Microsoft raised exam certification prices in July

August 23, 2016 at 12:07 pm | Posted in Kaplan IT Training news, Microsoft, Vendor news | Leave a comment
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Microsoft made a worldwide adjustment in the price of their MCP and certification exams for non-academic titles. The increased prices went into effect on July 18, 2106.

The pricing change does NOT affect pre-paid vouchers from Transcender or vouchers purchased from Pearson VUE, Courseware Marketplace, or through academic Volume Licensing. You can continue to use any vouchers you bought prior to the pricing upgrade without having to make up the additional cost.

Student discounts have not changed, but they will be calculated from the new exam price.

In most cases the price increase was around USD $15. To find a price for a specific exam, find your test on the Microsoft Certification Exam List or go directly to Pearson Vue and check the price for your region.

Don’t let a free exam pass you by: grab Microsoft’s two-for-one offer before June 30

June 7, 2012 at 1:14 pm | Posted in Certification Paths, Microsoft, Vendor news | Leave a comment
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In their push toward MCSA and MCSE certifications (covered by George here), Microsoft is offering a fairly unprecedented deal on certification exams: pay full price now, get a free upgrade later. How does this compare to other Microsoft promotions, and is it the right deal for you?

The fine print is as follows:

To help you move to the cloud, Microsoft is offering a limited time* “Two for One” exam offer. When you purchase and take a qualifying exam at full price between April 11, 2012 and June 30, 2012, you will be emailed a voucher valid for the next version exam of your chosen technology path, at no additional cost. Your voucher for the second qualifying exam will be emailed to you when the new exams release and will expire 90 days after the new Certification in your technology path becomes available.

Let’s review the conditions that need to be in place for this deal to work for you:

  • You should be ready to pass the current version of your qualifying exam in one of the four “cloud-bound” technology areas: Windows 7 Client (migrating to Windows 8), Windows Server 2008/Private Cloud (migrating to 2012/Private Cloud), Visual Studio 2010 (migrating to Visual Studio 11), and SQL Server 2008 (migrating to 2012: Data Platform or 2012: Business Intelligence).
  • You should be able to pass the current exam(s) by the end of June. You can request up to five exam vouchers in any of the listed paths (which means you would take up to five exams in the next three weeks).
  • You should have a plan in place to hit the ground running once the upgraded version of your exam is released. The clock starts ticking the 90-day countdown as soon as the exam rolls out.
  • You should install and configure the updated versions of your technology as soon as they roll out (such as Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate).
  • You should regularly check (or subscribe to a feed for) Microsoft Learning’s Cloud Certification Overview Page (http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/certification/cert-cloud.aspx) for freebies and training offers to work your skills in the new areas.

If that sounds like a workable plan, then head over to Microsoft today and request your cloud-bound voucher.

What We’re Working On – June Edition

June 14, 2011 at 4:31 pm | Posted in CompTIA, Kaplan IT Training news, Microsoft, PMI | 9 Comments
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It’s not quite Summer Solstice, but many of us are already feeling the heat! The mercury isn’t the only thing rising around here. Gas prices are through the roof, airfare is at a pre-recession high, and soon the cost of some of your favorite IT exams will also rise. (For details, check Microsoft’s press release here: Microsoft exam prices will increase this summer – http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/btl/b/weblog/archive/2011/04/22/so-about-that-price-increase.aspx). So what are we doing this month to keep cool & help you save a few bucks?

As for those pesky exam price increases, be sure to check out our voucher packages between now and June 30th. If you shop before July 1st, you can lock down your Microsoft exam price at today’s rates. You have to commit to an exam attempt by October 31st (other restrictions may apply; check our web site for details), but if you’re already on the road to certification, then it’s worth the savings!

In response to several customer requests (THANKS for keeping us in the loop about your study habits & tools), we’re updating our Windows Server 2008 Study Guides for R2. Because of time & resource constraints, we’re limiting the updates to the TS-level products, since that’s where most of your concerns & questions have been focused. But remember, if you own pre-R2 versions of either the practice test product or the study guide, then you’re eligible for a free upgrade to the latest version. Log in to your Club Account to download updates, or contact our Customer Support team, who will be more than happy to talk you through the upgrade process.

