This page details The Open Group Exam Conduct and Security Policy. This page is also available as a .
If you are taking one of The Open Group Examinations then you are required to accept the following agreement:
The Open Group® Certification Program
Candidate Agreement
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Please read carefully the terms and conditions of The Open Group Certification Program Candidate
Agreement (the “Agreement�) before you proceed to take an examination.
THE DISCLOSURE TO YOU OF THIS EXAMINATION ("THE EXAM"), ANY ACCOMPANYING EXAMINATION MATERIALS, AND ANY DERIVATIVES THEREOF (COLLECTIVELY REFERRED TO AS THE "EXAM MATERIALS") IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT PROVIDED HEREIN. BY CLICKING ON THE "NEXT" BUTTON IN RESPONSE TO THE ACCEPTANCE QUERY, OR BY OTHERWISE TAKING THE EXAMINATION, YOU ARE CONSENTING TO BE BOUND BY THIS AGREEMENT.
If you do not agree to the terms of this agreement, do not continue.
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This is an agreement ("Agreement") between You (“You�,”Your�) and The Open Group that sets forth the terms and conditions of your use and disclosure of the Exam Materials. You and The Open Group are herein collectively referred to as “the Parties�.
The Open Group spends substantial sums of time and money in developing and administering its Exam Materials and carefully guards their integrity and confidentiality. The questions and answers of the Exam Materials are the exclusive and confidential property of The Open Group and are protected by The Open Group's intellectual property rights.
You hereby understand, acknowledge, and agree that:
1. The answers you provide on this examination are from your own skills and knowledge that you obtained fairly.2. You have not gained pre-knowledge of the exam questions or answers by any method, that is knowledge gained about the content of an exam prior to testing.
3. The use of brain dumps and other unauthorized content, including memorizing such materials to take an exam, is considered as cheating and will lead to exams and scores being cancelled, and your certification withheld or revoked.
4. You have not been and will not provide or accept any improper or unauthorized assistance before, during or after taking this examination.
5. You are the person signed up for this examination attempt (meaning, you are not having someone take this examination for you).
6. You will follow all instructions for the login and exam launch and make no attempts to use programs or software outside of those required to launch and complete the exam.
7. You must follow all the rules and regulations related to registration, administration, scoring and reporting of the examination as set by The Open Group and by the test provider or proctor, including The Open Group Exam Conduct and Security Policy and the exam retake policy, as well as will cooperate fully with any investigation into testing irregularities.
8. You will not disclose, copy, photograph, or share in any manner any of The Open Group Certification Program exam questions or answers, either entirely or partially.
9. You agree to The Open Group sharing your personal information with its partners to the extent necessary to provide and fulfill services associated with this certification exam.
10. The Open Group may use data forensics as a basis for an enforcement action against you. Statistical evidence may demonstrate diminished exam integrity and/or be used to corroborate evidence of improper activity. Exams and scores may be cancelled, you may have your certification withheld or revoked, based on statistical evidence.
11. If The Open Group or its exam provider determines that exam results are abnormal, or inappropriate actions or activities have occurred, or that you have undertaken or participated in any action that compromises the integrity and/or confidentiality of an exam or The Open Group Certification Program, whether intentional or unintentional, remedial action may be taken at any time including, but not limited to, invalidation of exam scores, revocation of certification, a temporary or permanent ban from participating in The Open Group programs, or prosecution under applicable civil and criminal law.
12. You will not share with anyone else, or use in any way, information about any certification examination of The Open Group, including but not limited to, questions, the types of questions, or answers. These obligations are binding on You until such time, if ever, as the specific information covered by the obligations are made generally available to the public by The Open Group. These obligations shall survive termination or expiration of this Agreement and all of The Open Group certification programs for any reason.
13. The Open Group is not required to disclose or otherwise share exam content or answers with You outside of the actual exam attempt session. You do not have the right to obtain any exam content outside the actual exam attempt session.
14. If The Open Group determines that you are in violation of these provisions, or The Open Group Exam Conduct and Security Policy, they will send a notice of violation and any actions that are taken.
15. If You receive a written notice of violation for any actions taken, You will have thirty (30) days from the date of the notice to submit a written appeal to The Open Group at
[email protected]. Your appeal should include a statement of the reasons for the appeal and any evidence you want to be considered. The Open Group may use third parties, including its test delivery provider or proctor to handle the appeals process.16. You hereby acknowledge and agree that violation of any of these provisions will cause irreparable harm to The Open Group for which monetary remedies may be inadequate, and that The Open Group shall be entitled, without waiving any other rights or remedies, to take all appropriate actions to remedy or prevent such disclosure or misuse.
17. Neither this Agreement nor any right granted hereunder shall be assignable or otherwise transferable by You. This Agreement may be modified only by a writing signed by both Parties.
