About the Partners certification and exam changes
Starting in January 2018, the Google Partners exams and certifications available at Google Partners will be moved to Academy for Ads, Google's online training program. This means that you'll take exams and earn certifications through the Academy for Ads website instead of the Partners site. At Academy for Ads, you'll find online courses, exams, and certifications all in one place — making it easier for you to learn about Google ads.
In this article, you'll learn more about the changes that are being made to the exam and certification experience and more about Academy for Ads.
What's happening
When the exams and certifications are moved to Academy for Ads in January, information about your valid exams and certifications will be transferred to Academy for Ads automatically. If you don't want to transfer your information to Academy for Ads, you can opt-out on the "My profile" page in your Partners account (your choice can't be changed after January).
Here's what will happen when the exams and certifications are moved:
- For all valid exams and certifications, the following information will be transferred: your name, each exam and certification that is currently valid, and their respective expiration dates
- You'll take exams and earn certifications through the Academy for Ads website instead of the Partners site
Valid exams and certifications are ones that haven't expired as of the Academy for Ads move in January. For example, if your Search Advertising certification expires in September 2018, then this certification and the exams that you took to earn it will be transferred to Academy for Ads.
Note that the Partners site will still be available, and you'll be able to access features such as promotions, insights, and Google Partner badge information (if you're an admin of a company profile).
What's changing
Below is a summary of the differences between the Google Partners experience and the Academy for Ads experience.
| Partners experience | What changes in Academy for Ads |
| Certifications and exams |
Exams are called assessments.
Valid certifications will be available in your Academy for Ads profile (unless you choose to opt-out of transferring your information).
For the AdWords certifications, you'll need to take and pass the AdWords Fundamentals assessment before you can access the second required assessment.
|
| Available languages | The exams and printable certificates will be available in 19 languages (see the list below). |
| Exam study guides | The PDF versions of the study guides are no longer available (the Digital Sales study guide will continue to be available as a PDF). |
| Public profile |
The individual public profile won't be available after January. Anyone who has a link to your public profile will see a notification at the top saying that the profile is no longer available.
|
What happens to your exam and certification information
If you choose to transfer your exam and certification information to Academy for Ads, you'll be able to access that information in your Academy for Ads account.
After the exams and certifications are moved, you'll continue to see your exam and certification information in the "My profile" section of your Partners account — this information can help you troubleshoot any issues you might have with your exams or certifications.
The exam and certification information available in your Partners account will include all valid exams that you took and certifications that you earned through the Partners site before January 2018. This means that if you take an assessment and earn a certification at Academy for Ads in February 2018, that information will be available in your Academy for Ads profile only.
How to manage the transfer of your exam and certification information
- Sign in to your Partners account.
- Click My profile in the navigation bar.
- Scroll to the "Certifications and Exams" section.
- The "I'd like my exams and certifications transferred to Academy for Ads" checkbox will automatically be checked. If you don't want to transfer your information, uncheck this box.
What happens if your exam and certification information isn't transferred
If you choose to opt-out of transferring your exam and certification information, it won't be available in Academy for Ads and it won't be available on the Partners site after April 2018.
If you're affiliated with a company, the status of your company's Google Partner badge and specializations shouldn't be impacted. However, your company's Partner badge and specializations might be put at risk in certain situations (read the section below to learn more).
How your company's Partner badge and specializations might be impacted
After exams and certifications are moved to Academy for Ads, the status of your company's Partner badge and specialization shouldn't be impacted.
However, there are a few different factors that could put your company's Partner badge and specializations at risk, including the following:
- Certification expiration dates
- Not transferring exam and certification information to Academy for Ads
- Not sharing certification information with your company from Academy for Ads
- Not meeting the certification requirement for the Partner badge or specializations
Below is more information on these different factors and what you need to do. If your company's Partner badge or specialization ends up being at risk, admins for your company's Partners profile will get an email notification. Admins will also see a notification in the "Partner status" section of their Partners account.
| Situation: The exam and certification information for any employees whose profiles are affiliated with your company aren't transferred to Academy for Ads (in other words, the employee chose to opt-out of transferring the information) | ||
|---|---|---|
| How the certification counts toward the Partner badge and specialization requirements | What happens if no action is taken | What your employee needs to do |
| If the certification expires before April 2018, it will count toward your company's requirements until it expires | The certification will stop counting toward your company's requirements when it expires |
Retake both the expired and valid exams in Academy for Ads
AND
Share Academy for Ads account information with your company when they create an Academy for Ads account (this preference can be changed at anytime from the "My profile" section of Academy for Ads)
|
| If the certification expires after April 2018, it will count toward your company's requirements until April only |
The certification will stop counting toward your company's requirements after April 2018
| |
| Situation: The exam and certification information for any employees whose profiles are affiliated with your company is transferred to Academy for Ads (in other words, the employee chose to transfer the information) | ||
|---|---|---|
| How the certification counts toward the Partner badge and specialization requirements | What happens if no action is taken | What your employee needs to do |
| Whether the certification expires before or after April 2018, it will count toward your company's requirement until it expires | The certification will stop counting toward your company's requirements when it expires. Keep in mind that this isn't different from what currently happens in the Partners experience. |
Retake any expired exams in Academy for Ads
AND
Share Academy for Ads account information with your company when they create an Academy for Ads account (this preference can be changed at anytime from the "My profile" section of Academy for Ads)
|
Note
There might be up to a 48-hour delay between when an affiliated individual earns a certification in Academy for Ads and when that information is applied toward your company's Partner badge or specialization requirement.
Available languages for new exam and certification experience
When the exams and certifications move to Academy for Ads, all exams, certifications, and printable certificates will be available in 19 languages. The study guides will continue to be available in the existing 44 languages in the Partners Help Center.
The Academy for Ads online courses, which you can use to study for the exams, will continue to be available in English only.
Here are the available languages: simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese, Dutch, English (UK), English (US), French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese.
What happens to exams and certifications in unavailable languages
If you have valid exams and certifications in unavailable language and that information is transferred to Academy for Ads, those exams and certifications will remain valid in Academy for Ads in English. When you sign up for Academy for Ads or sign in to your Academy for Ads account, you'll need to select a preferred language that will be used when you take additional exams.
About Academy for Ads
Academy for Ads is a Google training program that you can use to grow your advertising skills. It’s for anyone who uses Google ads, like AdWords, or DoubleClick. When you sign up, you'll be able to access online courses any time from any device.
If you don't have an Academy for Ads account, you'll need to sign up for Academy for Ads and create an account using your Google Account. If you already have an Academy for Ads account, you can sign in to it and access your exam and certification information in the "My Profile" section.
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