Chapter 12 - Online Reports and

Resources
This chapter describes the various features and functions of the VSS website
(http://vss.pearsonvue.com). The VSS website provides your test center with reports,
downloadable files from Pearson VUE, and more. As soon as you can, take some time to
visit the VSS website and explore its features. If you have any comments or suggestions
for improving the VSS website, send an email to [email protected].
Your input helps Pearson VUE provide you with the best possible service.

Do not wait for an incident to occur to use the VSS website for the first time.
Visit the VSS website right away so that if a problem occurs, Pearson VUE can
provide you with prompt assistance.

This chapter contains the following sections:

Connect test center portal

Resetting your password and unlocking your account

Signing in to the VSS website

VSS website pages

Category screen elements in the File Download Utility

Files and materials in the File Download Utility

Technical problems accessing File Download Utility

Copyright © 2018 Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliate(s). All rights reserved. [email protected]
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Connect test center portal
Connect is a web portal that provides you with access to some Pearson VUE
applications. You can log in with the same username and password you use for the
other VUE applications. For more information, see Opening and closing the Connect
portal. If you have not accessed the Connect portal before, see Opening Connect for the
first time.

Currently, you can access the following web-based applications through the Connect
portal:

● ServiceDirect

● Site Manager

Opening and closing the Connect portal

You can open ServiceDirect and Site Manager through the Connect portal. Follow these
steps to sign in to the Connect portal:

If this is your first time signing in to the Connect portal, you need to complete
your account setup. Thus, the sign-in process is different initially. For more
information, see Opening Connect for the first time.

Some applications like Site Manager require you to have a specific

permission assigned to your account to use the application. If you do not
have the permission, the application is not an option in the Applications
menu in the Connect portal.
For example, you must have the May use the Site Manager application
permission assigned to your account to use Site Manager.
For more information about permissions, see Setting up test center personnel
in Site Manager.

1. Click Start on the Windows taskbar, point to All Programs, VUE Applications, and
click Connect (Site Manager, ServiceDirect).

or

Use the following URL to navigate to the Connect portal:

https://connect.pearsonvue.com

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 2. Type your username, password, and site ID number in the appropriate fields, and
click Log in.

When you sign in to the Connect portal from a computer you have not
used before to access it, the screen prompts you to request a verification
code. Follow the instructions on the screen to request a code and verify
your account. For more information, see Opening Connect for the first time.

3. Select the application you want to open from the Applications menu.

4. Click Open application.

A new browser tab opens to the application. If you open Site Manager and this is
your first time accessing it, a message prompts you to change your password.

To close the Connect portal, select your username in the upper-right corner of the
screen. Click Log Out from the drop-down menu.

The Connect portal logs out if you are inactive for 15 minutes while signed in
to the application. About 1 minute before the portal logs out, a message
indicates that your session is about to time out. You are also given the option
to continue your session or sign out. If you do not respond to the message
within 1 minute, the Connect portal logs out.

Opening Connect for the first time

This section describes how to sign in to the Connect portal for the first time. Before you
follow this process, ensure your user account has been created in Site Manager. For
more information, see Creating a user account.

The first time you access the Connect portal, you must consent to the
Pearson VUE use of cookies. To consent, click I understand in the upper-
right corner of the screen.

Follow these steps to sign in to the Connect portal for the first time:

1. Click Start on the Windows taskbar, point to All Programs, VUE Applications, and
click Connect (Site Manager, ServiceDirect).

or

Use the following URL to navigate to the Connect portal:

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 https://connect.pearsonvue.com

2. Type your username, temporary password, and site ID number in the appropriate
fields, and click Log in.

You should have received a temporary password from the person who created
your user account.

After you click Log in, a message states that you need to complete your account
setup. To complete your account setup, click the activation link sent to your email
address. This email address is the one associated with your user account setup in
Site Manager.

3. Navigate to your inbox, and open the email when it arrives. Click the verification
link in the email.

The link remains active for seven days, so be sure to complete your account setup
within that time frame.

The Connect Account set up page appears.

4. Select your security questions from the Question 1 and Question 2 drop-down
lists. Type the answer to each selected question into the appropriate Answer
field.

5. Click Next. Type and confirm your new password in the appropriate fields.

When you create a password, be sure to follow the rules that appear
under the Password field. For more information about creating strong
passwords, see Password protection.

6. Click Submit.

The Connect portal sign-in page appears, and a message confirms your account
has been set up. You can now sign in to the Connect portal using the password
you created.

Resetting your password and unlocking your

account
You can use the Account Recovery Tool or the Connect portal to reset your password
and unlock your account for any of the Pearson VUE Testing System applications, such

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as Site Manager, Admissions Manager, Registration Manager, and the VSS website.
Connect also allows you to recover your username if you have forgotten it.

