Career Readiness for faculty

Eligibility

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  • Eligibility for United States

    Teachers and faculty at universities that are regionally accredited. Google is excited to provide institution(s) with participation in the program, including Google Cloud training and certification for faculty, valued at $750 per individual. This is not a gift to any specific individual; rather, it is a donation to the institution.

    As a reminder, Alphabet companies may be vendors and/or lobbyist employers and employees of Alphabet companies may be registered lobbyists. If institution(s) cannot accept this gift or if accepting the gift would prevent Alphabet companies from supplying products or services to institution(s), please notify us and we will arrange for you to be removed from the Program.

  • Eligibility for international countries

    Teachers and faculty at accredited learning institutions and universities in the following countries are eligible to apply.

    • Australia
    • Austria
    • Belgium
    • Brazil
    • Bulgaria
    • Canada
    • Chile
    • Colombia
    • Cyprus
    • Czech Republic
    • Denmark
    • Estonia
    • Finland
    • France
    • Germany
    • Greece
    • Hungary
    • Ireland
    • India
    • Indonesia
    • Israel
    • Italy
    • Latvia
    • Lithuania
    • Luxembourg
    • Malaysia
    • Malta
    • Mexico
    • Netherlands
    • New Zealand
    • Norway
    • Peru
    • Poland
    • Portugal
    • Romania
    • Singapore
    • Slovakia
    • Spain
    • Sweden
    • Switzerland
    • Turkey
    • United Kingdom
    • United States

    If you are not a faculty member, or you are a faculty member in another country, you can still express interest. Opt in for communications from us and we'll send you information about other credit programs and news from Google Cloud Platform.

    Please note that credits are granted at Google's discretion. Google reserves the right to not grant credits and change the criteria for granting credits at any time.

Program materials

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General FAQs

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  • What are the goals of the career readiness program?

    As a coach:

    • Conduct weekly student mentoring sessions and study jams for your tracks.
    • Ensure that all students complete the Specialization for your track on Coursera within the recommended timeline.
    • For the Associate Cloud Engineer track, ensure that all students prepare and take the Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam.

    As a learner:

    • Complete the Specialization for your track on Coursera.
    • Finish extra practice with Qwiklabs.
    • Take advantage of 100% discount on Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam, if you have enrolled in the Associate Cloud Engineer track.

    Note: You and your students can go faster than the recommended timeline!

  • When do tracks in the career readiness program begin?

    We accept applications on a rolling basis. Only verified Faculty may apply. Once the program is set up in Coursera, faculty may begin inviting students immediately.

  • What should I do to organize a study jam?

    1. Find a venue. You will need a venue which has:

      • Internet connection for facilitator and students (wifi or ethernet).
      • Chairs and tables. Attendees will be using their laptops.
      • Power outlets.
      • A projector that the facilitator can use to share their screen with the attendees.

    2. Invite your students to the study jam. Here is a sample message:

      We are looking forward to seeing you at the Associate Cloud Engineer track Study Jam session at <TIME> on <DATE>!
      Please bring the following:

      • Laptop -- Mac, PC, Chromebook, or Linux with the latest version of Firefox or Chrome browser.
      • Laptop charger.

        Looking forward to seeing you at the workshop!

    3. Conduct the Associate Cloud Engineer track Study Jam.

    4. Send follow-up email to students. Email students links to the Associate Cloud Engineer track study jam materials and any additional resources.

  • What are the tax and/or legal implications of these free credits?

    We advise faculty members to consult a tax and/or legal professional on any implications of receiving these free credits from Google.

  • Can I change or cancel my application once it has been submitted?

    No, you cannot edit your application once it has been submitted. If you would like to update or cancel an application please email acecircuit@google.com.

  • Can faculty add other faculty members or admin assistants as learners?

    No, faculty cannot add other faculty members or admin assistants as learners.

  • Will I continue to have access to Coursera after the Associate Cloud Engineer track timeline ends?

    As a learner, your access to Coursera expires 4 months after your invitation. After your access expires, you cannot complete graded assignments and get your course completion certificate. Make sure to download PDFs from the Resources section for each course as you go through the training.