George (gmonsalvatge) was finally set free from the grip of Windows Server 2008 R2 only to turn his attention to yet another Microsoft product update – Exchange Server 2010. After completing practice test content for his first SharePoint 2010 project, George turned his attention to SP1 revisions in Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 products Cert-70-662 and Cert-70-663. Once these products are updated to reflect the latest revisions in the Microsoft exams, we’ll be sure to focus all our efforts on the PRO – Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Administrator (70-668).

Josh (codeguru) has just sent the first Windows Application PRO practice test product to QA so we’re only a few days away from releasing Cert-70-518 C#/VB! We’re also just a couple of weeks away from releasing the first of our MCPD Upgrade to Visual Studio 2010, Cert-70-621 C#/VB products,  so look out for these additions to the Visual Studio path on our site soon.

A few more exams rocking our world this summer – CompTIA has released their new Security+ (SY0-301) exam, which means Robin is knee-deep in all things cloud computing, virutalization, and even an evil twin! Yes, we mean the wireless access point kind, not the Stanley Kubrick kind, but it’s still kind of interesting.  Troy is wrapping up our VCP-410 practice test product. This was one of those projects that made it on our project schedule due almost entirely to your requests, plus a bit of our own VMware curiosity.  So please keep those email requests coming, because I’m not kidding when I tell you we read & track every last one of your emails.

Finally, this one has been announced before, but worth mentioning again in case you missed Robin’s post – PMI has announced an update to their current PMP4ED exam, and to answer your questions, YES, we plan on revising our practice test to align with any changes in the exam domains.

And last, but certainly not least, a few non-product related events filling up our summer dance card – Cisco Live! (July 10-14), and CompTIA Breakaway (August 1-4). We plan to attend both of these shows and would love to hear if you plan to be there too. Shoot us an email and let us know which show(s) you’ll be attending this Summer, and if we’re there, we’d love to meet up!

Stay cool, stay hydrated & as always, thanks for reading!

~Aima

Exchange Server 2010 Pro Designing (70-663) and TS: Configuring (70-662) exams: take a tip from the masters

April 22, 2010 at 4:48 pm | Posted in Certification Paths, Microsoft | Leave a comment
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You know how Phil Mickelson recently won the Masters golf tournament, despite not playing well this year overall? I think he just rode the momentum of having won the Masters twice before. Me, I recently took the 70-663 exam, Pro: Designing and Deploying Messaging Solutions with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010. When I was doing my studying for this test, I notice that there was a lot of overlap with the objectives of the 70-662 exam, TS: Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, Configuring. Because I had just recently taken 70-662, I risked cutting down my study time for the 70-663 and just hit the topics that weren’t on the 662 list. Like Mickelson, I rode that momentum, and the gamble worked: I passed.

If it’s at all financially feasible, if you’re prepping for the 70-662 exam, you should plan to take the 70-663 shortly afterward. Here’s why. The 70-662 exam asks you questions on how you may perform specific tasks.  For the 70-662 exam, you will need to know concepts of Exchange Server 2010 installation, message routing, and each Exchange 2010 server role. These concepts will be tested again on the 70-663, but this time the exam focuses on your understanding of how to plan and deploy different Exchange server roles, message security, and high availability of different server roles. Unlike the 70-662, you may not need to know specific switches of Exchange cmdlets, but you will have to know how to these concepts fit within a specific designing or deploying scenario.

The thing is, if  you go into the material for the 70-662 with the aim of understanding the concepts from the ground up, you’ll be studying for the 70-663 by default. If you want to get the Microsoft Certified IT Professional (MCITP): Enterprise Messaging Administrator 2010 certification, you have to pass both the 70-662 and the 70-663. Passing the 70-662 exam is not easy, but if you’ve mastered that, then knocking out the 70-663 exam doesn’t require a lot of extra effort. Just keep the momentum going.

An example of the type of question you would see on the 70-662 test would go like this: Continue Reading Exchange Server 2010 Pro Designing (70-663) and TS: Configuring (70-662) exams: take a tip from the masters…

New from Transcender: Cisco exam vouchers added to our product lineup

February 12, 2010 at 2:34 pm | Posted in Cisco, Kaplan IT Training news | Leave a comment
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I previously reported that we offer vouchers for Microsoft and CompTIA exams. Now we’ve added Cisco exam vouchers to our lineup for tests in the CCNA, CCNA Voice, CCNA Security, CCNP, and CCIP certifications.

