CCIE Lab Cheater Banned For Life – Loses All Cisco Certifications

You can check out the entire drama here,  but here’s a quick summary:

A CCIE candidate takes his third attempt at the lab.  His first two attempts were in Brussels, this attempt was in Dubai.  He goes home and cannot get his test results.  He keeps asking Cisco about this and they keep referring him to different departments.  Finally he gets this letter:

Re: Violation of CCIE Candidate Conduct Policy-Possession of notes during exam

Dear ******,

I am writing to you on behalf of Cisco, Inc. (“Cisco”). It has come to our attention that ******* 2007 your CCIE Lab exam proctor discovered notes regarding exam question configurations at your assigned testing station. The proctor reported that upon confronting you with these notes that you admitted they belonged to you. As you should be aware, possession of notes during testing is a violation of the Candidate Conduct Policy which states:

“No candidate will take any action that will compromise the integrity or confidentiality of a Cisco Certification examination or otherwise compromise the integrity of the Cisco Certification program. Such actions include but are not limited to:
• Using any aids, notes, equipment or other materials not authorized by the TestingDelivery Partners or Cisco during the exam.”

You signed a Cisco Career Certification and Confidentiality Agreement that prior to your exam. To paraphrase this agreement, Cisco may at its sole discretion revoke any and all Certifications you may have earned, and permanently ban you from earning future Certifications if Cisco determines, in its sole discretion, that you have undertaken or participated in any action that compromises the integrity and confidentiality of an examination or the Program.

As a result, you are hereby permanently prohibited from taking any Cisco examinations, including CCIE written and laboratory examinations, and any Cisco certifications with VUE, Cisco’s Authorized Testing Delivery Partner. Access to your candidate records in the Certifications Tracking System is also denied.

The intention of Cisco career certifications is to ensure high standards of technical expertise. Achieving Cisco certification—at any level—means joining the ranks of skilled network professionals who have earned recognition and respect in the industry. Maintaining the integrity of Cisco certification programs and ensuring that only qualified individuals receive certification is in the interest of everyone.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Sincerely,

Kathe Saccenti, CCIE 2099
Mgr, Operations – Labs

Like I said, you can read the entire drama if you like.  The banned candidate makes a number of postings claiming his innocence, but the issue basically comes down to this: a proctor claims to have discovered notes and claimed that the candidate admitted that the notes belonged to him.  End of story.  It is now a “proctor’s word versus a candidate’s word” case.  There is a lot of speculation between the posters (both for the candidate’s guilt and innocence) including whether or not the CCIE lab has cameras.  I’ve never sat the lab, but I would be shocked if they did not have video cameras in the lab.

Cisco not only failed the candidate and barred him from future certifications, but also stripped him of his existing Cisco certifications.  This should be a cautionary tale for anyone who is thinking about cheating in the lab.