You may also contact a test administrator from your test center with permissions to
reset your password and unlock your account. For more information, see Setting up test
center personnel in Site Manager.

The Account Recovery Tool requires you to reset your password in order to
unlock your account. Therefore, if you want to unlock your account but keep
your password, contact a test administrator from your test center who has
the permission to unlock accounts.

See the following sub-sections for more information about using the Account Recovery
Tool and Connect to reset your password or recover your username.

Accessing the Account Recovery Tool

Follow these steps to access the Account Recovery Tool:

1. Open Registration Manager.

The VUE Registration Manager – Login window appears.

2. In the VUE Registration Manager – Login window, click the Login Help link.

The Help window appears.

3. In the Help window, click Account Recovery Tool.

The Account Recovery Tool page appears.

For instructions to manually reset your password, see Using the Account Recovery
Tool.

You can also access the Account Recovery Tool by clicking the Account
Recovery Tool link on the VSS website sign-in page.

Using the Account Recovery Tool

To reset your password and unlock your account using the Account Recovery Tool, you
must provide your username, first name, last name, test center ID, and the answers to

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your two security questions. If you do not know the answers to all of these questions,
contact VSS or Channel Quality for assistance in resetting your password.

Follow these steps to reset your password in the Account Recovery Tool:

1. Type your username, first name, last name, and test center ID into the appropriate
fields, and then click Next.

2. Type the answers to your two security questions into the appropriate fields, and
then click Next.

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 3. Type your new password, and then confirm your new password.

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 Always create strong passwords using the rules documented in the box in the
lower-right corner of the screen. For more information about strong passwords,
see Password protection.

4. Close the Account Recovery Tool after your password has been reset.

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 5. Sign in to Registration Manager with your new password.

You must do this before you sign in to any of the other Pearson VUE Testing
System applications, Site Manager, or the VSS website with your new password.

You only need to sign in to Registration Manager once for each time you
reset your password and not every time you need to sign in to other
applications, Site Manager, or the VSS website with your new password.
You will receive an email confirming that your password has been reset.
Contact VSS if you do not receive an email.

Using Connect to reset your password

If you forget your password for the Pearson VUE applications, you can reset it through
the Connect portal.

You cannot reset your password through the Connect portal more than once
in a 24-hour period.

Follow these steps to reset your password through the Connect portal:

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 1. Click Start on the Windows taskbar, point to All Programs, VUE Applications, and
click Connect (Site Manager, ServiceDirect).

or

Use the following URL to navigate to the Connect portal:

https://connect.pearsonvue.com

2. Click the password link in the following phrase on the screen:

I forgot my password or username.

The Forgot password page appears.

3. Type your username and site ID into the appropriate fields, and click Retrieve
password.

The Connect portal sign-in page appears and displays the following message:

If you provided a valid username, you will receive an email containing a link
to reset your password.

4. Navigate to your inbox, and open the email when it arrives. Click the link in the
email.

The link stays active for seven days, so be sure to reset your password within that
time frame.

The Reset password page appears.

5. Type the answers to your security questions into the appropriate fields, and click
Verify.

6. Type and confirm your new password in the appropriate fields, and click Submit.

When you create a password, be sure to follow the rules that appear
under the Password field. For more information about creating strong
passwords, see Password protection.

The Connect portal sign-in page appears, and a message confirms the password
changed. You can now sign in to the Connect portal with your new password.

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Using Connect to recover your username

If you forget your username for the Pearson VUE applications, you can recover it
through the Connect portal.

Follow these steps to recover your username through the Connect portal:

1. Click Start on the Windows taskbar, point to All Programs, VUE Applications, and
click Connect (Site Manager, ServiceDirect).

or

Use the following URL to navigate to the Connect portal:

https://connect.pearsonvue.com

2. Click the username link in the following phrase on the screen:

I forgot my password or username.

The Retrieve username page appears.

3. Type your first name, last name, email address, and site ID into the appropriate
fields, and click Verify.

4. Type the answers to your security questions into the appropriate fields, and click
Submit.

The Connect portal sign-in page appears and displays a message at the top of the
page listing your username. You can now sign in to the Connect portal using your
username.

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VSS website
The VSS website provides your test center with reports, schedules, policies and
procedures guides, and exam sponsor documentation.

Signing in to the VSS website

In order to use the VSS website, your testing system account must be
assigned the May use the VSS Web application permission in Site Manager.
The default name and password, (admin, admin), cannot be used to sign in to
the VSS website. For more information, see Setting up test center personnel in
Site Manager.

