Microsoft Learning announces Prometric as exam provider

Artículo
07/06/2007

Microsoft Learning (my group) has some ambitious plans in the arena of increasing the value of Microsoft Certifications. I.e. keeping pace with Microsoft technology releases and the industry, looking at ways to improve your test-taking experience, and protecting the integrity of your certifications*.

In line with that, we have decided to partner with just one exam provider for delivery of our exams in the future—setting us up to improve your testing and certification experience. The change is that in the past we have worked with two partners—Pearson VUE and Prometric—and in the future we will be partnering with just Prometric. If you’re bothering to read my blog, you’re probably pretty familiar with one or both of these excellent organizations.

We have a policy of making big announcements to internal Microsoft people first, then to our closest business partners (i.e. the CPLS training partners and MCTs), before we make public announcements. So I know some of you have already heard this. But here is the announcement:

Microsoft Learning announces its decision to move forward with Prometric for delivery of its Microsoft professional certification and Microsoft Dynamics exams. Pearson VUE will discontinue selling Microsoft professional certification exams after August 31, 2007. To accommodate those who purchase Microsoft professional certification exams through August 31, Pearson VUE will continue to administer the exams through December 31, 2007. Pearson VUE will discontinue selling and administering Microsoft Dynamics exams after December 31, 2007. Additional details regarding this transition will follow over the next few months.

As usual, official announcements are impressively official and somewhat lacking in juicy details. I am kind of the opposite; I’m not particularly official and I’m a huge fan of J.D.s. In this case, however, there have been months and months of discussions, negotiations, meetings, and debate over this very big decision—and I wasn’t present for any of that, so I won't espouse on all the ins and outs. Here are the bits I do know:

By working with one exam delivery partner, Microsoft Learning will be able to get more efficient--ultimately improving how things go for you when you're working on a Microsoft Certification. In my understanding, this could mean that you'll see things like faster roll-out of new testing technologies (maybe you've heard that our goal is to have simulations in every MCTS exam in the future?); a more consistent testing environment (i.e. security, comfort, equipment, moderating...); efficiencies in getting the exams we release (hundreds every year) to a test center near you; more efficient and integrated reporting of your records (this one is near and dear to my heart--perhaps it is to yours, too, if you've ever had to merge your records...); less complicated troubleshooting, and therefore faster resolution, of any reporting or testing issues (wait! this one is nearer and dearer to my heart... ).

For those of you who only take exams at Prometric today, there is no action required. For those of you who take Microsoft exams with Pearson VUE, you will (understandably) have lots of questions about how this will work. Microsoft Learning and Prometric will take every possible step to make sure that those of you who need to transition to Prometric for Microsoft testing will be taken care of.

Having said all that, I want to say clearly that this decision was not made lightly. Would it be too OT to add a personal note here? I will. Man! What a pleasure it has been to work with Pearson VUE. I know we'll do great things with Prometric, and this decision has my support. But only half my heart! Thank you, friends at Pearson VUE. <edited 7/6 to stay slightly more on topic!> But back to business. This is a big change and it will affect many of you, all of us at Microsoft Learning, and, of course, the people we've been working with at both of our partners to deliver certification to you. Knowing that, there is a lot of work to be done to make this transition work for everyone. We will announce this in the MCP newsletter this month and we’ll be sharing more information on the transition as we have it. In the meantime, let us know if you have questions and we’ll get you the information you need.

*I say that a lot, and it occurs to me it might sound pretentious or, worse, like meaningless business-speak. What I mean by 'protecting the integrity' is making it harder for people to earn "paper MCSEs" and the like--to give people confidence that a Microsoft Certified professional has the skills and/or experience their credential says they do.

Comments

Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Bad news. Very bad news. Very very bad news.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
I can tell you that I am really disappointed. I live in a rural area, and the closest Vue center to my home is 24 miles. But the closest Prometric center is over 55 miles. This will force my testing experience to take an entire day instead of just part of one. Why didn't Microsoft consult with us about this decision? I understand that you guys can actually see the raw numbers about who is taking what where, but you need to consider all of us. Also, my experience with several Prometric centers (before I found this Vue center) is very bad. It is going to be really hard for me to make this transition. And I wonder if it will even be worth it. I may start looking to other certification vendors.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
In my humble experience in Canada, VUE is doing far better than Prometric and I have no glue why Microsoft needs to switch to Prometric instead. I agree, this is absolutely very SAD SAD indeed.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Very bad news. I had a VUE test center around the corner. My closest Prometric center is 100 miles away,..... counting the time (and money) for travelling, I will probably skip certification as I do not need to certify. And the change to skip to other certification, which I can do at VUE is made a bit easier.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
The reasoning behind the change seems to be the same reasoning that Citrix used for a couple of years. They recently added VUE as a second testing option. It is odd that Microsoft made the opposite change shortly after the Citrix change. Did anyone from MS Learning talk to their counterparts at Citrix Learning to get some inside scoop as to why Citrix changed from one provider to two? The test center I use offers both providers, so this change will not have much effect for me. From I customer service point of view, I have prefer VUE. thanks for the info
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
What is probably going to happen is either more Prometric centers will open or some VUE centers will switch to Prometric or either work with both providers.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
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Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Andy, I don't think that many VUE providers are going to switch to Prometric (or provide both). A few years ago I used to work for a testing site, and they just changed from prometric to VUE. VUE is a lot better in many ways (compared to Prometric). Also for customers, VUE is a lot more convenient then Prometric, for customers and test providers.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
For sure, I totally agree with Larry and hartplaza and I have to say that Microsoft is making the wrong choice this time. Hope someone will agree with me.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Same thing here, the closest testing center is 120 miles away! in other words...i have to take the entire day off, and pay for the travel expenses...(N)
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
I just found out the closest Prometric center does not offer any Microsoft beta exams. So I will have to drive even farther for Betas. Now, I am GREATLY rethinking the whole recertification thing. I wondered if Microsoft anticipated these problems.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
I'll add my two cents as well here. The test center I go to offers both VUE and Prometric and I've tested using both delivery providers. Despite both being at the same location, I found the VUE administration and customer service to be far better than Prometric. Is MS going to light a fire under Prometric to get their act in order?
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
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Anonymous
July 06, 2007
This is really sad fa real...i use prometric, but most pple i know use VUE....like my friends in trinidad they all use VUE...i agree with hyperpixie, microsoft should atleast hear what we have to say before making such move...but am sure its not too late for a change, right trika?
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
That move just eliminated the local testing place myself and a few guys from the Windows usergroup use who live close to Kingston. I personally liked the VUE location since it was just around the corner in Kingston and I thought their website was easier to navigate. I guess I'll see what happens, what's done is done.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
I am cool with prometric...but why not have both VUE n Pro, whats the the cause of the big switch...come on MS do better than that !!!!
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
We all know that when Trika gets her welcome kit for passing 70-620 (you did take and pass it, didn't you? Did you remember to ask for the welcome kit? - they don't send it out automatically like they used to), she'll finally understand our complaints in that area. Unfortunately, Microsoft has their own testing center and thus their people are probably unaware how poor Prometric really is, and never will become aware. While this decision doesn't rate up there with Windows ME, it's awfully close. Also, Trika, Chance left off a few very's.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
It's not a question of if this change makes sense. It's who got paid. I finished my MCSE but was considering some more in between, like Vista, while working on the Cisco side. With my nearest Prometric 2.5 hours away as opposed to the multiple VUE centers nearby there's no reason to bother.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
After the very bad experience with the beta exam 71-620, this news comes normally in the path that Microsoft has adopted in the last months. Removing the VUE as testing partner is a another bad move by Microsoft. I will take only one more M$ exam. Guess what: at a VUE center !
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
This decision was not made to better the testing experience. It's all about the money. With Prometric's track record I'm sure they bought the business. I don't believe anyone could say with a straight face Microsoft will now have better service or become innovative. I wouldn't want to be management in Microsoft Learning 12 months from now...
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Larry, I did that in the interest of space.:) Like most other Vue folks, I'm just a little ticked (translate into sarcasm if you wish because it's loaded with it) on this decision and do not understand why it was made so swiftly with no input from the community.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
I think this must rank as MSL's worst ever decision. There is no value to the test taker, and several disadvantages. The consultation was poor to non-existant. And while there may be advantages to MS Learning, the benfits to the customer are thin at best. Reconsider this decision.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
I think this decision has been made because they may have found out that Pearson Vue is leaking in Asian Regions. That way they will decrease the risk of complete braindumps, as they are out right know. It may not be the best step (in short term) for most of the Learning Providers and Customers, but it is definitely the right step to increase the value of Microsoft Certifications!
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Microsoft Certfication will change
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Are you all really that upset about this??? Wow.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
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Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Michael, it is a bit upsetting. Here's some of my initial concerns.