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without giving effect to any choice of law rule. This Agreement represents the entire Agreement of the Parties hereto pertaining to its subject matter and supersedes any and all prior oral discussions and/or written correspondence or agreements between the Parties with respect thereto.
Exam Conduct Policy: Questions and Answers
The Open Group applies the following policy regarding Exam Conduct.
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Q. What is The Open Group Policy on its Exam Intellectual Property?
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A. All exam content, including the items, options, and correct responses, is the intellectual property of The Open Group. You are required to agree to a candidate agreement before you can take an exam.
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Q. Can I share and discuss the exam with my colleagues or on social media?
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A. The agreement you accept when taking an exam specifically prohibits sharing information from the exam. If you are found to have discussed exam content with others, be it in person or on online forums, you will be disqualified from taking any exam required for any of The Open Group certifications and decertified (the certification will be revoked).
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Q. What is Examinee Pre-knowledge? -
A. This is when a test taker has gained knowledge about the content of an exam prior to testing. It is a common method of cheating.
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Q. What is The Open Group policy on brain dumps and unauthorized content?
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A. Brain dumps are unauthorized publications of exam questions with or without answers. Using brain dumps and other unauthorized content, including memorizing such materials to take an exam, is considered as fraud. Exams are meant to validate candidate’s knowledge and/or understanding of a topic. Memorizing questions and answers does not allow such validation. Being caught using brain dumps, either live or through statistical analysis, is considered as cheating and will disqualify the candidate from getting certified. Authorized content is only available from The Open Group and its accredited training course providers.
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Q. What is The Open Group policy on cheating?
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A. If you are caught cheating by any means, while taking an exam or afterwards based on statistical analysis of the exam data, or by accessing resources leading to you having Examinee Pre-knowledge, your test result will not lead to certification. If it is subsequently discovered after certification then you will be disqualified from taking any exam required for any of The Open Group certifications and decertified.
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Exam Security Policy
Candidate Bans
If a candidate violates any testing rule, exam policy or term within The Open Group Certification Program Candidate Agreement, or engages in misconduct that diminishes the security and integrity of The Open Group Certification Program in any way, the candidate may be permanently prohibited from taking any future exams. In addition, the candidate may be decertified from the The Open Group Certification Program including removal from the Certification registers and test scores and certifications may be revoked. Refunds of testing fees will not be granted when a violation is detected.
Examples of such violations, and misconduct include, but are not limited to, the following:
� Falsifying score reports, by modifying and/or altering the original results/score reports for any exam record
� Cheating during the exam (such as colluding with other exam takers, using an unauthorised device or looking at notes)
� Providing or accepting improper assistance
� Bringing non-authorized items into the testing centre during an exam session
� Using unauthorised material (this includes using "brain-dump" material and/or unauthorised publication of exam questions with or without answers)
� Falsifying identity or impersonating another individual to gain access to an exam
� Misconduct as determined by statistical analysis
� Copying, publishing, disclosing, transmitting, selling, offering to sell, posting, downloading, distributing in any way, or otherwise transferring, modifying, making derivative works of, reverse engineering, decompiling, disassembling, or translating any exam in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, verbal or written, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose
� Disclosing The Open Group intellectual property
� Disseminating exam content
� Using exam content in any manner that violates applicable law
� Violating the exam retake policy
� Violating The Open Group confidentiality agreement in any way
� Violating the agreement with the exam delivery provider in any wayData Forensics
The Open Group may use data forensics as a basis for an enforcement action against a candidate. Statistical evidence may demonstrate diminished exam integrity and/or be used to corroborate evidence of improper activity. Exams and scores may be cancelled, candidates may be banned, and testing centres may be closed, based on statistical evidence. To prevent candidates from bypassing our statistical indicators, we do not provide details of the methods used to determine an anomalous exam result.
Out-of-country testingTo take one of The Open Group Certification exams at a Pearson VUE testing center in Cameroon, China, India or Nigeria, you must be a legitimate resident of that country. If you are a legitimate resident of that country, note the following: Testing centers in these countries are required to confirm and record that each Certification candidate taking The Open Group examinations has shown documented proof that he or she is a legitimate resident of that specific country. If you are not a legitimate resident of Cameroon, China, India or Nigeria, you will not be allowed to take one of The Open Group Certification exams within that country.
Candidate retesting at the request of The Open Group
The Open Group reserves the right to ask any candidate to retest for any suspected fraudulent activity or anomalous testing patterns at any time.Retesting will take place at a facility that is selected by The Open Group at a time agreed upon by The Open Group and the candidate.
Right of exclusion
Based on security and integrity concerns, The Open Group reserves the right to exclude specific regions, countries and testing centres from The Open Group Certification Program altogether.Right to Appeal
Candidates may appeal a decision by submitting an appeal within 30 days of receiving notice of the decision.