Follow these steps to sign in to the VSS website:

1. Navigate to the VSS website: http://vss.pearsonvue.com.

2. On the VSS website sign-in page, type your username, password, and site ID, and
click Login.

If you are a new user signing in to the VSS website for the first time and you have
not signed in to Site Manager before, you are prompted to create a new password
and to set your security questions. The security questions are utilized if you forget
your password or if you are locked out of your account after three unsuccessful
sign-in attempts. After you create your new password and select your security
questions, click Save Changes. You will then be signed in to the VSS website.

However, if you are an existing user with access to Site Manager and your
password has expired or if you have not yet set your security questions, sign in to
Site Manager before accessing the VSS website, connect to the hub, and reset
your password or set your security questions. After your password has been
reset, you may then sign in to the VSS website with your new password.

If your password is expired and you are accessing the VSS website from an
external location without access to Site Manager, you are required to reset your
password after signing in to the VSS website. You will be prompted to type your
current (expired) password and a new password. After you click OK, you will be
signed in to the VSS website.

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 A message may appear at the top of the screen informing you that RMA
must be run at your test center to sync your password and security
questions with the Pearson VUE system. You may need to run RMA
manually. If you need assistance, contact VSS. Until RMA has been run,
you may not be able to launch some of the applications at your test
center.

After three consecutive unsuccessful login attempts, your account is

locked.
If your account is locked, contact someone at your test center who has the
permission to reset passwords and unlock accounts, or use the Account
Recovery Tool to manually reset your password and unlock your account.
See Resetting your password and unlocking your account.
If another test administrator unlocks your account, return to the VSS
website sign-in page, type your username, password, and site ID, and click
Login.
If another test administrator generates a one-time use password for you,
he or she will tell you the new password. After you receive the password,
return to the VSS website sign-in page, type your username, password,
and site ID, and then click Login. You will be prompted to type a new
password before you access the VSS website.

3. After you sign in, the home page of the VSS website appears.

The System Stats section provides technical information about your test center,
such as the version of the Pearson VUE Testing System software your test center
is running, whether or not your software needs to be updated, the status of your
Pearson VUE Application Wrapper, and how many exams are scheduled at your
test center for the current day. You can also click RMA Connection Log to view a
report that documents your test center's RMA connection history for a specified
time period. For more information, see Checking RMA.

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 Test centers located on United States federal and state facilities or military
installations should refer to appendix C instead of chapter 6 for further
details about checking RMA.

Remember to log out of the VSS website when you are done using it.

VSS website pages

Navigate to different pages of the VSS website by clicking the buttons in the upper-right
corner of the page.

The following list documents the main pages of the VSS website:

● Welcome: This page appears when you first sign in to the VSS website. The page
contains the Message Board, User Information, and System Stats sections. The
Message Board section documents announcements from Pearson VUE. Because all
Pearson VUE test centers use the VSS website, not all of the messages displayed are
applicable to your test center. Use the System Stats section to view your test
center's RMA Connection Log report as described in Checking RMA. Use the report to
ensure that all exams were downloaded and uploaded properly and that RMA is
running properly.

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● FAQs: The page contains links to information about installing and using the testing
system and troubleshooting problems. When you encounter issues, check here first
to see if your question has already been answered.

● Reports: Use the Reports page on a daily basis to check your test center's schedule
and get historical reports on exams delivered at your test center. For more
information, see Reports.

● What's New?: Use this page to view news from Pearson VUE that is relevant to test
centers. Past issues of the Pearson VUE Channel Monthly Newsletter are also posted
here.

● Test Center Guide: The page contains the online versions of the policies and
procedures guide and the exam sponsor guide. For more information, see Test Center
Guide.

● Downloads: Provides one central location for exam sponsor documentation. VSS file
download utility describes how to view and download files from the new utility. The
File Download Utility page contains master copies of the Pearson VUE log sheet, the
Candidate Rules Agreement, and other forms and documents.

● How Am I Doing?: From this page, you can view your test center's report card, which
is a list of surveys completed by candidates who have tested at your test center. After
a candidate completes a Pearson VUE exam, the candidate has the opportunity to
complete a survey about the testing experience. This confidential survey is
completely voluntary and is completed after the candidate leaves your test center.

You can also use this page to access your test center's RMA Connection Log report as
described in Checking RMA. Pearson VUE recommends visiting this page at least every
other week.

● Vouchers: Use this page to download voucher order forms and find important
information about ordering vouchers for candidates. You can purchase vouchers for
many exam sponsors, and some exam sponsors allow you to purchase them at a
volume discount.

● Installation Guide: Use this page to access the Site Installation Guide. You can select
the language in which the guide is presented. You must be running Internet Explorer
9 or above to view the Site Installation Guide.