Location of testing centers. I wrote a few comments ago it doesn't really impact me as the center I go to already offers both Prometric and Pearson VUE. However, for a lot of the folks posting here they don't have any nearby Prometric centers. While I'm sure many of the "VUE only" places will now become Prometric/VUE over time, there's no way to tell if that will actually happen and if it does, when.
The Microsoft FAQ answer as to why this was done indicates it was to "ensure program enhancements" and "streamline internal processes" among others. I read this to mean: "less costly and/or easier for us." For many people who actually take the exams, it's the opposite.
At the center I go to (again, both Prometric and VUE), I took MS exams through both EDPs. I found the Prometric website to be a pain in the neck to navigate, the testing PCs to be flaky, the exam engine to crash, test results slow to make it to MS, and customer service to be non-existent. When I switched to VUE, I didn't have these issues so I stuck with them. I'm sure this decision wasn't made lightly by Microsoft, but at the same time I want the same testing experience with Prometric that I had with VUE. Only time will tell if this comes to pass as right now all we have is the corporate spiel of "Hey, hey one EDP is good! Trust us!"

Anonymous
July 06, 2007
This is a horrible decision on Microsoft's part. The closest Prometric testing center from my area is over 2-hours away. The PearsonVUE I go to is my school and, of course, is close and convenient. I do not know why Microsoft would choose Prometric over PearsonVUE - especially since Prometric has less Testing centers.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
This really is an unfortunate decision. Without fail, every Vue testing center in my area has better equipment than their Prometric counterpart. And, as other people have mentioned, Vue is more convenient to me than Prometric. If you're going to force us to use Prometric, I hope that you force Prometric to get better control of their quality with their testing providers/centers.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
I agree with most everyone else. This is very bad news for me as there are several local Vue testing centers and no Prometric testing centers. I guess I won't be updating my MCSE any time soon.
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Bad news, I've been using VUE since 2000 and they were always very fine in Peru and Spain as well.. I hope that Microsoft solves the issue about creating a new MCP ID when changing exam provider. Microsoft and Prometric MUST offer the option of provide our current MCP ID at the moment of register for first time, otherwise the Microsoft Support will have a lot of issues of people asking for consolidate their resumes......
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
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Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Daniel wrote at July 06, 2007 5:24 PM ;"I think this decision has been made because they may have found out that Pearson Vue is leaking in Asian Regions.". Daniel, That's not what the FAQ tells us. MS is stating that it is due to streamlining processes, etc. ets. Of course, when you reduce the amount of test centers, it will reduce the risk of leaking material. But if this is the reason, MS should come with a better explaination. I hope they made good agreemants with Prometric, about giving better service, making the website better and raising the amount of testcenters in areas only covered by VUE. Again, I am not going to travel 4 hours (2 hours to the test center, and 2 hours back home) for testing. So I can (AND WILL) take the inconvinience of Prometric, but NOT the inconvinience of traveling (and the travel expenses above the certification expenses). So hopefully MS will do something about geographical spreading of Prometric test centers. (mabey it's part of the deal ?)
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
This only increases the amount of people who will hire gunmen to achieve certifications for them. This is a bad decision. -- Taylor S. Ripley CertGuard Security Executive http://www.certguard.com
Anonymous
July 06, 2007
Wow, what a terrible move. On so many levels. You just alienated all the folks who do not have a Prometric center near them (like me) and just made certification more difficult instead of increasing the integrity. Just remember, we have to pay good money to take these exams plus any study materials. Then we have to travel to take the exams at a certified testing center. I know you guys must have some worthless business reason (short of VUE going out of business) for doing this and it sure does not pass the common sense test. Get a clue from all the blog responses above and re-think your decision! Think of your customers!!! Not yourselves!!
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
For mitigate this problems, I thinks is one good option to Microsoft and Prometric, not to VUE, make promotions with agressive LOW, LOW, VERY LOW!!! PRICES to migrate Vue Centers do Prometric Centers.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
I'm gonna throw in an additional 2 cents here... I'm currently pursuing MCSE 2k3 /w Security and have sat 2 exams over the past month. Each time (and for that matter every other MS exam I've taken through Vue) my pass was noted within 24 hours on their site and on my MS transcript within 72 hours. Now I don't know if the rest of you have had that experience outside of the problems with the Vista MCITP beta exams, but to me that turnaround is pretty impressive. I have heard nothing but bad things about Prometric, their lack of real customer service, and sad state of information reporting from co-workers and other friends I have in our local IT community who have used Prometric in the past. Personal observations aside, I agree with other posters here in the belief that this decision feels rushed, not thought out fully, and not planned very well. This is a very bad decision and one that I believe will cause MSL to lose more than just money on this. (Have we forgotten the whole Vista rewrite thing already?) Yes, I understand the value of certifications and believe that the integrity of those certifications should be upheld to highest degree possible, but I also believe that more effort should be put into protecting that integrity not only by the community at-large, but also by the vendors and Microsoft. There are better ways than to just wantonly dismiss an exam provider because you want to streamline the process. I'm quite sure we all have some pretty good ideas on what can be done to preserve the integrity and quality of certifications. Why don't the folks at MSL have a Q&A with the community and actually listen to us for once without having to take the proverbial pie in the face as they did with Vista and the old NT4 certs way back when?
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
My personal experience suggests that Prometric centres may be few and far between, but the quality of those centres is far better than Vue centres. I think this is a necessary step taken by MS which should be a shot in the arm for those people who were crying out for strict Exam security measures. If having one Exam provider makes it easier for MS to control Exam delivery, then so be it. I think I could stand to be a little inconvenienced if Exam Security is strengthened in the long run. I also think that this decision would probably lead to Prometric opening more centres as welling as improving the existing centres.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
WOW!!! It's amazing how so many people WANT to increase the value of their certifications, but gripe about the methods when personally affected. Here are a few points that I've come up with to justify why this should be done: #1 Fewer testing centers, fewer possibilities of the exams being leaked to the public (i.e. braindump materials). #2 Hired Gunmen will have fewer opportunities to take proxy tests for people, and it will be easier to track/catch them if they do. #3 Fewer testing centers, fewer people frivolously getting certified whenever they FEEL like it. Ultimately resulting in people that NEED to certify, getting certified. #4 Once T.Prometric has the sole rights to administer Microsoft Exams, they should have the time, money, and resources to increase the number of testing centers and the quality of their testing equipment. So it is only a matter of time before you'll have more testing centers in your area. #5 This opens up possibilities for Microsoft to actually have their own dedicated Testing Facilities. I'm sure I'll get flak from this but, as a leader in the IT Community dedicated to Exam Security and Integrity, I back this decision by Microsoft 100%, Trika. And furthermore, I hope other's follow suit. -- CertGuard
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
This sounds really bad!! It's a bad news to say that you'll have only one exam provider. Actually, VUE and Prometric can cover the territory enough, and here in Italy VUE is significantly better that Prometric. What happens after this decision? We'll have again a testing center in a near location or what? This is not a good choice if you want to increase the number of people involved on certifictions... if I have to move too much from my location for an exam, I don't know if I'll take lots of them in the future. Too bad!
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
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Anonymous
July 07, 2007
Robert, I love and appreciate the heck out of what you guys at CertGuard do, but I have to disagree with you on some points on this. >>#1 Fewer testing centers, fewer possibilities of the exams being leaked to the public (i.e. braindump materials). Also fewer people with fewer opportunities to take fewer exams who need to take them for more available jobs that will most likely wind up in India or Pakistan that should remain in the US (personal opinion - sorry). This leads into your point #2 >>#2 Hired Gunmen will have fewer opportunities to take proxy tests for people, and it will be easier to track/catch them if they do. I believe that due to the lack of testing sites in areas that Vue (or Prometric for that matter) is already in, this will actually lead to an increase in this practice. Yes, it may be easier to track and catch gunmen with only one testing provider, but realisticially who's gonna travel 200 miles just to take a single MS exam when they may require multiple exams to achieve a certification such as MCSE? >>#3 Fewer testing centers, fewer people frivolously getting certified whenever they FEEL like it. Ultimately resulting in people that NEED to certify, getting certified. While I'm sure that there are some who will do just about anything to attain a certification and that big jump in pay, I don't think that having to travel to take a test that you REALLY NEED to take is going to sit well with most in the community. As for the NEED versus the WANT for certifications, there are those who have literally decades of experience in IT that just never felt the NEED to get certified. On the opposite end of the spectrum there are folks out there who just WANT a cert because they feel it will give them a better shot a a job. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but certification exams are something you HAVE to be prepared to take and must have experience in the technology to be successful. >>#4 Once T.Prometric has the sole rights to administer Microsoft Exams, they should have the time, money, and resources to increase the number of testing centers and the quality of their testing equipment. So it is only a matter of time before you'll have more testing centers in your area. Key word in your point is SHOULD. The question becomes will they? Given the nature of this issue and the lower amount of Prometric testing centers versus number of Vue centers, this situation is going to get much worse before it starts slowly getting better. >>#5 This opens up possibilities for Microsoft to actually have their own dedicated Testing Facilities. Dedicated testing facilities lead to a lack of availability. Is it really practical for MS to open a dedicated facility in every major US city? Not really. There really is no competition between the exam providers because the price structure is set by the certification vendor (in this case Microsoft). The choice of testing center is based on two things - availability and user experience. If a Vue testing center is 25 miles away and a Prometric center is 30 miles away, then the problem isn't all that bad and it becomes a choice based on the candidate's experience with the testing providers and obviously, the best experience is going to win out. Now, if the Prometric center is 200 miles away, then the choice becomes much more evident. --end comments-- As I said Robert, you guys do the community a great service, but I can't logically see how this development betters the security and integrity of certifications as a whole. There has to be a better way for certifiaction exams to evaluate a candidates skills without taking away availability of testing centers. I'm sorry man, but the idea of going to one testing provider is a ludicrous idea and one I'm sure Microsoft will see when the next round of certification surveys come out.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
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Anonymous
July 07, 2007
Microsoft Dropping VUE and Using Prometric Exclusively for Certification
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
Read my opinion at: http://frenchfamily.org/hunter/?p=190
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
People, don't get so excited. Either you will take those tests and get certified or you don't. For every exam I took by now I had to travel 250 miles. Now, I'll have to take 350 miles trip. So what? I know I will take MS exams in the future, but now two on the same day, as I did some time ago. Best thing to do is to sit down, study and watch the things develop in the next months. If I have to choose between test center availability and proxymity AND value of certifications I studied for, then I choose value (and protection, integrity and value of my time (and money) I invested in certifications).
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
Mr. :-O : Rather than ridiculing the pioneering efforts of other members of the IT community, it would have been more prudent on your part to list the reasons why you believe this action is wrong. All you have done is quote selfish reasons. Anything that is personally inconvenient to you is a wrong decision ?? Also, what use are clauses in NDA's, when those clauses are not adhered to ? I tend to agree with Aki in that I would gladly choose to suffer a little inconvenience in locating a proximal test center rather than face the daunting prospect of having my certifications rendered valueless over time. Note: We are also discussing this topic in our forums at http://www.certguard.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=231. Those interested are invited to express their opinion freely.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
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Anonymous
July 07, 2007
I second what Chance said above. Travel differences aside, from the comments above and speaking with colleagues it seems that: Prometric = bad testing experience VUE = good testing experience I'd really like to know what MSL is going to do to improve the testing experience with Prometric now that it's our only EDP option.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
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Anonymous
July 07, 2007
AKI, One thing I don't understand. ALL big IT Certifications like CITRIX, CISCO, SUN, IBM, etc. etc. etc. are fully happy with delivering exams through Prometric AND VUE. Is Microsoft saying that all those solid firms are wrong, and should only provide testing through Prometric, or does Microft know something all these other companies don't??? Why on earth thinks MS is better by providing testing through only one provider? I am very curious to the outcome. One thing is for sure. The changes I will do testing at a prometric centre is very small, because of te big inconvinience. A testing center (VUE) around the corner is atractive to go around for a test, but having to travel half a day also means to arange things at work. I asked the VUE center (around the corner) if they would also become Prometric testing center, they gave me a big "NO WAY" as answer. Why should they? They provide all testing, except for MS and they said, it's not their loss.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
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Anonymous
July 07, 2007
Chance makes a good point regarding VUE not knowing the reasoning behind this either. If you look at their FAQs at http://www.vue.com/ms/ regarding this issue, they're as much in the dark regarding the reasoning as everyone else.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
I don't like this move at all. I've been to many Prometric and VUE centers and have liked my VUE experiences more than Prometric. Bad move IMO.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
