refresher exams.

i was wondering about these refresher exams on the ms faq page.

for example if i were to finish my mcse then upgrade to MCITP: Server Administrator and Enterprise Administrator. what refresher exams would be needed?

how does it work exactly? do i take an exam and they automatically just add +3 years?

when they say refresher exam does this mean a special exam per title or i can take any mcitp exam and it will do?

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SWM

From my understanding, you will need to retake the MCITP exam for the product you originally passed it on or the MCITP exam on the next version, i.e Server 2011 etc if its available

royal

All they've said is the MCITP needs to be retaken every 3 years for you to keep the cert. The next server product may not come out in the next 3 years, which would mean you'd have to retake it on Windows 2008. Plus, as far as I know, they haven't said if there will be an upgrade path to the MCITP for the next exam series. You might still have to upgrade your MCTS to the next MCTS and then just do the MCITP again that's specific for the next server version.

HeroPsycho

Stated on Microsoft's FAQ about MCITP, you don't take the MCITP exams for the next version, but rather the new MCTS exam(s) that related to your MCITP.

"The update requirement is that you take a refresh exam. This may happen in one of two ways:
• You pass a new MCTS exam that supports your professional-series certification.

or:

• You pass a professional-series exam specifically designed for the refresh process. In this case, you earn the latest, related MCTS certification and maintain your professional series credential by passing this one exam."

http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/newgen/lifecycle/default.mspx

That suggests this:

Suppose you get MCITP: Enterprise Messaging Administrator.

That consists of the following exams:

Exam 70-236 (MCTS)
Exam 70-237 (MCITP)
Exam 70-238 (MCITP)

Once achieving MCITP, clock starts ticking for 3 years. When that time is up, you either need to take the refresher exam, OR pass the MCTS exam for the next version of Exchange. You will NOT need to take the corresponding MCITP exams for that new version of Exchange.

If a new version of Exchange has not come out, Microsoft hints at a potential pardon until the new version is out.

"The three-year requirement is based on best practices and experience showing that major technology, job role, or technology best practices go through significant updates within three-year periods. Microsoft might extend the timeline for certification refresh if there are no major updates to the underlying technology or job role."

Hope this helps!

dynamik

Just to clarify, it looks like you will not take the same MCTS exam that you did originally. Instead, you will take an specific MCTS designed to be a refresher exam.

You pass a professional-series exam specifically designed for the refresh process. In this case, you earn the latest, related MCTS certification and maintain your professional series credential by passing this one exam.

Q. How will the refresh policy affect the retake policy?
A. The refresh exam will have a new exam number and different or updated content; it will not be exactly the same as the older exam. The retake policy will remain the same for the refresh exams

Thanks for the link though. That was the first I've seen of that.