Reports
The Reports page on the VSS website contains several reports that provide information
about your test center. You should be familiar with these reports and use them
frequently.

Access these reports by clicking Reports in the upper-right corner of the VSS website:

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Report Description

Exam Schedules Lists exams scheduled at your test center for the current day or
another specified time period. You can display the schedule in either
list or chart form. For more information, see Checking the schedule on
the VSS website.

Exam History Provides information about the exams your test center delivered during
a specific time period, using the sorting options you choose. This report
includes candidate names and details about how candidates paid and
registered for their exams. This report will be useful to several people
at your test center, including the business manager and the person
responsible for billing.
When you run this report, you need to select the time period you want
the report to cover. You can also choose sorting options and can
choose to export the results to a file. After you make your selections,
click Run Report.

Exam Historical Allows you to view a summary of the exams scheduled at your test
Summary center during the specified time period. The information is organized
according to exam sponsor and includes data on how many exams
were delivered and canceled, how many candidates were no-shows,
and so on.
When you run this report, select the time period you want the report to
cover. After you make a selection, click Run Report.

RMA Statistics Contains statistics about your test center's RMA connections for the
Report specified time period. For example, this report shows what percentage
of connections occurred automatically or manually.
When you run this report, select the time period you want the report to
cover. After you make a selection, click Run Report.

Test Center Guide

This page contains the online versions of the policies and procedures guide and the
exam sponsor guide. These online guides have search capabilities that you can use to
find information quickly.

PDF versions of the policies and procedures guide chapters and client
references are available on the File Download Utility page.

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VSS File Download Utility
Follow these steps to access the different files contained within the File Download Utility
(Downloads) page on the VSS website:

1. On the VSS website, click DOWNLOADS in the upper-right corner of the page.

The File Download Utility page appears.

The File Download Utility page is organized into various categories. These
categories contain files that you can view and download.

2. Find the desired category, and click the associated link to open the category.

Category screen elements in the File Download Utility

The Downloads page on the VSS website provides documentation that test
administrators need to do their jobs. This section describes how to use and navigate the
Downloads page.

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Relative paths in the File Download Utility
When you open a category, the name of the category is displayed below the filters. Each
subfolder is identified by a forward slash. For example, Downloads Home / Exam
Sponsor Documentation A-M.

Filtering the file list in the File Download Utility

You can filter the list on the File Download Utility page according to four categories. The
categories are assigned to a file by the person who uploads the file. Not all categories
are assigned to a file. Each category corresponds to a drop-down list near the top of the
page.

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There are four categories that you can use to filter the list:

Category Description

Client The exam sponsor associated with a file.

Documentation Identifies the type of document, for example training document or

Type client reference

Language Identifies the language in which the document was written

File Format Identifies whether the document is in A4 Paper or US Letter format

To filter the list, select an entry from the desired drop-down lists, and click Filter. You
can select only one entry from each drop-down list. After the filter is applied, only those
files that meet the specified criteria will populate the list.

To remove the filters you have applied to the list, you can either navigate away from
and then return to the File Utility Download page or manually reset each filter.

If you filter the list by a specific exam sponsor and no files appear, check to
see if the exam sponsor is listed under a similar name and try filtering again.
Exam sponsors may be listed under multiple names.

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Downloading files in the File Download Utility
You can open or download files from the File Download Utility page. Different files
behave differently depending on their file type.

● PDFs automatically open in a new browser window. To save a copy of a PDF to your
workstation, open the file and click the disk icon.

● Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files can either be opened in their
corresponding software program or saved to your workstation.

● A zip file allows you to open or save the file.

● An executable file gives you the option of saving or running the executable from the
website. You can save the file to your hard drive and then run it. Pearson VUE
recommends the latter option.

Files and materials in the File Download Utility

The following table provides more information about where to find specific files and
documents on the File Download Utility page.

Category name Category contents

Testing Systems Application + Support Pearson VUE Testing Systems Application files and support
Files files

Software Installation Instructions Installation guides

Exam Sponsor Documentation A-M Exam sponsor client references and updates

Exam Sponsor Documentation N-Z Certification and employment testing documents

Pearson VUE Authorized Test Centers Policies and

Procedures Guide
Policies and Procedures Guides
Startup and shutdown checklists
Check-in and sign-out checklists

Test center training modules, tutorial, and other training

Training Materials
documents

Backup admissions data sheets, log sheets, checklists, rules

Test Center Materials agreements, regulatory form and exhibits, and other general
materials

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Technical problems accessing File Download Utility

If you experience technical problems while accessing the File Download Utility page,
contact VSS for assistance.

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