The point is that this is a big change, I know Prometric, and personally I prefer VUE, too, and now is even harder to schedule test where and when we want. But if you look behind numbers (people, money from certs & books, reputation) you will see - guess what? - money, of course. I find it hard to believe that someone made an impulsive decision without thinking twice. After all, self-destruction is in human nature...
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
Regarding testing centers and security: Here in Louisville, we have two Prometric centers, one with two computers to do testing on, and one with only one. Both are "monitored" by a secretary in another room. At the one with two testing computers (a for-profit chain training center), you can see the monitor at the secretary's desk. The other one (a for-profit private college), you can't see it, and I doubt it is there. (The only time I took an exam there, the computer froze, and I had to go find the person who was "monitoring" me.) At the Pearson Vue center I have taken my exams at lately, there are 13 testing computers, and there is a dedicated person who is actually looking over peoples' shoulders to monitor the exams. Robert (Certguard), if my personal experience is typical, Vue is a lot better in regards to exam security than Prometric ever will be. Of course, some Prometric centers are better than some Vue centers, but not in my community. (Perhaps in the Seattle area?) When Vue is dropped, testing opportunities will drop by over 90% in Louisville (which is now actually larger than Seattle). Microsoft should have announced steps to improve exam availability as well as Prometric improvements when they announced the Vue cutoff. To assume that Prometric will improve is clearly not based on any fact. Like Chance, whom I mostly agree with on this issue (especially on Trika rawking), I also look forward to Trika's replies to our concerns. In regards to "people at MS are smart," I have just three words: Windows Millenium Edition. (Although in MS Learning's defense, they didn't offer any certifications in ME.)
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
Mike, I think VUE is being smart not to give the whole information behind this. They are keeping the door open for MS testing, not saying anything negative about MS and refering to MS for further questions about the whole thing.
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
Trika, (or any other person knowing the answers) is it possible to provide us with numbers? How many Prometric testing facilities are there, and how many VUE? How many exams had Promedtric deliverd, and how many had VUE delivered? Is theire any information about geographical spreading of the testing centers? I'm sure this kind of informations should be available at MS and should be information used for making this big decission ??
Anonymous
July 07, 2007
I don't like this news at all.
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
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Anonymous
July 08, 2007
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Anonymous
July 08, 2007
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Anonymous
July 08, 2007
As a MCT trainer, I take a lot of exams to stay up-to-date with my certifications. (It's a requirement for any certified trainer.) So I'm pretty familiar with both VUE and Prometric. Usually, the customer experience at VUE centers is better. Now this being said, the experience will vary greatly from one testing center to another. But for my money, in my area, I always favored VUE. I hope people at MSL will reconsider. If not, I wish that the Prometric experience in Eastern Canada will improve.
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Hey Trika, Happy birthday on your mom. Hope you get to spend time with her, instead of reading through the comments here,.... Hopefully, somewhere next week, MSL will come with some good answers and explainations to the questions and (for the most part) concerns here... thanks.
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Chance, as far as I know only Cisco and Red Hat have performance-based testing in their exams. I believe Cisco only has it for the CCIE lab practical, but Red Hat requires a lab for all of their certs. I'm all for performance-based testing, but I think it would be hard for Microsoft to offer it. For the CCIE lab, you have to go to (in the US, anyway) one of two Cisco locations. The fee for the exam is also huge. Red Hat offers more locations and the fee is pennies compared to Cisco, but imagine these programs implemented to the scale that the Microsoft program is. Maybe we need a performance-based cert between MCITP/MCPD and MCA. Trika, happy birthday to your mom. :) And thanks for listening to our blather on a Sunday.
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Mike, the biggest difference between CCIE and Microsft PBTs could be that a Virtaul PC type interface could be used. Ideally this would be similar to yet better than the current simulation questions and be able to be evaluated at the testing site based on the end state of the virtual machine at the end of the exam. I would openly advocate a PBT for the ITP: Enterprise Admin, MCPD, and MCA. I could see some use for some MCTS exams as well on technology such as SQL 2k5 and Server 2k8. Ideally, this could be offered at each testing site rather than have a situation similar to CCIE or Red Hat. The biggest difference with MS certs and the Red Hat and CCIE certs are that the MS certs are targeted to specific technologies and specialties, not just the broad-ranging specializations of the CCIE or Red Hat.
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Trika, Happy B-Day to your mom!
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
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Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Chance, your VPC idea is a good one. The MS cert simulations now are limited in the sense that you can't go "hog wild" like you could if it were a complete VPC image. The are often many ways to accomplish a task but the current sims seem to want you to do things a particular way (I haven't taken a sim exam in two years though so it might have changed now).
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
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Anonymous
July 08, 2007
I have to chime in - I got a prometric buy one get one free voucher at TechEd this year and decided to give them another shot... Vue has them beat hands down in helpful staff and the ability to schedule same-day testing (which is invaluable if you have a very fluid schedule). I'm very sorry to see Vue go and hope you guys reconsider. I have a small IT staff that I'm responsible for, but also make testing / certification recommendations for the rest of our department and just sent an email out recommending Vue for these very reasons (also - they'd post exam results same day, not the "up to a week" Prometric takes... what's up with that?). Looks like I'm going to have to eat my words unless you guys change direction.
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Vue was far better than Prometric.. This is sad...
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Oggi entrando in ufficio a bologna mi è stato comunicato da Marta Bernardi che Microsoft ha deciso di
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Hi Chance, I believe that some degree of statistical analysis of test results does take place, however I do not know if it’s demographic in nature or not. I do recall reading in the Proctor guidelines at my local test center (Prometric, for those who love details) that if a candidate answers all his/her questions correctly in an abnormally short time, it does qualify as a "suspicious case" and certain alerts are raised at some levels. Unfortunately, I don’t have more info on this. (maybe Trika can enlighten us) Also, related to your earlier comment, the past few months have seen a lot of brainstorming about a better way not only to administer exams but also on the Exam format and Creation. See Howard Dierking’s blog, http://tinyurl.com/2hvhwn, also this post from Trika http://tinyurl.com/yogfr7, and our forums http://www.certguard.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=231. That’s a lot of food for thought. ;-) I appreciate your comments about CertGuard. Robert is travelling and I’m busy as usual, which explains the apparent dearth of responses from our side. I’d still like a few words with you in person. I see no url in your posts or I’d contact you directly. Trika, I greatly appreciate your letting us know that all these comments from the IT community actually mean something and are valued as feedback by the powers that be.
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
Darn it, wrong link. This is where "Community based development" of exams was discussed in our forum : http://www.certguard.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=198. Sorry, Trika.
Anonymous
July 08, 2007
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Anonymous
July 09, 2007
This is the worst decision I've ever heard about the MCP program. Prometric has very often computer problems so I cannot schedule tests there. Furthermore the next Prometric test center is about 70 miles away, the next Pearson VUE about 10 miles. I have a lot of friends that take the 072 (academic) tests. At Pearson VUE you can schedule them online, at Prometric only via phone and about every second time they cannot schedule it because of computer problems...
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
Piling on here but this is a very poor decision on your org's part. Why would a company want to limit it market exposure and availability? I just got through reading dozens of posts from those saying they will have to re-think their MCP path because of the physical availability of testing centers. What a loss! I echo many others in the bad experiences with Prometric lately. I swore them off after my last 2 experiences. They goofed everything possible. My testing center worked with both companies and they advised me to use Vue instead. I have had nothing but good service from Vue.
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
I need to disagree with almost everyone here. I have been going to a VUE/Prometric testing site for the past 5 years. I have tested with VUE and with Prometric. I have not had one bad experience with one or the other. If the testing centers that are only VUE want to stay in business they will start becoming Prometric testing centers as well, they will not be able to afford losing half of their business.
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
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Anonymous
July 09, 2007
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Anonymous
July 09, 2007
I have taken over 225 exams in the last 11 years at both Prometric and VUE testing centers, and while I think we should have a choice between testing vendors, we have to roll with the changes.
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
I just did a search on Prometric's site for Washington state and Pearson Vue's for the 20 sites nearest Seattle, WA. Even in that area there are more Vue sites than Prometric (and it lists Canadian sites as well). Both had less sites than I expected for that area, however. Also, on Pearson Vue, you can sign up for the 71-625 and 71-626 if you have a promotion code, but not on Prometric! (Thus, the FAQ is wrong about exams being the same.) I can't believe there was "months and months of discussions, negotiations, meetings, and debate over this very big decision" as Trika puts it, or else they wouldn't have decided it this way. At any of the "meetings" did anyone ask what us hoi polloi (common people) think about Vue and Prometric? Maybe the "negotiations" was for the kickbacks that the decision makers got. Please, Trika, find out and give us the juicy details. (And Andy, yes, we have to roll with the changes, but it doesn't mean we have to like it -- I still believe that Beta was better than VHS (for one thing, the tapes were smaller), but eventually VHS has been replaced with DVD; perhaps some day Prometric will be replaced with something better. One can only hope.)
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
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Anonymous
July 09, 2007
I am the MD of a small training company that is also a VUE testing Centre. Prometric have told us several times before that they are not recruiting any more test centres which is why we ended up with VUE whom I cannot fault in any way. Our test facilities are plush compared to any Prometric centre I have ever visited and we are also out of town which is a big bonus to for most people who live on the outskirts of the city. As usual MS do what is good for them and F**K everyone else.
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
It's not so much that one was chosen, but that my experiences with both have convinced me that VUE is the superior provider, from the availability and quality of testing centers, to the ease and flexibility of scheduling exams, to communication. VUE always sends post-mortem surveys about the security and overall experience of the testing center, which have always followed the rules with me, even though they know me by name at this point. I'm sure there are reasons, and at this point we're probably just jousting with windmills, but I'd like to keep using VUE. I like them better; it's just that simple. :)
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
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Anonymous
July 09, 2007
Bad, Bad, Bad. Microsoft, if you are seeing it message, please reconsider this again as this is extremely bad for both exam centers and takers. I personally prefer vue than prometric. Imagine people drive at least more than an hour to the test center. If you drop vue, I wouldve imagined that nobody would like to take the test from a far far test centers and become microsoft certified. Not only does this look bad to certified people, but it also looks bad on your part, microsoft, you know why, as this shows there are no certified people supporting your product. Although you have choice to select which becomes the test centers, but....Please reconsider this very very deeply. Dropping vue is not wise at all. takho mcp/mcdst/mcsa 2003
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
Bad, Bad, Bad. Microsoft, if you are seeing it message, please reconsider this again as this is extremely bad for both exam centers and takers. I personally prefer vue than prometric. Imagine people drive at least more than an hour to the test center. If you drop vue, I wouldve imagined that nobody would like to take the test from a far far test centers and become microsoft certified. Not only does this look bad to certified people, but it also looks bad on your part, microsoft, you know why, as this shows there are no certified people supporting your products. Although you have choice to select which becomes the test centers, but....Please reconsider this very very deeply. Dropping vue is not wise at all. takho mcp/mcdst/mcsa 2003
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
Bad, Bad, Bad. Microsoft, if you are seeing it message, please reconsider this again as this is extremely bad for both exam centers and takers. I personally prefer vue than prometric. Imagine people drive at least more than an hour to the test center. If you drop vue, I wouldve imagined that nobody would like to take the test from a far far test centers and become microsoft certified. Not only does this look bad to certified people, but it also looks bad on your part, microsoft, you know why, as this shows there are no certified people supporting your products. Although you have choice to select which becomes the test centers, but....Please reconsider this very very deeply. Dropping vue is not wise at all. takho mcp/mcdst/mcsa 2003
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
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Anonymous
July 09, 2007
Robert Williams [CertGuard]: Am I to understand that you're saying the solution to solving the "paper MCSE" problem is to restrict access to the exams, or make them less convenient to take? I question your logic that making the tests more inconvenient, and using an (IMO) inferior exam provider translates to increased value of certifications. The value of the exams is the knowledge they measure, not who was willing to drive an extra 50 miles and put up with inferior service to take it. By that logic, why not have only one testing center in Antarctica to show clients that you really know how to code in .Net? To answer your question: YES! I want to take an exam any time I feel like it and I want it to be as good an experience as possible. Why wouldn't I? I hope there were more legitimate reasons for this decision.
Anonymous
July 09, 2007
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Anonymous
July 10, 2007
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Anonymous
July 10, 2007
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Anonymous
July 10, 2007
This is a very bad move.

