Overview

Business Location

Partners must have a physical location to perform the services. The customer designates this location, and the partner obtains approval from Cisco. Partners must have a physical, non-residential office where they will conduct customer-facing meetings, which is also where partners handle the day-to-day operations of their business. A physical, non-residential location must be recorded in the Cisco Learning Partner Management System (LPMS) as the partners primary place of business.

Student Certificates

All CLSPs, CLPs, and Sponsored Organizations must have a Metrics that Matter (MTM) account and must direct students to fill out evaluations at the completion of each Cisco standard and derivative work course. At the end of the evaluations is a downloadable and printable course certificate for the students.

Course Cancellations

Cisco has no requirements for course cancellation rates. However, partners must post only those classes that they fully intend to run and have the capability to deliver. Cisco will monitor the Global Learning Partner Locator for abuse.

Marketing Guidelines

Partners must adhere to all logo usage guidelines specific to CLPs, as indicated on the CLP Website.

Audits

Cisco will conduct no more than two audits during any 12-month period, and these audits will not unreasonably interfere with a partner's business activities. However, if Cisco reasonably believes that a partner has underpaid money owed to Cisco, any resulting audit will not count toward the two-audit limit in any 12-month period.

Partners must maintain complete and accurate books and records of each training course given to any third party. These records must confirm the partner's compliance with the payment and reporting obligations. Upon 10 business days' prior written notice and during the partner's regular business hours, a partner must allow Cisco or an independent representative to audit and examine the partner's books, records, and inventories of Cisco content to verify compliance with obligations under the CLSP, CLP, or Sponsored Organization program requirements.

Audit Scheduling

A representative from a Cisco third-party audit agency will schedule the onsite audit and may request additional documentation or information before or during the audit. Typically, the onsite audit will take place within 21 days of validation that the partner has met all prequalification requirements.

Role of the Auditor

Cisco uses an independent third-party audit agency to conduct audits. The auditor manages the onsite audit process. The auditor may review supplied documentation before the audit and then:

• Verifies whether the partner complies with all learning partner program requirements
• Compiles the audit report describing the extent of compliance with each requirement
• Submits the report and supporting documents to the learning partner program manager

The manager then determines whether the partner meets the program requirements.

All information or documentation provided to the auditor falls under the nondisclosure agreement signed by Cisco's third-party auditors. Cisco and third-party auditors treat all information with the utmost confidentiality.

Audit Duration and Itinerary

Partners should plan on one day (6 to 8 hours) for a CLP audit and two days (6 to 8 hours a day) for a CLSP audit.

Audit Closure and Follow-Up

At the audit closing session, the auditor presents a brief synopsis of the partner's opportunities for improvement and, in particular, highlights any open action items. For open action items, the partner provides written evidence of closure to the auditor within five business days after audit completion.

If a partner cannot close out open action items within five business days, the partner must provide a corrective action plan to the learning partner program manager. The partner must fully implement the action plan within an agreed time period, which is no longer than the stated get-well period. At the end of the agreed time period, the auditor, Theater Manager (TM), or Learning Partner Channel Program Manager may have to visit the partner to verify closure of an action item.

CCSI/CCIE Protection

All Learning Partners must adhere to the following CCSI/CCIE protection policy regarding loss of a CCIE/CCSI and hiring a CCIE/CCSI from another Cisco Learning Partner

CCIE and Cisco CCSI Certified Instructor Protection Policy

All learning partners must adhere to the following protection policy regarding losing or hiring a CCIE or Cisco CCSI certified instructor from another learning partner, Cisco (Gold, Silver, or Premier) Certified Partner, or Cisco Specialized Partner.

Losing Partner

If losing a CCIE or Cisco CCSI certified instructor takes a learning partner below the number required, the partner must notify Cisco of its noncompliance within 30 days. After Cisco receives such notice, the partner may qualify for a six-month extension to replace the CCIE or Cisco CCSI certified instructor and remain in the learning partner program. A partner who voluntarily terminates the employment of a CCIE or Cisco CCSI certified instructor may not qualify for the time extension. During the extension period, as long as the partner meets all other requirements, it will retain its learning partner status.

If a partner does not notify Cisco of its noncompliance within 30 days and Cisco identifies the deficiency, Cisco may give the partner an extension of 60 days to replace the CCIE or Cisco CCSI certified instructor and stay in the learning partner program. This extension period will begin when Cisco notifies the partner of its noncompliance.

Gaining Partner

If a learning partner hires a CCIE or Cisco CCSI certified instructor away from another learning partner, Cisco (Gold, Silver, or Premier) Certified Partner, or Cisco Specialized Partner, Cisco will not count that individual toward the learning partner's requirements for 12 months from the date of hire. However, if another learning partner terminated the CCIE or Cisco CCSI certified instructor, this rule does not apply, and the terminating partner must submit documentation.