Towson University Excel Certification Requirement
College of Business and Economics · MO-210
At Towson the Excel certification is not a separate hoop — it is how you pass the course. Fail the exam and you do not get a satisfactory grade in EBTM 250.
Requirement details verified against Towson’s own pages on August 26, 2026. Always confirm your deadline with College of Business and Economics.
What Towson requires
Towson's undergraduate catalog builds the certification into a required course. EBTM 250, Problem Solving in Business I, is a one-credit course graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and the catalog states that to earn a satisfactory grade students are required to pass the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Core exam and earn a MOS certification.
Failing it does not just cost you the credit, it stalls the sequence. EBTM 251 lists EBTM 250 as its prerequisite, and EBTM 337 requires both. The requirement reaches students in ACCT, BUAD, EBUS, PACT, PBUA and PEBU majors and the BUAN minor.
There is a way out, and it is upward: the catalog says EBTM 250 can be waived for students who have already obtained the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Expert certification, and EBTM 251 accepts Microsoft Expert Excel Certification in place of EBTM 250.
The exam is the associate-level Microsoft Office Specialist Excel certification. Towson's catalog uses the older Core wording and does not name a version — the current Microsoft 365 Apps associate exam is MO-210.
At a glance
Why passing on the first attempt matters
- The exam is the grade. EBTM 250 is graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory and the catalog ties a satisfactory grade directly to passing the certification exam, so there is no partial credit for effort.
- Because EBTM 251 and EBTM 337 both sit behind EBTM 250, failing the exam pushes a chain of courses rather than one.
- The Expert waiver runs the other way and is worth knowing about: a student who already holds MOS Excel Expert can have EBTM 250 waived entirely.
- 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.
Towson also lists EBTM 300, Problem Solving in Business, a three-credit course for the same majors that is closed to students who have taken EBTM 250 or 251. Its catalog entry says it PREPARES students for the associate-level certification exam — it does not say passing the exam is required to pass the course, the way EBTM 250 does. Which course you are in decides whether the certification is a requirement or a recommendation, so check your own catalog year with an advisor.
Core is the older name for what Microsoft now calls the Associate level, and the catalog names no year or edition. The current Microsoft 365 Apps associate exam is MO-210, which is what our practice exams are built for. Confirm with the College of Business and Economics which exam their testing arrangement uses before you prepare.
How we help you pass MO-210
Our practice exams are timed, task-based and scored out of 1000 against a 700 pass mark, the same shape as the exam EBTM 250 grades you on. Your first one is free and needs no card.
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 MO-210 exams are built from the official skills-measured outline rather than from someone's recollection of the exam, and our exam guide reproduces the objective domains and their weightings so you can see what is actually tested.
Towson waives EBTM 250 for students who already hold MOS Excel Expert, and EBTM 251 accepts it in place of EBTM 250. That credential comes from MO-211, and we build full practice exams for it, graded the same way. It is a harder exam, so measure yourself before committing to that route.
Towson Excel certification FAQ
Do I have to pass the Excel certification to pass EBTM 250?
According to Towson's undergraduate catalog, yes. EBTM 250 is graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory, and the catalog says that to earn a satisfactory grade students are required to pass the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Core exam and earn a MOS certification.
Which exam is the MOS Excel Core exam?
Core is the older name for the associate level of the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel certification. Towson's catalog does not name a version. The current Microsoft 365 Apps associate exam is MO-210, which is what our practice exams are built for — confirm with the college which version their testing arrangement uses.
What happens if I fail?
The catalog says students can repeat the course if they fail to pass, and the grade will be replaced. That is a second chance rather than a free one — EBTM 251 and EBTM 337 both list EBTM 250 as a prerequisite, so a repeat moves the courses behind it too.
Can I skip EBTM 250?
The catalog says the course can be waived for students who have already obtained the Microsoft Office Specialist Excel Expert level certification, and EBTM 251 accepts Microsoft Expert Excel Certification in place of EBTM 250. That credential comes from the MO-211 exam.
What about EBTM 300?
Towson also lists EBTM 300, a three-credit course for the same majors that is not open to students who completed EBTM 250 or 251. Its catalog entry says it prepares students for the associate-level certification exam, without the language tying a passing grade to passing the exam. Ask an advisor which course your catalog year puts you in.
Is Excel Experts Certify affiliated with Towson University?
No. We are an independent Certiport Authorized Test Center and practice-exam provider. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Towson University or its College of Business and Economics. Always confirm your own requirement with the college.
Sources
Every requirement, deadline and fee on this page comes from the pages below, read on August 26, 2026. Towson can change them at any time.
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 Towson University or the College of Business 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 College of Business 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.
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