself.
Is Excel Experts Certify affiliated with Seattle Pacific University?
No. We are an independent Certiport Authorized Test Center and practice-exam provider. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Seattle Pacific University or the School of Business, Government, and Economics. Always confirm your own requirement with SBGE.
Sources
Every requirement, deadline and fee on this page comes from the pages below, read on September 16, 2026. SPU can change them at any time.
- BUS 1700, Spreadsheets, course description — Seattle Pacific University Catalog
- Accounting (BS), including required coursework and freshman notes — Seattle Pacific University Catalog
- Politics, Philosophy & Economics: Applied Economics (BA), including required coursework and freshman notes — Seattle Pacific University Catalog
Excel Experts Certify is an independent practice-exam provider and a Certiport Authorized Test Center. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Seattle Pacific University or the School of Business, Government, and Economics. University names are used here only to identify whose requirement is described. This page is informational; your requirement, deadline and fees are whatever School of Business, Government, and Economics says they are.
Walk into MO-210 knowing your score
Take a full, timed practice exam, upload the workbook you built, and get a score out of 1000 with per-task feedback. Your first one is free.
No credit card. Add the free exam to your cart on the practice exams page.