NB: before you take your exam you will have to register with Certiport and set up an account with them so that you have a username and password to log into the exam with.  It is free and we will provide you with instructions when you book your exam. Your certificate will then be posted to the address that you register with.

How do I know which version I am using?

If you open any application on your computer e.g. Word; click on the help menu, click on about.  This will bring up a table of information and at the top it will tell you which version you are using.

How do I know what level I should attend?

Please contact us for a skills assessment form.

What does it take to become a trainer/instructor?

You have to apply on the Certiport website to become an instructor.  If you log onto your Certiport account and go to the My Certiport page you will see a list of Quick Links down the right-hand side.

If you want to be an MCAS 2007 instructor, click on Microsoft Certified Application Specialist Instructor.

To be a MOS 2003 instructor, click on Microsoft Master Instructor Application.

And to be an IC3 instructor, click on Authorized Instructor Application.

This will bring up a table of information telling you if you have achieved the necessary qualifications.  There will also be a link to View Requirements so that you can check what you need to achieve before applying.

Once you have the necessary qualifications etc. you will need to apply for the Instructor status by following the links and instructions on the webpage.  You may need to prove that you have two years training experience by providing a letter from an employer; and there may be a fee involved.

Is the exam in the same format as the 'practice-exam'?

The format is similar in the type of questions asked and how you are to answer them, but the live exam does NOT use the same programme as the practice exam.

Having completed the practice exam, there was a couple of questions which did not give all the information necessary for the questions to be answered correctly!

The questions can sometimes come across as a bit ambiguous so you have

to read them carefully as all the relevant information is in the questions.

After the actual exam, in the event of a borderline 'fail,' would it be possible to have my exam reviewed by an administrator/adjudicator if I had concerns about the validity of any particular question(s)?

You cannot have your exam reviewed by us as we have no access to the exam

taken by yourself.  If you feel very strongly about it you will have to contact Certiport and ask them for advice.

The practice-exam provides only general comments about areas I need to review.  After the actual exam, is there any detailed feedback regarding exactly which questions I answered incorrectly (particularly in the event of a borderline fail)?  

NO. You will get a report which gives you your final score. It will then give you a list of the 4/5 areas the exam covered and give you a percentage for each area, but does NOT go into detail about specific questions or areas.

Your online store sells vouchers towards payment of the exams.  Are these vouchers specific to a particular software application or can they be used to pay for exams in any of the Microsoft product range?

As long as you buy the correct software version i.e. MOS, MCAS, IC3, ACA etc you can sit an exam for any application. So if you purchase an MCAS voucher it will be valid for any application (Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Outlook 2007, Access 2007, or Vista for the Business User).

The voucher includes a free re-sit in the event of failure to pass.  Does the re-sit have to take place within a given timescale?  In the event of a 'Pass,' can the un-used re-sit option be used to take a exam on a different software package?

The retake voucher will be issued to you by Certiport with an expiry date which is usually one month from the date you failed your exam and can only be used for the SAME application.  If you pass the exam a retake voucher is NOT issued so there is no voucher to be used.

The pre-payment vouchers are supplied with 'Exam Tips n Tricks.' Are these 'tips n tricks' just general information which is applicable to all exams, or are they application-specific?

The tips and tricks are documents that have been created by our in-house MOS/MCAS/IC3 Authorised trainer. They have put application-specific topics together to assist exam takers in preparing for the exams and they also include general information about the exams and they are continually being updated and added too. Each one varies in length.  We have an additional information sheet for Vista and Adobe as these exams are on-line exams (a complete simulation whereas the others are part simulation and part using the machine software) so the setup is different to the other programmes.

If I decided to go ahead with the exam, how far in advance would I have to book my exam?  Can I pay on arrival or does full payment have to be in advance?

Unlike other exam centres we are running exams everyday including Saturdays by appointment.  It is best to give at least a couple of days notice to ensure you get the day and time you would like. We will then check the diary and book you in.  It is our company policy to receive payment in advance/on booking as people sometimes do not turn up.