The Prometric customer support is very bad vs. VUE.
The VUE website features that you can schedule a test the day before and even cancel the test or re-schedule the test within 8 hours is amazing and no way closer than Prometric.
What about the MCT voucher for the 20%? The center that I am going was offering Prometric and VUE, they changed to only VUE becuase no body was taking Prometric. Very bad move from MSFT

Anonymous
July 10, 2007
Jason, how many Prometric-owned centers are there? The closest one in my area is over 90 minutes away (and that's without traffic)! For me to take an exam with the VUE experience through Prometric I'd have to drive 90 minutes, 30 minutes for set up/sign in/etc., then take a 2-3 hour exam before driving back another 90 minutes. One exam now becomes a 6 hour process. Imagine doing this for certifications that require more than one exam.
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
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Anonymous
July 10, 2007
Prometric qui a maintenant l'exclusivité des certifications Microsoft. Le passage de Vue à Prometric
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
I just found this out....HUGE mistake for all the reasons mentioned! As a VUE testing partner, the VUE organization and tech support is one of the best I have ever encountered. Albiet not very often, but when I have had to contact them for a problem, they have quickly resolved it...100% of the time (no exaggeration). While totally disappointed, I am not surprised...Microsoft often does the OPPOSITE of what the people want.
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
Post number 100! Fads and fashions come and go. There was a time when MS only use one testing vendor and then they had two.
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
Aww...we were saving post #100 for Trika... Ah well...any word from higher on this hotbed issue Trika?
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
This is really bad for my students. My campus is Vue testing center and we were turning out lots of certified individuals Now they will have to go somewhere else to certify. It also means that our testing center will loose money. I wish the MS Academy's ad been given a warning or, better yet, had some input.
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
I agree, very poor and very inconvenient. I've used Prometric once and disliked it very much so and now have been using VUE ever since. If I am forced to go back to prometric, it really discourages my exam taking.
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
I must say this news was pretty upsetting to not only myself but everyone I work with. Here in Michigan there are a ton of Vue test centers, the one I go to is only 15 miles from my home, the next one of only 17 miles from my home...the next one is only 20 miles. But only a 4 Prometric test centers, the nearest one if close to 60 miles away...the next closest one it a good 80 mile drive. By now it shoud be painfully obvious that you (Microsoft) are increasing the traveling time (and frustration) that we (the consumer) have to endure to take these exams...which are not every fun to begin with. Now, I not only have to justify the cost of the exam but the two hours (and gas) I will be spending in traffic. But from the other posts I have read it seems I am one of the fortunate ones. I wonder what the real reasons for doing this are. I am betting it boils down to Braindumps or money. If it is money then Microsoft will actually lose revenue on this - as more and more people like myself think of switching to Linux cert that yeild higher paying jobs and I can take 15 minutes from my front door. Or perhaps a Sun Certified Java Developer (2 tests taken 15 minutes from home verses a Microsoft Certified Professional Developer (5 tests taken 60 miles away)...really it boils down to simple math if you make it easy and fun we will buy into it - if you make it dull and frustrating we will look somewhere else. If this is about the seemly endless Braindumps, Gunmen, Bootcamps, etc etc - then rest assured the guilty parties will simply switch to prometric and resume business as usual, probably flooding the market with even more of their garbage as they now have to make up for their lost income from the time it took to switch over to prometric (not that I sympathize for them at all). In the end you have actually done nothing more then frustrated and wasted the time of thousands of your loyal customers - reminds me of Windows ME.
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
Have been to both and had bad experiences with Pro non with Vue. I don’t know about anyone else but to me choice is very important as well as convenience and I do not believe that I should have to give either up. It is up to MS to provide their customer with a secure convenient way to test. If not as a customer I will go elsewhere. MCT for the past 7 years.
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
My guess is Trika doesn't want any part of this thread. It is such a bad move to use Prometric I wouldn't comment on it either.
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
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Anonymous
July 10, 2007
So which product vendor and exam vendor will you choose--provided MS starts producing routers and switches--and Cisco creates Cindows? Cisco and Pearson VUE partner to expand access to Cisco certification and safeguard integrity of global exams Beginning August 1, 2007, Pearson VUE will be the primary test vendor for Cisco® certification exams worldwide. Cisco CCNA® and CCIE® are two examples of Cisco professional certification exams that will be delivered through Pearson VUE. Additionally, Pearson VUE will deliver other Cisco individual technical certifications and specialization exams previously delivered by multiple test delivery partners. Pearson VUE has been delivering Cisco exams since 2000, but shifting to a primary vendor strategy worldwide will enable Cisco to advance test security through the deployment of advanced biometric technologies, facilitate the rapid localization of exams around the world, and allow for increased certification scalability and coverage. As a result of this change, all individual Cisco technical certification exams for Cisco customers and partners will need to be scheduled through Pearson VUE. July 31, 2007, is the last date to take a Cisco exam through Prometric. Pease visit our Website for a detailed FAQ. http://www.cisco.com/web/learning/le3/learning_certification_program_updates.html
Anonymous
July 10, 2007
I'm glad that I have to take only one more M$ exam(at a VUE center). Next will be Cisco exams...
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
Maybe MS wants to make it physically harder to get a cert so less people have them. This would increase the demand and make them look better. Or maybe not... I too am very disappointed with this decision. Vue is definitely much better. This heavily affects my future decisions on gaining/updating my MS certs.
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
So Citrix goes from one offer exams only at Prometric to offering them at both Vue and Prometric. Microsoft chooses Prometric. Then Cisco choose VUE over Prometric for similiar reasons. Interesting developments. I would like to know what the real motivation was behind these decisions and not the fluff we have been given
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
OK, so now Cisco's doing the pretty much the exact opposite of what MSL is doing in the testing arena. Nice to know that Cisco is not only concerned with quality, but with availability as well. Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft was? We're still waiting for an update on this, Trika.
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
I bet you will probably get a better idea why we prefer VUE over Prometric and please say something ASAP. Hope you are hiding from us again like last time !!!
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
I live in Barbados. I was just at the prometric web site. According to the site, there are NO prometric testing centers here. What do i do?
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
IBM had chosen for Prometric. I think there is going to change a lot of things in the near future.
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
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Anonymous
July 11, 2007
I doubt this decision was made on anything else but cost. You look at the service from both providers and guess which one was going to cost MS more? I'm sure they thought long and hard about the pros and cons, but quite frankly i'd be amazed if it wasn't sealed by the huge saving they'll be making moving to one testing provider - and the cheaper testing providor at that. The (official) fluff given about the reasons for the move is just that; fluff. They were hardly going to announce the move based on the great savings MS will be making and not passing on to us were they?
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
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Anonymous
July 11, 2007
Bad idea, why cannot MS not get consistent. Now when I had a comfort level in knowing that a test site was close to me, now I have to take more time off to get to a prometric that is no where near me.
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
I am a student at a community college that uses pearson vue. They offer great weekend hours and there is currently only one facility in my county that is run by prometric and they have hours for the unemployed. weekdays 9 - 3 does not help me. The college in the past was not accepted by prometric and there is no certainty i will be able to continue taking MCSE exams. I feel this is would be a bad move for Microsoft. But i do know how Microsoft loves to create monopolies
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
This sounds like a bad idea. Seems like there are other ways to keep the exam integrity and prevent "paper MCSEs". Not to mention there is only one Prometric testing center in my county and Prometric didn't even want to speak with my school about becoming a testing center in the past(they are currently a VUE center).
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
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Anonymous
July 11, 2007
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Anonymous
July 11, 2007
