All Supply Chain Management FAQ

The MITx MicroMasters program credential in Supply Chain Management is a standalone certification program offered by MITx that is designed and administered by the MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (CTL) and supported by MIT Open.

The program credential consists of five intensive online courses covering all aspects of logistics and supply chain management along with a virtual proctored comprehensive final exam. It is a separate stand-alone professional certificate offered by MITx and delivered by edX. Read more or enroll on edX here.

It is important to note that the MicroMasters credential is NOT a degree-granting program nor is it a guarantee of admissions to MIT or any other graduate programs accepting the credential for credit. (see below).

There are five online courses required to complete the MITx MicroMasters program credential in SCM:

• CTL.SC0x - Supply Chain Analytics
• CTL.SC1x - Supply Chain Fundamentals
• CTL.SC2x - Supply Chain Design
• CTL.SC3x - Supply Chain Dynamics
• CTL.SC4x - Supply Chain Technology and Systems

To be eligible for the MicroMasters program credential, you must earn a Verified Certificate in each course. Read more about verification here. Once you pass all five courses as a paid verified learner you will be invited to the CFx Comprehensive Final Exam (see below). Upon successful completion of the CFx you will earn the credential.

All of our MITx MicroMasters courses are delivered online-only. To provide for maximum flexibility in our learners' schedules, the video content of the courses is pre-recorded. This means that you will be able to view the released course content and work on available assignments at any time of day or day of the week—you do not have to log on at specific times to view the course content. To learn more about the benefits of this course structure, please consider this piece from The Curve - Ask MIT Experts: Understanding the Advantages of Asynchronous Learning.

In-course discussion forums are available for each course. The course TA team monitors these forums regularly in order to provide support for learners.

SC0x - Supply Chain Analytics, is delivered on a learner-paced schedule. This course contains the mathematical concepts used throughout all the other courses and is packaged in modules based on content. It is the reference course for all the others and so remains available as needed almost continually. Each run of SC0x will have a final exam at the end of the course. The course will close briefly after each scheduled final exam and learners can enroll in the next run of the course if needed. All course content, practice problems, exams, reading materials, and external links are delivered through the course platform on edX. In SC0x there is one final exam that will count for 90% of your grade and the five module tests make up the remaining 10%.

Courses SC1x - SC4x are delivered on a weekly, instructor-paced schedule. Every week at 15:00 UTC, beginning on the course start date, you receive course materials and instructions for that week. A full course syllabus, expected deadlines and course requirements are released in the first orientation week of each course called "Week 0".

All course instruction is pre-recorded. Any instructor interaction takes place within the course discussion forums or via the course email. Many of our courses feature "live events", when instructors and guests appear live on video for interactive sessions.

The exams (just final exam in course SC0x and both midterm and final exam in courses SC1x-SC4x) are released for 48 hours. Once you open an exam you have two and a half hours (150 minutes) to complete it. All deadlines within the course also occur at 15:00 UTC.

If you have never taken a course on edX you can try Demo_x.

The edX platform is merging with 2U Inc. Our MIT course team that creates and delivers the content (the videos, problems, etc.) has not changed. All content will still come from MIT, remain at MIT standards, and be delivered by MIT course leads. Read the MIT News article here. To read more about the merger visit: https://www.transformingdigitaleducation.com/

The CFx is the Comprehensive Final Exam for the MicroMasters program in Supply Chain Management. To qualify for the CFx, a learner must complete and pass all five SCx courses as an ID verified learner, using the same username.  Course staff will notify and enroll qualified learners when they become eligible.

The exam is offered only online and consists of one 150-minute test covering key concepts in all 5 SCx courses. Test takers will use a proctoring software to be virtually proctored through edX. See the "When is it offered next?" FAQ for updates to the exam schedule.

Virtually proctored learners will take the exam from their own computers and have a time limit of two and a half hours (150 minutes) to complete it during the CFx exam window of 36 hours.

The exam is designed to test broad learning across the five courses. The questions are designed according to the limitations presented in the exam: limited time, no additional software, and limited accessibility. The main purpose is to test your understanding of the key concepts from all five courses. Questions will be a mix of multiple-choice, fill in the blank, and short answers. A score of 60% will be considered passing.

All eligible learners who have successfully passed the five SCx courses will be automatically enrolled in an upcoming CFx five to six weeks in advance. We will notify all enrolled learners and you will see the CFx from your edX dashboard.

