Blackbaud Certification FAQs

Certification FAQs

• What are the requirements for Fundamentals Certification?
  To earn the Fundamentals Certification, we recommend you complete all Fundamentals courses and then attempt the Fundamentals exam. You can jump straight to the exam if you feel you already have a complete foundational knowledge of the product.
• What are the requirements for Professional Certification?

  Eligibility for Professional certification requires prior Fundamentals certification. Students who pass the Professional Exam with an 80% score or better are certified at the Professional level.

  • Blackbaud Raiser's Edge NXT Professional Exam
  • Financial Edge NXT & Professional Certification
• How can I share my Blackbaud Certified® status?

  After you pass the certification exam:

  1. You’ll receive access to print a certificate to display in your office or work area.
  2. You’ll receive branding elements, such as a certification icon and badge to include in your email signature and social profiles.
  3. If you’re seeking a new employment opportunity, hiring managers can verify your certification level by contacting Blackbaud University.

  Note: Blackbaud Certified status should never be used to denote partner, implementation, or consulting-level expertise. The Blackbaud University certifications are only meant to validate proficiency as an end user of a particular product or a set of best practice ideas.

• What do I need to score on an exam to become Blackbaud Certified?
  A score of 80% correct or higher is necessary to pass each exam and become Blackbaud Certified.
• What happens if I don’t pass an exam?
  You can retake any exam at no additional charge. You can also determine the areas in which you need more study, and then take the associated course(s), or take a refresher course to help you review content.
• Are there time limits on the exams?
  The time limit is 90 minutes for all exams.
• Can I access the Blackbaud product platform during the exam?
  You may have the Blackbaud product platform open to reference as you answer the questions on an exam. However, it is important to keep in mind that you will not have enough time to research every answer, so try not to rely too much on the platform as a reference.
• Can I receive partial credit for a multiple choice question with multiple correct responses?
  For this type of question, all correct responses and only correct responses must be checked in order to receive credit for a correct answer. There is no partial credit for these questions.
• If I fail an exam, will I find out which questions I got wrong?
  While you won’t find out which specific answers you marked incorrectly, you will be able to see a summary by category. To find the summary, go to your transcript and click on the title of the certification exam. Scroll down to see your scores by section.
• How long must I wait after being certified at one level to attempt the next?
  There is no waiting period before you can register for the next level of Blackbaud Certification.
• Will I need to go to a testing center to complete the exam?
  No. You can take the exam from any computer with a strong Internet connection.
• Are there separate versions of an exam for different regional versions of Blackbaud products?
  No. Currently, all exams are based on the U.S. version of Blackbaud products and are available to all Blackbaud customers.
• How long are exams available before they expire?
  Once you purchase an exam and add it to your Training Central transcript, you have 90 days to complete the exam before it expires and must be purchased again. These exams are specific to a calendar year. This allows us to update the exam yearly and include testing for product features that released over the recent calendar year. If you purchase an exam at the end of the calendar year and have questions about timing, please contact Blackbaud University.
• How long will my certification last?

  Certification is branded with the year in which you achieved it. We encourage students to recertify annually in order to keep their knowledge up-to-date and prove their commitment to continuing product education. Should you wish to update your certification in a future year, the path to recertification does not require any courses be repeated.

• If I change jobs, will my Blackbaud Certification transfer with me?
  Most certainly. All you need to do is contact Blackbaud University and provide the name and Site ID of your new organization. We’ll take it from there.
• Will there be Blackbaud Certification for other products?

  Blackbaud University periodically adds new product certifications to our offering. To view the complete list of available certifications, click here.

• Who can I contact with questions about Blackbaud Certification?
  You can chat with Blackbaud University.
• What happened to the Associate Exam?
  The Associate Exam has been retired and replaced with the Fundamentals Exam.
• How can I view/print my Blackbaud Certification certificate?
  • Navigate to your Transcript in Training Central
  • Click the Active drop-down and select Completed
  • Click the All Types drop-down and select Test
  • Click the View Completion drop-down arrow button
  • Select View Certificate
  • Select the Download or Print option