Trika graced us with her presence on Sunday to say: >>I'm online today to let you know that what you've said here, and in the newsgroups, and on your blogs (Hunter, Lukas, Kay...) are in front of our executive team. So they full-on are getting your concerns and questions first hand and have a chance to respond. So keep it coming.<< I think the "powers that be" have had a chance to respond by now yet have apparently chosen not to. I would strongly recommend against avoiding the certification community's concerns because you must remember why you (collectively...not Trika though..she's cool with most of us) have a job. It's not solely the certifications that we have achieved, but our experiences both individually and collectively that that brought us where we are today be it in an entry level position or as an technical executive. There are other options, but we have chosen to certify on the technology that Microsoft creates regardless of the complaints we hear in an effort to contribute to making it better. We have proven ourselves and our knowledge by choosing to take and pass the exams you develop and then continue apply that knowledge in our respective environments and support our clients and customers who have chosen to utilize your products. We have, time and again, come to the defense of Microsoft in the public eye regardless of just how wrong we may believe a decision to remove a technology from a product or how long a flagship product is delayed from release. But removing a partner who has done nothing but provide quality service and support over hundreds of thousands of exams worldwide is absolutely inexcusible. You chose an inferior provider to "increase the security and integrity of Microsoft certifications." To this, sir (or madame as the case may be), I dare say that you and your staff have failed in your goals. Decreasing availability does nothing to achieve your goals, but will increase the instances of examinees doing whatever it takes to pass an exam the first time so that they do not have to travel a great distance (in some cases) to try again. This decision can only lead to a decrease in the amount of Microsoft Certified Professsionals and thus cause greater problems for those who require those MCPs. Yes, organizations such as Cisco have chosen to consolidate operations with a single exam provider as well. Those organizations, however, also know that availability and quality of their exams is not driven solely by the exam provider. Microsoft Learning must see that if they are to successfully bring the next generation of certifications to market successfully, the exams must be available. There is no way that the "Paper MCSE" will ever go away so long as changes in the way tesets are administered does not change. In 2001, there was a story about a 12 year old girl in India who achieved her MCSE. You speak of eliminating the "Paper MCSE", but what are you doing about it after the certification is achieved? I cannot in good conscience condone eliminating anyone who may be under a certain age from being allowed to attempt to certify, but I do believe that proving that you NEED to certify should be brought into the equation. I'm calling for the executives at Microsoft Learning to respond to this issue now, not when is prudent. The community who has supported you for so long at least deserves to not only be heard on this, but openly acknowledged as well. I would also call for the community at-large to voice their opinions openly in as many ways as is acceptable. That means no spamming, mass emails, or anything else negative. Be as productive as possible when stating why you think that this decision is a bad one. Inconvenience is one thing and contributes alot to those who want to pursue a certification, but we must be willing to take the next step and provide a constructive alternative and reasoning behind our opinions.
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
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Anonymous
July 11, 2007
All Softies are clones of Bill and Steve. So you won't get a one of them to stand up and challenge even their own pet cat. Yes sir, can I have another!
Anonymous
July 11, 2007
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Anonymous
July 11, 2007
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Anonymous
July 11, 2007
Trika, with :"Top concern: test center access", you mean our concern in geographical spreading of testing facilities? Just making sure you get the right top priority... Thanks for being a listening ear in our concerns!
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
Stupid decision. Had an issue with Prometric and contacted them through their site. The answer came 3 weeks later... If that happened with vue, it should take about 20 minutes to solve the problem, the answer would take about 2 minutes, thanks to their live chat. If we compare the experience of scheduling and taking your test, VUE would be immeasurably better.
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
Too bad the blog was broken this morning. I had a pretty good post..and yes, pretty long. I'll have to post it later today.
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
Can a testing center be both Vue and Prometric? I work with several schools who provide testing for their students. One non-profit school in particular is both a CompTIA E2C member, Cisco Academy and this year became a MS ITAcademy. They are a Prometric testing center now. Does anyone know if they can also become a VUE testing center to cover all of their bases?
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
Yes, Hartplaza. Geographic coverage of centers.
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
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Anonymous
July 12, 2007
It should be pointed out, amidst all of the disappointment about this bad..bad.. decision, that Trika is apparently the only one publically taking the lumps for this choice. I know we can send an email but I don't see any MSL senior folks out here defending the decision. (Thanks for being willing to discuss the issue Trika - even if we disagree I am with Chance and I respect you). One great irony is that we have a software company accused of monopolistic practices generating other monopolies by its practices. I am sure the folks at Google are relishing this one..
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
There's nothing to defend! It's their program and choice and you are allowed to participate by invitation of privilege and not right.
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
Bob G. I don't buy that for a moment. We are the customer! Not someone who needs their products.. Loss of customer focus is the first step to downfall. Customer firt. Period.
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
OK, ignoring the question of having a single testing provider being a good idea or not, why did Microsoft go with the provider that most customers seem to think is inferior as the sole source of tests?
Anonymous
July 12, 2007
John, I think it boils down to two seperate debates. One being the decision to go with a single exam provider instead of continuing efforts with both providers. The other being the rationale of partnering with an inferior provider. With both of these debates being the current points of contention, I don't think we can really ignore either. What I would suggest is that they test the waters, so to speak, on their new technology with both vendors prior to rolling it out. Standardization of the exam experience (Q&A and Simulation questions in an adaptive format accompanied with a Performance based Virtual Lab) across the full range of exams is important to the success of what Microsoft wants to achieve in their "integrity and security" goals. Taking away availability of exams to those of us who sit these exams is not, IMHO, beneficial to anyone on either side. I know I've been considerably more vocal on this than most, but I can't help but play "point-counterpoint" with those who think this is actually a good idea.
Anonymous
July 13, 2007
I'll try to give Microsoft the benefit of the doubt here. Perhaps they have a "new technology" that Prometric was willing to implement, but Vue wasn't. This is doubtful since Vue apparently doesn't know the reason for the change, but if this is the case, Microsoft should say so. If it is "top secret," they don't need to say what the technology is, but given Prometric's shortcomings, they should tell us why they feel Prometric was so much better in their eyes than Vue. And Trika, for me it's not just the geographic availability of testing centers, but also the number of working machines at each center. The three nearest Prometric sites to me have 2, 1, and 3 testing computers, respectively, some of which may be broken. The three nearest Vue sites: 13, 12, and 16. (There are additional Vue sites that I have not tested at.) I believe available computers in my town will drop by 90% (100% on weekends), making the few remaining computers have far less available testing times. As I said in another post, I am worried that when it comes time to renew my MCPD and MCITP, that there won't be any available testing times to renew it during the renewal window.
Anonymous
July 13, 2007
I feel the need to add that I too hate Prometric. I hate them with enough passion that I will not be taking any more MS Exams. I know this doesn't make a dent in the $$ MS rakes in, but they've very nearly lost me as a customer altogether anyway. I hate Vista and Office 2007 as well. And I've been a proponent of MS products in the past. This year I switched to linux at home and this latest MS debacle only reinforces that decision. As for MS's official reasoning for making this decision, please forgive me if I don't believe a word. Smells like putrescent bovine waste product to me.
Anonymous
July 13, 2007
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Anonymous
July 13, 2007
I'm not going to argue or complain about access, drive times, or distance. In fact our local community college maintains a Prometric/VUE combo center, such that the exact same hardware specifications are used for both testing services. As an IT professor who channels his students into the correpsonding exams, my complaint is the consistent incompetence of the Prometric company. The telephone service is poor, and most of the people who take the calls are incompetent; the website is poorly designed and forces my students to have to buy vouchers (which typically have an upcharge) instead of being able to register for the academic pricing online, like with VUE; even with the exact same hardware in place at the center, I have consistently experienced myself (or been told by my students) the constant Prometric SOFTWARE crashes. I can even deal with money being a driving factor, but money works both ways... losing your "certifying customers" and the market support they provide in the IT community for your products is going to cost a lot more than a few dollars you save from not co-supporting VUE. As for the arguements about secuirty and integrity - you must be joking, right? The question pools are the same for both companies, so a braindump works at either one... payoffs will continue to find people more than willing to sit for an exam, snap some covert photos, and gather question data and violate NDAs, no matter how much security you put in place. Combine this with the fact that, if there isn't a contractual obligation for Prometric to improve their testing environment, there is absolutely no reason that Prometric would be motivated to change the status quo - least of all out of "good will" for Microsoft's needs. BTW, as an MCSE:Security person and one who makes decisions on curriculum for my IT program, this is just another "wedge" issue that Microsoft has unnecessarily created. It further reduces my desire to upgrade my own MCSE, and represents more headaches to continue to train for Microsoft under the new certification regiment. I'm going to have to redsign classes when the 2003 certifications are discontinued anyway, and you just keep giving me more excuses to consider switching to a Linux or Novell-based curriculum instead... Good planning, Microsoft. Maybe it will mean more to you when colleges start re-routing their students on to alternative platforms...
Anonymous
July 13, 2007
