Microsoft FAQ

Learning Partner Program Changes Overview

The purpose of this document is to provide answers to commonly asked questions related to updates to the
Learning Partner Program in 2022.

Updated April 2022

Learning Partner Program Changes – Frequently Asked Questions

Overview
1. Where can I find additional details on the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) program
announcements?
Many partner program details can be found at the Solutions Partner Overview page.
The benefits guide can be found on the above page, or you can follow the direct link here.

2. Why is the Partner Program being updated?

We are evolving Microsoft Partner Network programs and are committed to growing our partnership
and your business. This includes simplifying our partner programs and aligning how we go to market,
validating partner capabilities to deliver successful customer outcomes, and investing in your growth
and profitability.

3. What is the name of the new Partner Program?

Microsoft Cloud Partner Program (effective October 2022)

4. Will we be announcing our Learning Partner Program at same time as the broader Partner
Program? Will the timeline be the same for Learning Partners as other partner types?
The updated Learning program was announced on March 16th, 2022 at the same time as the broader
Microsoft Partner program announcement. Learning program availability, the date in which Learning
Partners can earn their designations and view their performance on Partner Center, is slightly staggered
from the broader program availability but is planned for Q4 CY2022.

5. Will Learning partners have a Partner Capability Score?

Learning partners will not have a Partner Capability Score like other partner types in the next gen
program. The Learning Partner Program will have a unique set of key performance indicators that are
representative of the way Learning Partners go to market and differentiate themselves from other
training providers. The set of program requirements were designed to reward partners based upon
their depth and breadth of training as well as the quality of their deliveries.
Legacy Competencies to Solution Area Designations
6. What will happen to Gold and Silver competencies?
September 30, 2022 is the last day for partners to renew legacy competencies. From October 1, 2022,
competencies will no longer be valid, meaning that existing competency badges will be removed, and
competencies will not be promoted by Microsoft. Partners can choose to maintain their legacy benefits
but will not be branded as Gold or Silver.

7. What does Designation mean?

A designation is recognition of admittance into the Microsoft Cloud Partner program and symbolizes
program status by granting a badge in accordance with program achievement.

8. What is the solutions partner designation for Learning Partners?

The designation applicable to the Learning program is “Training Services” partner. This designation can
be earned for each of the 6 solution areas – Infrastructure (Azure), Data & AI (Azure), Digital & App
Innovation (Azure), Modern Work, Security, and Business Applications. Earning all 6 badges also makes
the Solutions Partner for Microsoft Cloud badge available for the organization.

9. I have a legacy competency and choose to attain a solutions partner designation. What is the
process?
Starting Q4 CY2022, solutions partner designations will be available for partners to attain. If you meet
the requirements and earn the required partner benchmarks, you can immediately attain a solutions
partner designation and the new customer-facing badging.

Learning Program Requirements

10. How do I attain a solutions partner designation?

The solutions partner for Training Services designation will be attained through a set of Learning
Partner requirements in categories for number of learners trained, certifications purchased, training
delivery quality and capability across Microsoft solution areas. The categories and metrics to attain
solutions partner for Training Services designation are defined as follows:
• Partner performance: 1,000+ overall courseware completions (note: this was originally announced
as courseware activations and has since been updated), and minimum of 200 Microsoft Certified
Professional (MCP) exam vouchers purchased in a 12-month period.
o A minimum of 700 Advanced Role-based courseware completion key performance indicators
(KPIs) and a maximum of 300 Fundamentals courseware completion KPIs will be enforced
o Fundamentals courseware and exams count as .5 KPI units (i.e. it takes 600 Fundamentals
courseware completions to make 300 KPI)
o There is no max KPI on Fundamentals exams. The exam metric can be met entirely with
Fundamentals exams.
• Quality of training: In addition to meeting these partner performance requirements, Learning
Partners will need to achieve a minimum score of 4.25 out of a possible 5.0 across 9 designated
survey questions. Scores will be counted for Microsoft’s Advanced Role-based courses taught by an
active Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) via post-training surveys delivered on the required Metrics
that Matter (MTM) survey platform.
 • Solution area depth: A Learning Partner must earn a minimum of one solutions partner
designation. This is achieved by students completing a minimum of 200 Metrics that Matter (MTM)
quality surveys for Advanced Role-based training for a particular Microsoft solution area. Surveys
completed from May 1, 2022 through October 31, 2022 will be credited as 2 KPIs. Surveys
completed prior to May 1, 2022 and on and after November 1, 2022 will count as 1 KPI.

A partner must meet the requirements of partner performance and quality of training and at least
one solutions area depth performance benchmark to achieve their solutions partner for training
services designation for the Learning Partner program and applicable benefits.

11. How can I determine my progress towards the solutions area benchmarks of the new program?
All data including courseware completions, MCP exam purchases, and quality survey results will be
available for partner review on Partner Center in the second half of 2022. We will make these available
to partners in advance of program launch so that you can understand how you are tracking to new
requirements.

12. Originally one new program requirement was number of courseware activated, now it is shown
as courseware completed. Why the change?
We want to find the best measurements for learner success. To that end, courseware completion is a
better measure of success than courseware activation. When we first announced this new program we
did not have the full infrastructure in place to base performance on activations. After the
announcement, development timelines accelerated allowing us to update the metric. We chose to make
the change now, prior to the program going live, to prevent further Learning partner disruption.

