Testing with Virtual University Enterprises (VUE)

Virtual University Enterprises (VUE) is an alternate exam provider for an increasing number of certification programs including Lucent, Informix, Linux Professional Institute, Allaire, CompTIA, Microsoft, and Novell. Pricing is the same as at Prometric centers. VUE is a division of National Computer Systems (NCS) (NASDAQ: NLCS). VUE has approximatly 2,200 testing centers in 110 countries.

It’s best to register several weeks or more in advance of the exam. There are a limited number of seats at each center and they often fill up. Unlike Prometric, if space is available you may register onsite at a testing center for immediate testing (or retesting if you just barely failed an exam and want to go right back in and try again).

You register by calling one of the VUE registration numbers, by calling the testing center itself, or through VUE’s real time online registration system. We suggest that several days after you have registered you should call back and confirm that your information is recorded correctly.

On the day of your exam, you can call the test center as soon as they open to verify that your exam has been downloaded and is ready for you. Although download failures are rare, this can save you travelling to the center only to find no test awaiting once you arrive.

Bring two forms of identification with you to the testing center. One of those must be a photo id. You will be provided with a small wipeoff board to use for notes and calculations during the exam. You can ask for paper and pencil instead, which many people find more comfortable to work with. Whichever you use, you will be required to return before leaving the testing center. You will also need to leave any study materials with the receptionist. To keep from forgetting them when you leave, consider leaving your car keys/bus pass as well. This will make it impossible to drive away without your other belongings.

You will take the test in a room that is dedicated to that purpose. There may be one or more additional people taking other tests in the same room. The room is typically monitored via video camera or an exam proctor to deter cheating. You will have the option of completeing a practice test to familiarize yourself with the testing software. This is really only necessary if you haven’t used practice tests as part of your preparation, or if you feel like uncomfortable with computer-based testing.

There will probably also be a confidentiality agreement provided by the certification sponsor that you must acknowledge by clicking on an “I agree” button. This is basically a promise not to give out the questions you encountered in the exam.

When you finish the exam, your score will appear on the screen. Do not continue past that point until you have your official score sheet in hand. Although it’s extremely unlikely that your score will be lost, better safe than sorry.

Each score report from VUE is imprinted with a unique Registration # and Validation #, that can be used to verify the authenticity of the report. Simply enter these codes at http://www.vue.com/authenticate  and authenticity of the score report will be instantly verified.

After your exam, the VUE system transmits your results to the test sponsor where they are entered into your candidate record. The time between taking an exam and having the results registered in the sponsor’s database depend on a number of factors. Depending on how often a sponsor updates their database and how often the test center transmits data, your records may be updated within a few hours or several days.

That’s all there is to it!