Chance quoted: >>"Prometric is widely recognized and established across the IT industry as the leading provider of certification exams, with some of the world's largest technology companies relying on us for their testing needs." That's why Cisco chooses for VUE ??
Anonymous
July 14, 2007
don't forget hartplaza...I'm against the Prometric thing as well. You should read the post fully before reacting. And yes, I believe better service and support is exactly the reason Cisco chose Vue.
Anonymous
July 14, 2007
I had an exam at Prometric on Friday. At the end of the exam, I had a 20 question customer satification survey. Most of the questions were about the registration proces, the exam center, and the whole testing experience. I don't remember having that detailed of a suvery after my exam in February, so maybe they are working on improving things.
Anonymous
July 14, 2007
Chance,.. I read the post fully, I know you are (like me) pro VUE, that's why I repeated your quote and mentioned that CISCO did make the right decision,....
Anonymous
July 14, 2007
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Anonymous
July 14, 2007
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Anonymous
July 15, 2007
The truth revelead: Martin Bean, once the CEO of Prometric, now works for MS.
Anonymous
July 16, 2007
Hey Bob, As much as I am against this decision I would say this is merely a coincidence and nothing more. I wouldn’t read into it too much. He is the type to bounce around form company to company, From Thompson, which he came over from Sylvan I believe to New Horizons and now (well it’s been a while) Microsoft.
Anonymous
July 16, 2007
Dear Microsoft-- rom a practical standpoint you've probably done little to accomplish your goals. Since test centers are funded based on # of exms they provide, and most centers teach and test for both Cisco and Microsoft, the dual decisions by both companies to each use only one vendor will simply mean that most companies will now have to become partners with both agencies to continue business as usual. All this effort and jumping through hoops for so little gain -- what were they thinking???
Anonymous
July 16, 2007
What does it take to get an official recognition of the complaints we have about this move from MS? I thought 153 comments would be enough but apparently not. http://frenchfamily.org/hunter/?p=202 We are all Microsoft Frustrated Professionals.
Anonymous
July 18, 2007
Hey Hunter, while the image you made is cute and all you may want to remove it. It is a violation of the MCP Logo Guidelines...
Anonymous
July 18, 2007
Not a smart move at all. I've had nothing but bad experiences with Prometric, and never had a problem with Vue.
Anonymous
July 19, 2007
I took the "Microsoft Frustrated Professional" graphic down at the encouragement of Stephen Rea who says it is against the MCP logo guidelines. Given the current environment for MCPs I guess Stephen is right and the MS enforcement squad would have hassled me about it..
Anonymous
July 19, 2007
Btw, Stephen, I love the VUE MCP exam discount code on your Linked-In page.. I found it quite ironic given the current discussion about the move to prometric.
Anonymous
July 19, 2007
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Anonymous
July 19, 2007
Well that VUE discount code will work right up till the end so I have no plans to remove it until then. Plus I think I'm in denial.
Anonymous
July 19, 2007
In fact if anyone wants to take 20% off their final VUE exam. :) Use this discount code: MSUU7C1E9359
Anonymous
July 20, 2007
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Anonymous
July 21, 2007
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Anonymous
July 24, 2007
In the south of Ireland there are only 3 Prometric test centres and 8 VUE centres. As a VUE test centre (and an ex-Prometric one) it is easy to understand why. VUE is much easier to deal with than Prometric. MS moving solely to Prometric will decrease the availability of MS exams in Ireland. Why do they want to do this?
Anonymous
July 24, 2007
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Anonymous
July 26, 2007
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Anonymous
July 30, 2007
I have never been as dissappointed with Microsoft in general, and with the grand strategies they employ, in particular, as I am now. As an early advocate of MS when Novell and Sun were king, I saw things that excited and interested me. Today, I don't understand your reasoning or business decisions. And like so many others, I don't wait anxiously for your next software (or press) release. I think you should hire some more bright MBAs. A few more should do it.
Anonymous
July 30, 2007
As long term manager of vue test centre (8 years) which mainly does Microsoft testing for our students plus various outsiders as and when, VUE have always been superb on instant technical support and all the exams have always worked, results have always been correctly and quickly uploaded - having to now get accredited with and set up Prometric as well or instead, retrain administrators and all the other slog is just a load of long winded hassle that I could really do without. It will also mean our many regular customers will have to change over to thomson as well. WHY?????:-(
Anonymous
July 31, 2007
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Anonymous
August 03, 2007
I agree, this is one of the dumbest moves Microsoft has ever made. I work with the military and they have established over 50 VUE testing centers world wide to handle exams. We have 11 VUE centers here in Hawaii and only three Prometric centers. How can this possible be better for us. the customers????
Anonymous
August 03, 2007
wHAT aBOUT us!! I live in the Bahamas. I use Vue to take my certs. There isn't a Prometric center in over here to my knowledge. I am not able to travel to the US and neither do i prefer to. I must now reconsider my certifation options unless I can study for 5 more exams by December. This ain make no sense.
Anonymous
August 03, 2007
I received some good news in this... Prometric is opening a test facility soon, near mine area. One of the VUE centers is willing to give Prometric a try. They don't know exactly yet when they start, they are working on the last details.
Anonymous
August 09, 2007
I have to agree with whoever said this was a bad decision. I have taken exams with Prometric and I was disappointed with their facilities. I also have to agree with the person who lives in a Rural area; the closest PV is 10 minutes way whereas the closest Prometric is 3 hours away.
Anonymous
August 13, 2007
bad bad bad decision! Vue system are widely better! vue's website, exam buy, support & contact Today I called Prometric to apply the MCT discount and they tell me that I must obtain a voucher code to apply when I'm buying, but did not specified WHERE to get this voucher! Prometric support Realy s*x!! MS, PLEASE come back to vue! it's better to all people getting certified! it's simple, just read the comments above
Anonymous
August 14, 2007
I bet that Microsoft will be back to VUE in less than 2 years. VUE is far better than Prometric.
Anonymous
August 17, 2007
The following message was sent to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation after reading some of these blog messages. Bill and Melinda Gates- In your quest to make lives better for others around the globe, with your foundation. I find it very interesting that Microsoft exams have to be taken at a single vendor location, Prometric, starting September 1st 2007. Pearson Vue has offered quality testing options to underserved populations in an attempt to help individuals get degrees with reputable establishments; such as Western Governors University. Many student’s seek a degree to make his or her life “better”. Your company's decision to limit testing locations will now cause many students to withdraw and find another educational path. I had a brother who enrolled at a school that was teaching Microsoft programs. The company went bankrupt, leaving my brother to pay back a 10,000 debt he could not afford for an education he never received. It took him six years of scrimping and saving to pay his loan back. I was so sad for him. His opinion was that Microsoft should do more to ensure quality education through establishments that are reputable. Maybe Microsoft should focus more attention on accessible, quality education at the same time they are concerned about their precious exams. I am sure your organization does great things however, maybe you should be focused on your company’s campaigns, of reaching out, before you embark on more lofty goals.
Anonymous
August 24, 2007
Trika: This is a horrible decision on Microsoft's part. The nearest Prometric testing center to me is a 2 hour drive (4 hours round trip). Also, due to work and school obligations, I am pretty much limited to Saturday testing. The nearest Prometric center with Saturday hours is 3 and a half hours a way. 2 hours is unacceptable and 3.5 hours is incomprehensible. If Microsoft is really going to stick with Prometric only, my days of Microsoft exams will be done. It makes no sense to eliminate Pearson-Vue. Many of the colleges in the area are Pearson Vue and these tend to have a much nicer environment and much more stable PCs than several of the fly by night Prometric operations I've been to. I think Microsoft is making a horrible decision here that they will regret. Thanks Drew
Anonymous
August 27, 2007
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Anonymous
August 30, 2007
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Anonymous
August 30, 2007
Hi, Steve. I read the comments. I don't think you're wasting your time, and I respect the many customers who are making the (not insignificant effort) to better themselves with IT training and certification. I understand that your center shutting down makes this effort even harder, but my hope is that in the not-too-distant future, a Prometric center will open up closer to you than 2.5 hours. they are adding a lot of centers and a lot of VUE centers will add Prometric as a provider. I also recommend that you send an e-mail to msledp@microsoft.com and make it clear to them that evening testing and weekend hours are critical to you. The Prometric team gets those e-mails and while their centers make that decision on a case by case basis, it can't hurt to have their HQ understand the need from the community directly. They won't make new policies if no one is asking for them, so make yourself heard when you want something. We need to hear it. Thank you for taking the time to comment. Best regards, Trika
Anonymous
September 04, 2007
OK, I just sent email to the email address you provided. Since I posted, I went back to triple-check; I'm in Idaho; Prometric has TWO testing locations, the CLOSEST is 2.5 hours away (one-way). Vue has FIVE locations. Could part of the decision be that customers/users "out in the hinterland" don't matter as much? For a side bit of humor, the first MS exam I ever took was win95. It was in a rural airport hanger (because they gave FAA exams also, I guess), and during the exam someone came in and started printing off a bunch of stuff on a noisy dot-matrix printer, plus, he was highly annoyed that anyone was in their 'computer room'. Steve
Anonymous
September 06, 2007
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Anonymous
September 10, 2007
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Anonymous
September 11, 2007
