Effective July 1, 2026, the NDG Assessment Tool will be removed from all NDG Linux courses. Exams in instructor-led classes will function the same as self-paced classes. Instructors wishing to restrict student access to exams should use the functionality built into the NetAcad LMS itself. 

New classes created after July 1, 2026 will not have access to the tool. Any existing classes that have exam activations on July 1 will revert back to the self-paced model. 

Instructor-led vs Self-paced Classes
 

NDG Linux courses are offered in two versions, instructor-led and self-paced. Course content is identical between the two, but self-paced classes are designed to run without any input from instructors, while instructor-led classes require active involvement from an instructor in order to function correctly.

Self-paced classes have all exams automatically enabled by default. 
Instructor-led classes need exams to be activated by the instructor before they are available to students.

You cannot change exam activation settings in any way for a class that was created as self-paced, and this document refers exclusively to the instructor-led version of the NDG Linux courses.

Create a class
 

Instructions on how to create an NDG Linux class can be found here:

https://support.netdevgroup.com/hc/en-us/articles/28929688307351

Open the "Help & Resources" Module
 

With your instructor account, open the "Help & Resources" module.

Open the Assessment Tool
 

Click on "Assessment Tool" under Instructor Resources.

Create an Activation Profile
 

Click "Create Activation Profile".

Select your desired activation window, assessment duration, number of attempts and name the profile.

Unlike the NetAcad itself and the NetAcad LMS, all dates and times found in the NDG tools are expressed in UTC and not your locally selected time zone. Activation windows or advanced activations require the manual conversion of date and time from UTC to your local time.

When restricting students to a specific date and time to take an exam (i.e. students taking an exam during class or a specific day/week), it is recommended to use the Cisco Networking Academy LMS tools and NOT the NDG tools as shown here to create this restriction.

Click "Save Profile".

Apply the Activation Profile
 

Click the "Manage Activations" button.

 

Select the exams you wish to apply the default profile to, and click "Create Default Activations".

 

Verify the information provided and click "Create Default Activations".

 

Advanced Activations
 

You can also create an advanced activation with properties different than the default profile. This is useful in cases where you wish students to have a different amount of time or attempts on a specific exam.

 

Define your advanced activations on a per exam basis and click "Create Advanced Activations".

Verify Your Activations
 

Check boxes on "Current Activations" indicate that a profile is live, and students currently have access to this exam from the NDG side (this still can be restricted using the Cisco Networking Academy LMS). Check boxes on the "Expired Activations" indicate that there is a profile, but it has either expired or not yet come into effect. It is possible to have check boxes in one, both, or no columns.