When will I get my certificate?

EXAMS: Upon successful completion of your exam, you will receive an official Microsoft/Certiport/Macromedia certificate within 4-6 weeks.

TRAINING: You will receive an S&G certificate on the same day at the end of the day.

PREPARATION COURSE: You will not receive an S&G certificate for the training side, but will receive an official Microsoft/Certiport/Macromedia certificate upon successful completion of the exam within 4-6 weeks.

Does the certificate indicate the attained mark/score anywhere on it?

NO it does not.

Whilst working through the practice exam, I realised that it was not possible to skip a question and then return to it later, if I had time at the end of the exam! Is this also the case on the actual exam?

NO, you CAN skip questions in the live exam and they are automatically added to the end of the exam(except for Vista/Adobe where you have to go into a menu screen) please ensure that you press skip and not next as some people accidently do which means that you will not get that question back.

Is it permissible to have notebooks and/or study aids, at the exam station whilst the exam is in progress?

NO, you are being examined on your knowledge of the programme, so unfortunately nothing is allowed and we have CCTV to ensure no cheating takes place.

Do you have any statistics indicating percentage pass/fail rates for the exams (either at your exam centre, nationally or globally)?

The statistics on the percentage of people who pass/fail the exams in general are confidential, but we ourselves have a very high pass rate, which is even higher with those who take the preparation day course with us.

During the exam, would I be in a room on my own or would I be in a room with other exam-takers?  If the latter, what is the maximum number of people you would expect to be in a room together?

Normally you will be on your own but if we are busy you will be with other people, max 4 in total unless told otherwise.

In the event that I fail my exam, Certiport will issue me a ‘re-sit voucher.’  Does the re-sit voucher have to be used to book a re-sit at the original examing centre or can it be used to take the re-sit at any examing centre, anywhere in the country?

You can sit the re-sit anywhere as you have a voucher number. All centres charge a proctor fee, ours is £20+VAT, but this may vary.

Are the questions in the actual exam devised by the same organisation that devised the questions for the ‘practice exams’?

No, the practice exam and the live exam are written by different company’s.

Regarding the exam, how long does the exam last and how many questions do I have to answer?

Exams are 50 minutes, they have about 17-26 questions, but it will tell you exactly how many before the exam starts.

During the exam, is there any indication of how many marks are available for correct answers of each individual question?

NO there is not.

If there is no prior indication of how many marks are available for correct answers of each question, do all questions carry equal marks?  Or are some questions worth more marks than others?

Some questions are worth more marks than others as some questions have more than one task to be completed.

Prior to starting the exam, is there any kind of pre-exam briefing given, or when I arrive, is it a case of ‘sit down at the computer, log-in and then start’?

Before the exam starts there are three/four information screens to read through which tell you about the layout of the exam and give you a few tips.  The administrator who logs you onto the exam will also give you a few pointers and tips before the exam starts.

If I experience computer failure/crash during the exam, a problem which costs me a significant amount of lost time, how would this situation be dealt with by S&G and/or Certiport if this is a factor in my failure to pass the exam?

If the exam crashes we will be able to re-start the exam from the point of the crash and the time you had left will be saved. You can then continue with the exam as normal. In the event of a fail, if the crash is a software fault you will have to take up a grievance with Certiport on their website.  If the fault is with our computer you will not have to pay the proctor fee for the re-take.

If the exam results in a ‘fail’ and a re-sit is necessary, will the re-sit exam consist of a totally different set of questions?

The exam consists of random questions so each exam should be different, but some questions may be similar.

At your online store, if I wanted to purchase a pre-payment voucher. Do you send out ‘Tips n tricks’ that is a single document covering all applications, or do you have a separate document for each application?

We will send out a single document covering all applications.  We will also send a specific document per application which we are currently putting together.