I still wonder why they are going with Prometric as sole provider, just couple weeks go I sat 70-291, to my annoyance all Prometric testing centres were full, and I did manage to book one in only to be told by Prometric that it was a problem with their website and that centre wasnt even opened yet!!! Luckily I had a Vue login also, I logged in and their were appointments everywhere...so the next day in I went...I hope they open more Prometric centres because no availability can be very frustrating....
Anonymous
September 12, 2007
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Anonymous
September 12, 2007
Sorry, I meant to say for them to answer the phone and when they do, they're not technical nor are they supportive. If you don't like the answer you got from tech support, call back later and you'll get a different answer. Please Microsoft, dump Prometric.
Anonymous
September 19, 2007
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Anonymous
September 20, 2007
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Anonymous
September 25, 2007
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Anonymous
September 28, 2007
Prometric is nightmare for me. I took 2 days and still can not register on their web site to schedual a test. Why MS made this decission to make the tester frustrated? Because MS get more rebate from Prometric?
Anonymous
October 08, 2007
I took the test and however their test delivery failed twice in 15 min. The last fail never get recovered after one hour waiting. But fortunately, I got full refund after I wasted half day off for test.
Anonymous
October 17, 2007
PROMETRIC SECURITY RISK All ive got to say is if you used Prometric in the past.. all of your account infomation, includeing your social security code, is still in their system and is displayed as your Testing ID. It is very publicly visible infomation on any Prometric Testing console at any testing facility. Prometric is a major security risk. Personally I had to call and have them remove my social from their database and have them generate one of their new Testing IDs for my account. Even if you reregister now you get tied to your old account.
Anonymous
October 22, 2007
On the user support end I would readily agree that prometric is too far outsourced and engineered down just to be cost effective on their side. Its a frustrating exsperience for both testers and administrators. I agree that due to the longterm dissaproval of prometric has led to a scant selection of centers. I think we would all need to be patient as more centers will be setting up, as many are currently in the process of moving over from vue and getting their test administrators prometric certified.. a test that if you havent taken you have no ground to complain about poorly written exams... as this is the worst test imaginable. But lastly are the technical issues. Delivery failures, server communication failures.. all of them.. Tend to be operator error. The prometric system isn't perfect but it tends not to be THE reason for their errors. The centers that have technical problems have those problems on a regular basis. While many centers wont record major issues for months at a time. It is clearly an issue of local operators. Prometric has its share of problems but with major changes going on in their own administration waiting a few months to see how they revamp their company isnt that unrealistic. Just because VUE was familiar, friendly, and simple doesnt mean it was efficent or secure. Ease and comfort seem to be the major cause for complaint so far.
Anonymous
November 05, 2007
We've been a VUE Centre for a while and been relatively happy. Now I'm trying to become a Prometric centre and finding it a nightmare. Their testing system in rubbish. It imposes all sorts of ridiculous requirements on the machines- Internet Explorer 6, English (United States) as the language (I'm in Ireland), the testing system must run on a Domain Controller..., I could go on. Installing brings up error messages which you are told by techncial support (after hanging on for ages) are normal. In general it seems a badly designed and implemented system. VUE was much more elegant and easy to use. It seems to me that this was a problem that Microsoft had which they solved by making it a problem for VUE test centres rather than solving it by employing more programmers. They have plenty of money after all. Are you listening Microsoft?
Anonymous
November 05, 2007
Micrsoft is just dooming it's fate, not only is prometric a bad experience , but now they have the upper hand and no COMPETITION WHAT SO EVER, accordingly my exam which was 50$ is now 150$. i really dont know what to say except i wish i chosen to become a LINUX PRO.
Anonymous
November 10, 2007
previous comment: http://blogs.msdn.com/trika/archive/2007/07/06/microsoft-learning-announces-prometric-as-exam-provider.aspx#4652027 Just for what its worth, trika perhaps you can use this info. I paid for and scheduled several exams at VUE just prior to cut-off date (scheduled for various times prior to December31). The test center is a local community college. I spoke with them yesterday, and asked it they are going to sign up with prometric. The person said that they had applied, but had no clue what was going on with prometric, but that it looks like they won't ultimately be signing up, since it seems that the process is simply not moving forward, due to prometric. What exactly the problem is, she was not going to share with me, of course. But she definelty did not seem to think the test center would be signing with prometic. Also, she mentioned that some testing organization that they fall under (colleges, testing centers in general, not sure?) was going to be or had already contacted microsoft to complain about prometic. Rather vague and second hand, I know, so take it for what its worth. Just wanted to vent (again) about this strange decision. Steve
Anonymous
November 15, 2007
I strongly disagree with the (only) person who says the problems with Prometric are operator error. The many, many centers that dealt with VUE and now must deal with Prometric will tell you the same thing... VUE has a superior UI, is much more stable, and the staff has a thousand-times more product knowledge than the Prometric employees. VUE tech support:pleasant, educated. Prometic tech support: rude, mumbling, ignorant - even about their own product.
Anonymous
December 14, 2007
Very disappointing! I have been taking certification exams for MS certs for over a decade. VUE always did a better job. Competition is almost always a good thing for customers. So frankly it surprising MS has given us a choice for as long as they have.
Anonymous
January 23, 2008
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Anonymous
February 08, 2008
Very sad decision indeed. Last year I was able to take 70-315 with VUE and obtained the MCP certification. The entire test experience was a breeze. This year I am in the process of taking more Microsoft tests and having trouble registering with Prometric. Firstly, thier web site doesn't work or it shows wrong data. I live in Roanoke VA and no test center is listed for Prometric. VUE has 2 test centers in Roanoke, VA. I call the customer service but no luck. Terrible background noise during the call. The rep was able to locate a test center and she took all my information to find out that their scheduling system is down. Frustrating. I can't register through the web site because test center doesn't show and calling customer service doesn't help. I am stuck.
Anonymous
February 12, 2008
Hi, Bindu, james, Jackie, all. If you haven't already, PLEASE send your comment to msledp@microsoft.com. Even if they can't go back and make it right on the experience you've had... they should be aware of problems you are having to fix them now and in future. Bindu, if you still haven't registered, pls send your request to the MSLEDP@microsoft.com address and ask for the help getting you scheduled. Let me know how that goes.
Anonymous
March 17, 2008
Bindu, I heard that they just opened a center in Roanoke. Did you find that?
Anonymous
March 28, 2008
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Anonymous
March 31, 2008
I too am a little disappointed, having used VUE for my entire testing experience so far (13 MS exams) I have had no issues at all. I have now come to book my final Exchange 2007 MCITP exam and discover that I have a 5 week wait. I used to be able to book exams with VUE at 2-3 days notice all the time... Its not looking good....
Anonymous
June 04, 2008
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Anonymous
June 04, 2008
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Anonymous
June 11, 2008
Sean, welcome to Prometric World.
Anonymous
June 20, 2008
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Anonymous
June 20, 2008
Hey, Tim. Thanks for posting. Have you contacted our team at msledp@microsoft.com to make sure someone over here hears that? Please do...
Anonymous
June 20, 2008
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Anonymous
June 23, 2008
Jim, did you send this to msledp@microsoft.com? I know I'm a broken record here, but if these issues aren't getting reported to our teams, they won't be getting attention and be fixed so the next guy doesn't have the same problem... Thanks for forwrading this to our team.
Anonymous
July 11, 2008
I am a testing administrator. I was not overly fond of Pearson Vue until Microsoft forced us to begin administering Prometric tests. I am extremely dissatisfied and implore Microsoft to reconsider. We have had to contact Prometric tech support for every test we've administered and they are less than helpful. It is bad service for the tester and I've even had proctors threaten to quit over dealing with Prometric. We've cut back drastically on our Prometric testing and no longer allow members of the public to test here. Not only do we not get paid, we endure extreme stress in the process. Please go back to Pearson Vue!
Anonymous
July 11, 2008
I was agnostic about this decision until I began my SQL 2005 MCITP certs. I've taken numerous certification exams through Vue all without problem. I've tried four certification exams now with Prometric & only one--count 'em--only one went without a hitch. For one of my Prometric exams I had to return three times just to get the exam started. Bsed on my experience, Vue is clearly the superior provider. From the student/customer perspective, moving to Prometric was a big mistake.
Anonymous
February 02, 2009
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Anonymous
February 04, 2009
Great job. Not! Prometric is horrible!! They have sent me to 3, count'em 3 testing sites that were abandoned buildings then refused to give me a refund. I use Vue for everything I can but since this switch I keep getting shafted. What can do you expect from the great minds that gave you Vista? (I am still on hold waiting for other people to vent so I can find test center #4)
Anonymous
May 30, 2009
I am sitting in prometric on coit rd in Dallas,Tx right now. I waited 36min in a waiting room to take my exam which was scheduled at noon. I passed. I have been sitting here for going on 45min now, because they can't print my exam results. why won't Microsoft listen? now they just came to tell me - I can't get a score report, and I have to call some 800 number
Anonymous
June 02, 2009
I my experience using Prometric has been very problematic. My two experiences show this.