  • How can my institution highlight our participation in Google Cloud Learning programs?

    Your institution can highlight their participation in Google Cloud learning programs by using the following verbiage and Google Cloud logo.

  • I am a member of the press. Where can I find information that describes Google Cloud Learning programs for higher education?

    You can find information and success stories about Google Cloud learning programs for higher education in the press kit.

Associate Cloud Engineer Track

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  • What do my students and I learn in the Associate Cloud Engineer track program?

    Architecting with Google Compute Engine specialization on Coursera: Explore and deploy solution elements, including infrastructure components such as networks, systems, and applications services. Explore the courses in this specialization

    Hands-on Labs: Practice with hands-on labs. See the Additional Resources section for a list of hands-on labs related to the Associate Cloud Engineer certification.

  • What are the prerequisites for joining the Associate Cloud Engineer track as a learner?

    Familiarity with the following topics is helpful for success in the Associate Cloud Engineer track:

    • Operating systems
    • File systems
    • The IP networking stack
    • How web browsers and web servers communicate
    • Databases
    • Programming
    • Working with Linux at the command line
    • Editing text files from the Linux command line

  • Does the Architecting with Google Compute Engine Specialization cover everything in the Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam?

    The training provides a solid foundation to prepare for the certification exam. However, the training does not teach exactly to the test. Make sure to get extra practice using hands-on labs in Qwiklabs.

    Review the exam guide and available training courses
    Complete the hands-on labs in the Additional Resources section
    Review documentation

  • What is the recommended timeline for the Associate Cloud Engineer track program?

    Recommended Faculty Milestones

    • Get Started: Invite Students
    • Week 1: Conduct Study Jam: Getting Started With the Associate Cloud Engineer Track
    • Week 10: Conduct Study Jam: Preparing for the Associate Cloud Engineer Certification Exam

    Recommended Student Milestones

    • Week 2: Complete course #1, GCP Fundamentals: Core Infrastructure
    • Week 3: Complete course #2, Essential Cloud Infrastructure: Foundation
    • Week 4: Complete course #3, Essential Cloud Infrastructure: Core Services
    • Week 5: Complete course #4, Elastic Cloud Infrastructure: Scaling and Automation
    • Week 7: Complete course #5, Reliable Cloud Infrastructure: Design and Process (Complete all courses in the Specialization)
    • Week 9 - Week 16: Complete practice with additional Qwiklabs and review documentation
    • Complete Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam before voucher expiration date

    It is highly recommended that the training be completed within 16 weeks. You can go faster than the recommended timeline.

Data Analyst Track

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  • What do my students and I learn in the Data Analyst track?

    From Data to Insights with Google Cloud Platform Specialization on Coursera:

    Derive insights through data analysis and visualization using the Google Cloud Platform. Explore, mine, load, visualize, and extract insights from diverse Google BigQuery datasets.

    The courses also cover data loading, querying, schema modeling, optimizing performance, query pricing, and data visualization.

    Practice with following hands on lab on topics and services that appear in the Data Analyst track:

  • What are the prerequisites for joining the Data Analyst track as a learner?

    Familiarity with the following topics is helpful for success in the Data Analyst track:

    • Statistics
    • ANSI SQL

  • What is the recommended timeline for the Data Analyst track program?

    Recommended Faculty Milestones

    • Get Started: Invite Students
    • Week 1: Conduct Study Jam: Getting Started with the Data Analyst Track

    Recommended Student Milestones

    • Week 2: Complete course #1, Exploring and Preparing your Data with BigQuery

    • Week 3 - Week 4: Complete course #2, Creating New BigQuery Datasets and Visualizing Insights

    • Week 5 - Week 6: Complete course #3, Achieving Advanced Insights with BigQuery

    • Week 7 - Week 8: Complete course #4, Apply Machine Learning to your Data with GCP

    • Week 9 - Week 10: Complete the following quests

    • Week 10 - Week 12: Complete practice with additional Qwiklabs

    It is highly recommended that the training be completed within 12 weeks. You can go faster than the recommended timeline.