The full list of Cisco and CompTIA vouchers is available here: http://www.transcender.com/gen.aspx?pf=page&sn=TraVouchersec

When you buy an exam voucher bundled with your practice test, you’ll save between $45 and $58 over the price of buying the practice test and paying the exam fee separately.

If you’re on the home stretch of obtaining your CCNP, you may want to take advantage of this new combination price to purchase vouchers and practice material for your remaining exams. The current exams will only be offered through July 31, 2010.

Qualify for your Second Shot with a Transcender exam voucher

January 21, 2010 at 4:58 pm | Posted in Kaplan IT Training news, Microsoft | 2 Comments
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We began offering Microsoft exam vouchers bundled with our practice materials in November 2009. Now that Microsoft has revived the Second Shot program, we have coded our vouchers to meet the Second Shot program requirements (find full details on this program here).

All of our Microsoft exam vouchers now include the Second Shot retake option for the U.S. and Canadian regions. If you purchase a qualifying* exam voucher from us, you have until June 30, 2010, to take your retake exam upon failing the first attempt. We can only extend this offer to U.S. and Canadian customers, so be sure this applies to your region before purchasing a voucher through us.

To buy a voucher, simply navigate to the Transcender page for the exam you wish to take (for example, Cert-70-433: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, Database Development). Exam vouchers will be listed as a purchase option.

*As per the Microsoft Second Shot rules.


Transcender’s new product offering: discounted vouchers for Microsoft & CompTIA

November 12, 2009 at 11:16 am | Posted in Kaplan IT Training news | Leave a comment
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Transcender is now offering test vouchers good for our most popular CompTIA and Microsoft exams. When you buy an exam voucher bundled with the practice test, you’ll save between $45 and $58 over the price of buying the practice test and paying the exam fee separately. This is a huge convenience for people doing self-study who don’t have any other source for discount vouchers (which are sometimes available when you buy a professional training course, or attend a convention).

Vouchers are offered for all Microsoft exams starting with 70-xxx and 83-xxx, and for any CompTIA A+, Network+, or Security+ exam.

Product Transcender CD + Voucher Retail Price of Voucher Voucher Savings

Microsoft		 $119.00 + $80.00 $125.00 $45.00
CompTIA A+ $119.00 + $120.00 $168.00 $48.00
CompTIA Network+ $119.00 + $190.00 $239.00 $49.00
CompTIA Security+ $119.00 + $200.00 $258.00 $58.00

For more information, check out our special offers page here.

There are only a few small, easily followed rules with the program:

  • Bundled exam vouchers are sold with the CD version of  the practice test product.
  • Vouchers are good for authorized Prometric testing centers.
  • As with any voucher, these have an expiration date – typically one year from the date of purchase. The expiration date will be clearly marked. Also, please note that you must take the exam before the expiration date, not just schedule it before expiration.
  • We do not currently sell vouchers for the Microsoft MCAS exams (77-601, 77-602, 77-603).

Microsoft offering exam vouchers for 15%, 20%, and 25% off

September 2, 2009 at 8:45 am | Posted in Microsoft | Leave a comment
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Microsoft’s popular Second Shot program ended on June 30, 2009. Recently Microsoft announced a new promotion with Prometric: a discounted voucher program that covers a wide range of certification exams – including such up-to-the-minute exams as 70-680, TS – Windows 7 Configuring.

You can purchase a discounted voucher today and use it for the corresponding exam any time between now and December 31, 2009. (They include the disclaimer or while supplies last, which, depending on the amount of demand they expect – did you miss the Windows 7 beta exam offering like I did? -may be sooner rather than later.) If you’ve planned to take any of the exams on the list, and do not have an alternate source for discounted vouchers (such as an independent training course), you will want to hurry over and see if your target product is on the list.

Get up to 25% off Select Microsoft Certification Exams

Also, have you checked out the freebies offered in Microsoft’s learning center lately?

Pearson VUE vouchers for Microsoft exams are exiting the building on July 31, 2008

July 16, 2008 at 7:40 pm | Posted in Vendor news | Leave a comment
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As per the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) Flash newsletter: if you have a Microsoft exam voucher from Pearson VUE, you need to get a replacement voucher from Prometric. This exchange offer is only good until July 31, 2008, after which neither voucher nor replacement offer will be valid.

Here’s the Microsoft web site explaining their decision to go with Prometric as its sole exam administrator, and the link to perform a voucher transfer:

Here’s a link to the Pearson VUE website.

Here’s a link to the Prometric website.


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