13. How do I determine to which of the 6 designated solutions areas a specific course is associated?
Our Title Plan is being updated to provide one of the 6 solutions area descriptors to each available
course. Title plans are posted monthly (and sometimes more frequently on the Learning Resources
page. Title Plans are also discussed on each monthly Learning Partner Community Call. Details and links
for these calls can be found on the Learning Community site (registration / sign-in required).

14. For partner performance, how does Microsoft count a course as completed by a learner?
More information on course completion operations and metrics will be available in May 2022. At a high
level, the program will use a combination of Courseware Marketplace / Skillpipe and Microsoft Learn
data as we transition to Microsoft Learn as the sole platform for Microsoft courseware in the future.

15. Is the exam metric for exams purchased, or exams conducted / redeemed?
At launch the requirement will be exams purchased. Ideally we want to move to a redemption metric as
that is a better measure of learner outcomes. Any changes to the program will be communicated well in
advance of implementation.

16. Is the Metrics that Matter survey the same as the quality survey described in the program
requirements?
Yes. Metrics that Matter is our quality survey platform hosted by our survey partner Explorance. The
Metrics that Matter survey platform is provided at no additional cost to our Learning partners. Partners
that require deeper integration development will need to work with Explorance on business
requirements and costing.
 17. How is the survey score calculated? There are questions on the survey that Learning partners
have little control over.
Of the standard survey, we have selected only the 9 questions that most pertain to Learning partner
control. Questions that are mostly influenced by Microsoft, such as content are not included. Questions
such as trainer effectiveness are included in the partner score. A list of the 9 scored questions is
available for partner review.

18. Where is the Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) requirement in the new program?
The old Learning program required partners to associate specific MCT IDs to the partner account in
Partner Center to meet the MCT requirement. MCTs are still required to teach all official Microsoft
training through our Learning Partners. Moving forward, all Metrics that Matter surveys submitted by
learners will be tagged with the MCT ID of the class trainer. Surveys without a valid MCT ID will not be
counted towards the partner performance scores.

19. Once I qualify for solutions partner, what is my next step?

To receive the solutions partner designation benefits once the solution area program is launched in Q4
CY2022 you will need to pay an annual fee similar to the Gold legacy competency fees. If you decide to
retain your legacy silver or gold competency benefits, you will pay an annual fee aligned to the legacy
silver and gold competency fees.

20. What happens to my existing anniversary date?

There is no change to existing anniversary dates.

21. Do I need to meet the new requirements at a global or country level?

The Microsoft Partner Network (to be called Microsoft Cloud Partner Program starting in October 2022)
measures partners at an organization level. Most of our Learning Partners have one Organization ID
with one or more worldwide sub-locations that ladder up. In this scenario, the performance of all
locations is summed at the organization level and solutions area designations are achieved by this
aggregate performance. Some Learning Partners have elected to exist as multiple separate
organizations within the Microsoft ecosystem. Only those Organization IDs that achieve the posted
performance metrics will be badges as a Training Solutions provider.

Program Benefits

22. What happens to my existing benefits when Gold/Silver badges go away?

Legacy competencies and associated badges will no longer be valid after September 30, 2022. However,
you will retain your legacy benefits (benefits you received based on the competency you held on
September 30, 2022), until your next anniversary date.

23. What do I do on my first Anniversary date after the program is generally available (Q4 CY2022)?
After meeting all requirements, select one of the benefits package options:
• Solutions partner benefits if you meet the new requirements
OR
• Previously earned legacy competency (Silver and/or Gold) benefits
 AND
• pay the associated annual membership fee

24. How do these changes affect my current licensing benefits (also known as IURs)?
The existing licensing benefits structure (legacy benefits) will be available to all current Gold and Silver
partners until September 30, 2023. For those organizations that want to earn the new solutions partner
designation of Training Services, you can find a specific list of benefits by solution area on the GPS
Solutions Partner site.

25. How does the new partner program help me become more discoverable to my customers?
Customers want to work with Learning Partners who have deep knowledge and expertise. A Training
Solutions partner designation identifies partners with specific capabilities and experiences in solution-
area training. Learning Partners will be discoverable to customers based upon their depth and breadth
of training expertise, as well as the quality of their offerings attested by learner survey submissions.

Transition & Resources

26. As a Learning Partner, what should I do now to prepare?

• Understand program requirements, and how you will achieve Solutions Designations as part of
new Cloud Partner program
o Metrics that Matter provides organizational dashboards and building a report to match
the data slice that Microsoft will use for renewals can be found here.
o All data including courseware completions, MCP exam purchases, and quality survey
results will be available for partner review on Partner Center in the second half of 2022.
We will make these available to partners in advance of program launch so that you can
understand how you are tracking to new requirements.
• Watch for future updates across comms channels including monthly Community Calls,
newsletters, and the Learning Partner Community.
• If you have not done so already, register for and leverage the Metrics that Matter (MTM) survey
platform for all Microsoft training deliveries
• Encourage your learners to activate and complete their courseware, and complete post-training
surveys.
• Create a plan for incorporating exam vouchers into your student training offering

27. Where can I find additional details on Metrics that Matter (MTM)?
The following MTM documents can be found attached to the Learning Partner Community program
announce post (registration and sign-in required).
• MTM Walking Deck
• MTM Support Documentation
• 9 aggregate Survey questions as part of Learning Partner quality score

End of FAQ