7/17/2002 -- A couple of columns back I wrote about how Oracle's licensing policy makes it impossible for anyone to provide training on Oracle's database products except Oracle's own educational division or its authorized partners. I received a few of e-mails from people at Oracle explaining their position, and just when I was beginning to understand where they were coming from, candidates for the Oracle Certified Professional certification for Oracle 9i received the following e-mail:

From: Oracle Certification Program [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Saturday, June 15, 2002 3:01 AM
To: OCP Candidates
Subject: Oracle University Announces New Requirements for the Oracle Certification Program

Dear Oracle9i DBA Certification Candidate,

Please acknowledge this correspondence as an official notification in regards to your pursuit of Oracle Certification.

The Oracle Certification credential continues to provide leverage to those who have earned it, leading to increased demand for Oracle Certified Professionals among hiring managers. To help meet this demand and increase the value of the credential, Oracle is investing heavily in the betterment of certification exams and learning offerings. Oracle customers and business partners demand that their Oracle Certified Professionals have hands-on experience with all aspects of the Oracle database. To meet our commitment to customers and constituents, three distinct changes are being rolled out with the goal of increasing the level of quality of our certification skill and ability benchmarks:

• Scenario-based testing in all new Oracle Certified Professional track exams (as of January, 2002)
• Instructor-led class requirement for all Oracle9i DBA Certified Professionals (as of June 15, 2002)
• A new hands-on Masters Practicum (available October, 2002)

The OCP Oracle9i DBA track requires four tests: two required tests for OCA certification plus two additional tests. Oracle now also requires (as of June 15, 2002) that all newly starting OCP credential candidates complete one hands-on course with Oracle University in preparation for their exams and future role as an Oracle technologist.

OCP candidates like you who have already completed at least one exam toward earning their OCP credential before June 15, 2002 are waived from fulfilling the new requirement. All candidates still must first complete the OCA certification before moving forward to obtain an OCP credential.

Please note that OCP candidates completing their Oracle study with an Oracle Academic Initiative program school or an Oracle Workforce Development school do not need to complete one of these specific courses at Oracle University since these candidates are already completing this curriculum within their program of study.

For more information, visit www.oracle.com/education/certification, or phone your local Oracle University representative. A complete listing of local Oracle University representative phone numbers can be at www.oracle.com/education/index.html?contact.html.

Thank you for your understanding of Oracle's commitment to excellence and continued quality for the Oracle Certification Program.

Regards,

Oracle Certification

The Good
I have to give Oracle credit for deciding to toughen up their exams and make the questions more closely reflect real life. In general, many folks have commented to me that Oracle's exams are much easier than other vendors' exams (specifically, Microsoft and IBM). I hope the switch to a more scenario-based format will make them tougher. As my friends in Australia would say "Good on you, Oracle!"

I also applaud Oracle on having a tiered structure for their certifications where OCA candidates must pass tests to show their proficiency in SQL and basic database administration, such as creating and managing databases and security. The exams required for the OCA designation count towards the OCP designation, which includes such critical DBA topics as backup and recovery, and performance tuning. To be certified in much more advanced topics, such as distributed database, clustering and so on, the candidate needs to take a practicum at Oracle, which hopefully will add locations in the near future for those of us who don't reside in the United States.

The Bad
While announcing that exams will have tougher questions, Oracle also says that in order to become an OCP you must take a class through Oracle University or an approved Oracle University Education Partner. The courses that can be taken to satisfy this requirement are those that serve as a background for the OCP certification:

• Oracle9i Introduction to SQL
• Oracle9i Database Fundamentals I.
• Oracle9i Database Fundamentals II
• Oracle9i Database Performance Tuning
• Oracle9i Database New Features
• Introduction to Oracle: SQL and PL/SQL

I have three problems with this requirement. First, who is to say that Oracle University is the best place to acquire the necessary skills to become Oracle certified? There are other resources that can provide the same level of coverage of the exam topics and DBA roles. Granted, Oracle's exam objectives map nicely to the courses offered (on purpose, I'm sure), but how about those organizations that decide on bringing in someone to train their people on the same topics outlined in the exam objectives using non-Oracle material or instructors? Is the quality of their training different if the person performing the training is as qualified or better qualified than Oracle's own instructor? Furthermore, they're not breaking any licensing rules since they are legally allowed to use their Oracle licenses to train their own staff.

My second problem relates to the reason someone may decide to use a third-party training organization to provide these in-house classes -- the cost. Oracle University classes are quite expensive. By forcing OCP candidates to attend an Oracle University class Oracle is helping to ensure a revenue stream for its education division. Unfortunately, it may also have the effect of discouraging potential OCP candidates from pursuing their certification past the OCA stage. I always thought it was about getting qualified candidates out into the workforce, though it now appears the OCP certification is about filling seats in Oracle University classes.

This leads me to my third problem -- any of the Oracle University classes outlined above is valid in satisfying this requirement. Essentially, simply by sitting an Introduction to SQL you have satisfied this requirement, but have not learned any of the skills being tested on the Oracle 9i Database: Fundamentals II or the Oracle 9i Database: Performance Tuning exams, which are required to attain the OCP credential. If Oracle wanted to introduce a course requirement and gear it towards the OCP credential, why not require that candidates attend a class corresponding to the exams required for the OCP designation specifically instead of any Oracle 9i class?

The Ugly (But We Made It Prettier)
The nastiest part of the e-mail sent out to OCP candidates was that the new requirements came into effect the same day the e-mail was sent – no warning or anything. If you want to be an Oracle 9i OCP, this is what you have to do, period! If you already wrote your first exam, we'll waive the course requirements, but if you are still waiting, better take a class at Oracle University.

But, wait!! STOP THE PRESSES!!! Oracle's Web site has the following update:

Candidates seeking Oracle9i DBA Certification who have taken at least one exam in the Oracle 9i DBA track by September 1, 2002 will be exempt from fulfilling the new requirement. However, candidates that register for their first exam after September 1st, 2002, will be required to complete the course requirement in addition to the four exams in the path to earn their Oracle9i DBA Certified Professional credential. Note that there is no course requirement for earning the Oracle Certified Associate credential. OCPs that are already certified in version 7.3, 8.0 or 8i of the Oracle database do not have to meet this requirement in order to upgrade their credential to Oracle 9i.

Looks like Oracle listened after all to some of the feedback presented on CertCities.com and other places and decided to extend the date for the new course requirement from June 15 to September 1, and also waive it for anyone who was an OCP in a previous release of the product. This hopefully takes some of the sting off and lessens the PR blunder the original announcement created.

Well, you have no excuse now not to register and pass any of the four required exams for the OCP 9i designation before September 1. Start by taking the online Introduction to Oracle 9i: SQL (1Z0-007) exam right now (but don't get me started on what I think of this!).