Dear INSERT INSTRUCTOR NAME

Cisco Networking Academy NetRiders Challenge 2009

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

WHO

Q. Who is eligible to participate?

A. Any post-secondary level Cisco Networking Academy student who has taken CCNA version 3.1, Discovery or Exploration course within the last six (6) months. (NOTE: Contestants must be 18-years of age or over by Dec. 31, 2009 to compete and must have a Academy Connection Student ID to register.)

WHAT

Q. What is the Cisco Networking Academy NetRiders Challenge?

A. An interactive student skills competition that will take place in multiple stages and is open to community college, college, and/or university Networking Academy students enrolled in Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA®) courses in the United States and Canada.

Q. What is the goal of the competition?

A. To create a fun, educational challenge for students to compete with their peers in a real-time environment to showcase their IT/Networking skills.

Q. What is the process to compete?

A. The interactive competition will take place in multiple phases:

PRACTICE ROUND – An online exam that allows you and your teammate the opportunity to test your login and understand how the exam process will work prior to the actual competition. This will be open during the last two days of registration (October 8-9, 2009) so register early to take advantage of this opportunity.
ROUND ONE (Team Qualifier) -- An online theoretical exam and Packet Tracer activity and exam which will take place in class on a selected day between Oct. 12-21, 2009. (NOTE: Each state and province will have an assigned competition date - SEE RULES.) The top ten (10) scoring teams of two contestants from each participating state and province will move on to Round Two.
ROUND TWO (State/Provincial Qualifier) – An online theoretical exam and Packet Tracer activity and exam will take place on a selected day between Oct. 28-Nov. 6, 2009 (NOTE: Each state and province will have an assigned competition date – SEE RULES.) The top team of two contestants from each state and province will move on to the Final Round.
FINAL ROUND (Theater Finale) -- An online theoretical exam and Packet Tracer activity and exam will take place virtually (via Webex or TelePresence depending on availability – SEE RULES.) The top two (2) teams of two contestants will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to San Jose, CA to visit Cisco Headquarters in January 2010.

REGISTRATION

Q. How do students register?

A. Register online at (NOTE: Students must register individually but then must complete a task designating who their teammate is and which login they will use to participate as a team of two. There is no limit to the number of teams a single academy can have registered. Instructors are encouraged to have all of their eligible student from their CCNA classes register for the competition.)

Q. When will registration open?

A. Online registration will be open Monday, September 28, 2009 at 8:00am EDT and will close on Friday, October 9, 2009 at 11:59pm EDT.

Q: Will there be an opportunity for a Practice Round before the actual competition?

A: Yes, the competition site will open Oct. 8, 2009 – Oct. 9, 2009 for participants to become familiar with the competition site and take Practice Exams. (SEE RULES for details.)

ROUND ONE (TEAM QUALIFIER)

Q. When will Round One be held?

A. Between Oct. 12-21, 2009 (NOTE: Competitions will be held in class on a specified date - SEE RULES.)

Q. What is the format for Round One?

A. Online exam qualifier, which consists of a Theoretical Exam with 60 questions to be completed in 45 minutes, a Packet Tracer Activity to be completed in 35 minutes, and Packet Tracer Exam with 10 questions to be completed in 15 minutes.

Q. What are the equipment and software requirements?

A. The standard Discovery or Exploration PC or Laptop as described in the Classroom Setup of the tools section of Academy Connection. The computer needs to be able to access the Internet. IMPORTANT NOTE: Packet Tracer 5.2 should be installed and operation tested prior to exam date.

Q. What is the instructor’s role?

A. The instructor will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

promoting the competition to their students
offering the online exam during class time
ensuring that equipment is running and that students can access the website
ensuring that Packet Tracer 5.2 is installed on the students’ PC
acting as the proctor to verify time requirements are adhered to
ensuring the winners complete the release form required for Round Two

Q. How do students compete?

A. In Round One, students will compete as teams of two (2) for the top ten (10) spots for each state and province.

Q. How do students select their teammate?

A. We leave that up to the instructors or competitors to decide how to select teammates. We encourage the teams of two to be from the same class to make it easier to take the online exam during class time.

