Gravy, anyone?
Hello, this just in. new things in MCP benefits are now available online. Great! In addition to the Community Profiles I talked about already, MCPs now have access to the partner-level Knowledge Base. If you don't know what that means, it is a password-protected, more in-depth Knowledge Base than the public version. So you can log-in with your MCP credentials and find articles and how-tos that were just for people in Microsoft Partner organizations or MVPs in the past, I believe; make yourself useful around the office, for once, with your new Microsoft troubleshooting info and insiders' tips.
MCTs, now, can write and publish articles to the Knowledge Base, too, which is a great way to build recognition & help the community--plus nice recognition of how much expertise our trainers have on MSFT technology.
Other things we're tying out are a Certificate Manager--where you can create a downloadable certificate and print it out yourself if you are sick of waiting for yours in the mail (not that that would ever happen, of course). It works for certificates the same way that Logo Builder does--where you create a file based on the certifications you've earned, then store it and download or print or whatever you want to do with it. Plus there is some new fanciness with your official transcript, if you want to download it or print it.
More bits, links, and info on the MCP site:
Find out what is new for MCPs .
George, our MCP program manager, does an excellent job introducing all the bits; check it out. And register for the October 31 Live meeting, if you haven't already, to say hello and hear his vision for the program.
I hope everything is working. If not, I have a certain level of confidence that you will not hesitate to tell me.
Comments
Anonymous
October 18, 2007
Hmm, is it normal that it asks me for my MCP ID and my access code? (Yes, i'm using the right Live ID) (Yes, it worked just a few days ago) I've tried to request an access code for my MCP ID, but it says that the MCP ID is already registered :(Anonymous
October 18, 2007
The MCP Search function is very nice too!!! It's only too bad that you have to create a public-profile before you can be found. @Trika : Wouldn't it a great idea that you can find [b]all[/b] MCPs around the world (not just only the ones who made a public profile).Anonymous
October 18, 2007
btw Trika did you see my other comment about the links on the Certificationlogobuilder website? Some links are pointing to the Microsoft OWA Website :)Anonymous
October 18, 2007
the new features look good, but my certification planner no longer shows my cert path to MCSA. and i have at least one of the electives.Anonymous
October 19, 2007
Layout of transcript looks good. Same problem as Russell, certification planner doesn't show path to MCSE2003 (only 2 exams remaining for me), nor does it show MCSA2003 (which i have).Anonymous
October 19, 2007
@Helmer - no, it wouldn't be good because then we would be making a decision about people's personal information on their behalf. We want to respect the privacy of 2.1 million people who are certified - so this is an "opt-in" benefit! Those links are fixed (thanks to you pointing them out yesterday; thanks!) @Mark and Russell: thanks for letting us know. I'll see if that is being worked on.Anonymous
October 19, 2007
George's post calls this "phase 1"... sounds like more is coming later, then, in more 'phases'... The What's New page says: "The appearance of your paper Certificates of Achievement will complement the new, downloadable transcript format. The hard-copy version will reflect your requested improvements in the form of four-color printing, better quality paper to prevent bending in shipment, a Microsoft watermark, and a metallic seal." Sounds great. But will they go back to using full 8.5"x11" paper? And when will they begin using these? I received my generic MCTS and generic MCITP kits a few days ago, but the specific ones haven't arrived yet (despite being requested at the same time). Perhaps they are on hold to send out the 'new and improved' versions?Anonymous
October 19, 2007
As an addendum to Alice's wishes, i would prefer it if Microsoft offered an option to order normal paper formats, like A4.Anonymous
October 19, 2007
The comment has been removedAnonymous
October 19, 2007
Oh, by the way. This has been annoying for a while... Even when I am already signed in on Windows Live, when I go to the private MCP site, it says: "Welcome to the Microsoft Certification Member Sites. You must be a certified professional and have a Windows Live ID to proceed. Please click the Windows Live icon to sign in or create a Windows Live ID." But it displays the "Sign Out" icon because I am already signed in. So I have to click that and sign out, and then sign in again! Has anyone else been having this problem? Any chance of getting it fixed to properly detect the sign-in status?Anonymous
October 19, 2007
Alice - I've had that issue for a good few months at least.Anonymous
October 19, 2007
Trika, I love the improvements to the MCP site …especially the ability to print my certificates. Nice updates !!!Anonymous
October 19, 2007
One possible improvment for transcript manager. I first earned my MCSE 3.5 (really just MCSE) back in 1997 - and this was on my paper transcript. Then because of different exam expirations I was need to take more exams, but now my transcripts says - MCSE NT4 - 2004. I really like my 5-digits MCP ID, and "Certified from 1994" on the card, but really miss these 7 years of really tough MCSE 3.5 on my transcript. Even with "expired" qualifier.Anonymous
October 20, 2007
hmm, maybe just me can someone else confirm. Appears I cannot view my profile unless signed in, despite having made a section public. Is this intended? (i.e. non-mcp's can access public content, but only if logged in to a live ID?)Anonymous
October 21, 2007
The comment has been removedAnonymous
October 23, 2007
Ian did you contact helpdesk?Anonymous
October 26, 2007
Supergroovy, this is all neat stuff. I dig it mucho.Anonymous
October 28, 2007
The new printout options are a nice feature. One problem though, when I print my transcript, the sorting is strange. My exams and certifications are not sorted by number, description, or date, it's very confusing. Do other people experience the same?Anonymous
October 28, 2007
Another thing I just noticed : On the transcript web-page it displays my home address. On the downloaded transcript it displays my business address.Anonymous
October 31, 2007
Hi all, This morning I went to the revamped MCP web site and download my Certificates for my Vista MCITP and MCTS designations. I really love Microsoft had introduced Certificate Manager (within the MCP site, under Program Benefits -> Logo Builder). Now the MCP members who recently earn the New Generation Certs can download their certs either in PDF or .XPS format . The color quality overall is much better than the Generic ones I had got a few months ago. For more info on this, log on to your account on the MCP site.Anonymous
November 26, 2007
Rene, all with benefits issues (transcript errors, etc) and you've already tried the helpdesk (or it is an improvement suggestion, not an issue) please send to georgeop at Microsoft.com--include your MCP ID as that will help sort out any escalation. Thanks for letting us know what is going on!