I unfortunately forgot to rescheduled an exam (70-526) due to Hurricane IKE in Houston, TX. I explained my situation to a customer representative and also wrote a letter explaining my circumstance. I was denied an opportunity to reschedule free of charge even as extreme circumstances as this.
During an offer to take any exam for 40% off(Microsoft Skills Week) I registered for an exam (70-549) in March of 2009. I unfortunately failed my exam. I contacted Prometric to retake the exam in the secondshot offer. Prometric stated that I can only apply one voucher code at a time and that the Second Shot did not apply since I already applied the 40% off voucher. I was unaware of this requirement. Now I must pay to retake the 70-549. My disdain for Prometric is growing and I hope Microsoft can review their performance from time to time for the benefit of other MCP's and MCP canidates. Thanks, Manuel Gonzales MCIP# 1577038

Anonymous
June 15, 2009
Very disappointing. I did all 7 MCSE exams at Pearson Vue..great choice of test centres and no problems getting appointments. I would study, decide I was ready and do the exam the next day. Not any more - here in Japan, Prometric require bookings 4 days in advance. And when I tried to book today, EVERY centre near me is full. I'm in central Tokyo yet I have to travel 1 hour to the nearest available test centre. And woe betide anyone who doesn't speak Japanese - no online applications. You need to snail mail/fax application forms, then make a follow-up phone call which means you need to book even further in advance. I don't care if the decision wasn't made lightly. It was the wrong decision. Saves money for Microsoft, at the expense of the exam takers.
Anonymous
June 22, 2009
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Anonymous
October 20, 2009
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Anonymous
February 03, 2010
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Anonymous
March 27, 2010
Took an hour to schedule an exam. Is it going to improve? Please Microsoft, listen us
Anonymous
January 08, 2011
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Anonymous
January 10, 2011
Please go back to Pearson Vue. It's been 3 very long years with Prometric and they have yet to improve their website. It's always timing out. I've literally been trying for 3 weeks to register for an exam online! Come on now this is ridiculous.
Anonymous
June 05, 2011
The website you are attempting to reach is temporarily unavailable due to scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. To register for an exam or to obtain further information, please visit the Prometric website.
Anonymous
October 02, 2014
Well, "Pearson Vue" is back: borntolearn.mslearn.net/.../microsoft-pearson-vue-partner-to-make-exam-taking-and-scheduling-more-convenient.aspx

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Microsoft Learning announces Prometric as exam provider

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