Student management

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  • How do I access the Coursera program to manage student learning?

    • Open the Admin dashboard.
    • From the program list, select the program with the title that begins with “Google Cloud EDU”.

  • How do I invite eligible students to the Coursera program?

    • Open the Coursera program for your track and view the Invitations tab.
    • To add individual students, enter the full name and email address. Click Send Invitation.
    • To import members (students) using a CSV file:
      • Create a spreadsheet with the following column names: Full Name, Email, External Id
        • Provide full name and email address of each student. External Id is optional.
      • Download the student data as a CSV file.
      • Click Import Members and follow the instructions in the Coursera dialogs.
    Coursera: Invite people to your program

  • What if a student cannot find or receive an email invitation?

    If a student is not able to find their email invitation due to spam filtering or other issues, you can send the student a direct URL to the program invitation page. To find the program URL:

    • Open the Coursera program for your track and view the Settings tab.
    • Copy and paste the Program URL
    • Share this URL with the student directly and they will have access as long as they are logged into Coursera using the email address registered with the program.

  • How can I check the progress of students?

    Coursera: Enterprise Help Center

  • Can I customize the program name and settings?

    No. It is important that you do not modify the Program Name or Tagline fields. They are for use by the Google program operations team. You can upload your own banner image. If you change the Program Name, the Google team will revert the name back to the original program name assigned.

Certification

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  • What is the duration and location of the certification exam?

    Duration of the Associate Cloud Engineer certification exam is 2 hours. Certification exams must be taken in-person at a Kryterion Testing Center or in an online-proctored environment. When you register for an exam, you can schedule an exam time at a testing center that is convenient for you. Visit the Kryterion Webassessor page to create an account and find a location near you.

    Associate Cloud Engineer certification
    Certification FAQs
    Practice exam

  • How do I apply for a certification discount?

    To be eligible for a certification voucher:

    • You must have completed the Architecting with Google Compute Engine Specialization on Coursera.
    • You must have completed at least five Qwiklabs quests.
    • Check the Associate Cloud Engineer certification page for recommended quests.

    Submit the Application for Certification Voucher. If you meet the eligibility criteria the certification voucher will be emailed to you in 7 business days.

Troubleshooting

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  • How do I help students troubleshoot problems?

    Ask students to check their Student FAQ for troubleshooting information.

    For help related to the career readiness program or issues with completing the labs on Qwiklabs, contact Support using one of the following methods:

    • Email Support at support@qwiklabs.com

      • Subject line: “EDU CR: Need Help”.
      • Provide the following details in the message body:
        • Your institution name
        • Career readiness track name
        • The issue you are facing

      Support staff will provide assistance to help resolve the issue.

    • Chat with Support at http://google.qwiklabs.com.

      • Click on the Support icon in the upper right corner and select Chat Support.

      • Enter your name and email as previously registered on Qwiklabs

      • For Department, select Google Cloud Edu Program department

      • In the Message field, type “EDU CR: Need Help” and click on the Start Chat button

      Support staff will provide assistance to help resolve the issue.

    To troubleshoot on your own:

  • What is the discrepancy between Course Completions and Program Completed statuses?

    In the program administrator dashboard, students are labeled with progress status indicators:

    • Each learner should have completed all courses in the Specialization for the track.
    • Do not confuse the “Program Completed” status for course completions. This status indicates that a learner has completed as many courses as they have enrolled in, but they have not enrolled in all courses.
    • For example, one learner with “Program Completed” status has completed 4 courses, but they have not enrolled in all 5 courses.

  • How do I contact the Career Readiness Program Team at Google about my application for the program?

    Check other sections of this FAQ first to find an answer to your question.

  • Where can I find more information about Google Cloud Training and Certification?

    For more information about Google Cloud Training and Certification, see:

  • What should I do if I have not received my Specialization completion certificate from Coursera?

    If you have not received your Specialization completion certificate, please follow the steps below to receive the certificate:

    1. Login to Coursera.
    2. Open this Specialization URL in the same browser window.
    3. Click Enrollment Options and then click Enroll.
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