Q. How will the winners be determined?

A. In Round One, the winners will be the top ten (10) teams of two (2) students from each state and province who will move on to Round Two. (NOTE: 50% of the final score will be from the online theoretical exam and 50% of the score will be from the PT activity exam.)

Q. How will the winners be notified?

A. In Round One, the winners will be notified via email. Winners will be provided instructions to complete a release form. Instructors will be asked to ensure their respective winners complete this process to proceed to Round Two.

ROUND TWO (STATE AND PROVINCIAL QUALIFIER)

Q. When will Round Two be held?

A. Between Oct. 28 – Nov. 6, 2009 (NOTE: Competitions will be held in class on a specified date, excluding the following states/provinces which will be held at Cisco offices or via Webex: CA, GA, IL, NY, VA, Ontario -- SEE RULES.)

Q. What is the format for Round Two?

A. Round Two consists of a Theoretical Exam with 80 questions to be completed in 60 minutes, a Packet Tracer Activity to be completed in 60 minutes, and Packet Tracer Exam with 20 questions to be completed in 30 minutes.

Q. What are the equipment and software requirements for Round Two?

Q. What is the instructor’s role?

A. The instructor will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

offering the online exam during class time
ensuring that equipment is running and that students can access the website
ensuring that Packet Tracer 5.2 is installed on the student’s PC
acting as the proctor to verify time requirements are adhered to

Q. How do students compete?

A. During Round Two, the top 10 teams of two (2) students from each state and province will compete for the top spot for that state or province.

Q. How will the winners be determined?

A. After Round Two, the winners will be the top team of two (2) with the highest score for each state and province. (NOTE: 50% of the final score will be from the online theoretical exam and 50% of the score will be from the PT activity exam.)

Q. How will the winners be notified?

A. After Round Two, the winners will be notified via email.

FINAL ROUND (THEATER FINALE)

Q. When will the Final Round be held?

A. Nov. 20, 2009 from 1:00pm – 4:00pm EDT (NOTE: Competitions will be held in class on this date, excluding the following states/provinces which will be held at Cisco offices or via TelePresence: CA, GA, IL, NY, VA, Ontario -- SEE RULES.)

Q. What is the format?

A The Final Round consists of a Theoretical Exam with 100 questions to be completed in 60 minutes, a Packet Tracer Activity to be completed in 60 minutes, and Packet Tracer Exam with 20 questions to be completed in 30 minutes.

Q. Where is the Final Round?

A. The Final Round competition will be held in class with a virtual opening and closing program which will enable contestants to dial into a Webex session or participate in a live TelePresence (limited Cisco locations – SEE RULES). Instructions for connecting to the virtual presentation will be provided to finalists prior to the event.

Q. Who is responsible for any transportation costs related to NetRiders?

A. It is the responsibility of the participating student or academy.

Q. What is the instructor’s role?

A. The instructor will be responsible for, but not limited to, the following:

offering the online exam during class time
ensuring that equipment is running and that students can access the website
ensuring that Packet Tracer 5.2 is installed on the students’ PC
acting as the proctor to verify time requirements are adhered to

Q. How do students compete?

A. In the Final Round, the top team of two (2) for each state and province will compete for the top two (2) spots for the US/Canada theater.

Q. What are the prizes?

A. Prizes will be given to the top ten (10) teams who place in the Theater Finale. The top two (2) teams of two (2) contestants will be awarded an all-expense paid trip to visit Cisco Headquarters in San Jose, California in January 10-15, 2010. (NOTE: Prize details are listed in the RULES. Please review during the registration process.)

Q. How will the winners be determined?

A. The student teams with the highest scores will qualify as First, Second and Third, Fourth, and Fifth place winners. (NOTE: 50% of the final score will be from the online theoretical exam and 50% of the score will be from the PT activity exam.)

Q. How will the winners be notified?

A. The announcement will be made on site, at the end of the competition. In addition, the winners will be announced via email to all participating students, instructors, and academies.

MISCELLANEOUS

Q. Are the events timed?

A. Yes. See the RULES for specific details.

Q. What happens if the online system freezes?

A. The system will remember how much time remains. Students can restart with the amount of time remaining.