• If you do not wish to take the exam, simply un-enroll yourself at least two weeks before the exam opens.
• If you wish to sit for the exam, you should verify and pay the course fee by the verification deadline in your dashboard.
• To ensure you receive all notifications regarding the CFx, please connect your edX profile to your MITx profile here by visiting your MITx dashboard.

The CFx will be held twice annually, once in the first half of the year and once in the second. You can review the annual course schedule here (opens a pdf) for the most up-to-date information.

A proctored exam is a supervised exam taken online. Though the CFx will be given primarily online, the course team reserves the right to offer an in-person option. A proctoring software ensures the security and integrity of the exam process. A proctor is a liaison between the course team, edX and learners, to ensure that testing is done under fair and secure conditions. The proctor’s main responsibilities include verifying a government-issued photo ID, monitoring learners during the exam to ensure they do not use unauthorized aides, and ensuring learners follow the instructions outlined by the instructor.

The CFx is designed to assess your ability to synthesize and apply the learning from all five SCx courses.

Whether you intend to earn the MicroMaster credential or continue on to pursue an in-person program, the credential is designed to be equivalent to one semester of work in the MIT SCM on-campus program. In order to meet application requirements for competitive admission to the MIT SCMb and to other universities that accept the credential for campus credit, the course offers one final assessment in the CFx.

• A government-issued photo ID that clearly identifies you by your full name, and that can be used to confirm your identity (ID is only required for the Onboarding check)
• A computer that meets all system requirements to use the edX platform and has been tested with the virtual proctoring software. (Sample proctored trial tests are offered in advance of the CFx called "Onboarding check") Please see the instructions for the Onboarding check here.
• You can download the Key Concepts Document (KCD) covering all five courses document here to study and prepare for the CFx. During the actual CFx, you will be prompted to open a CFx-approved copy of this pdf.
• Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc blank documents (no other software will be allowed for the CFx)
• You will be allowed the use of one of three approved translators. Google https://translate.google.com/; Youdao http://fanyi.youdao.com/; or Bing https://cn.bing.com/translator.

• Computers used for virtual proctoring must comply with these system requirements.
• For virtual test-takers, Windows XP and Microsoft Surface laptops, and mobile devices or tablets do not work with the virtual proctoring software. Please find an alternative to use for the CFx.
• Students will not need software other than Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc.
• More details on virtual proctoring can be found at the edX student guide.
• Download a pdf of Instructions and Frequently Asked Questions here.

The CFx is offered virtually via the edX platform. Learners will take the CFx virtually from their own computer. Eligible learners will be notified of the exam schedule several months before a scheduled exam.

To prepare for the exam, you can review past courses through Quick Questions, Practice Problems, and Graded Assignments. You can use the five-course Key Concepts document in the handouts available during the exam.

While the CFx course site does not offer a practice exam, it does include practice problems along with detailed video explanations of the solutions to the practice problems. These videos also offer tips on how to approach the problem and suggestions on how to best use your screen space to view the proctored exam, Excel and KCD all at once.

The course team recommends that learners take the CFx within five years of passing their first course as some materials may change. Once you pass the CFx and earn the MicroMasters program credential, the credential remains valid towards any application for the MIT SCMb masters on campus program for up to three years.

If you have a disability-related request regarding access to our courses or an accommodation to take an exam, please contact us at least one month prior to exams at mitx-accessibility@mit.edu

Requests are reviewed via an interactive process to meet accessibility requirements for learners and uphold academic integrity for MIT.

For our learners located in mainland China who are experiencing issues accessing the proctoring software, please contact us for guidance at cfxhelp@mit.edu

After the proctoring exam starts, you will be prompted to open a blank Excel or LibreOffice Calc sheet from your computer. At the end of the exam, make sure to close Excel or LibreOffice Calc without saving the file(s). You have to show the proctors that you closed your Excel and have not saved any file BEFORE ending the proctored session, otherwise, you risk FAILING the proctoring.

Remember only Microsoft Excel or LibreOffice Calc is allowed during the exam. Do NOT use any other software, such as Google Spreadsheets, or a blank sheet of paper. And DO use pre-populated spreadsheets in the CFx. These instructions will be provided again as you open the exam.

Remember that email is not allowed during the exam. However, if a true emergency occurs, such as a technical issue that prevents you from accessing the CFx, being monitored by ProctorTrack or continuing with taking the CFx, then you may email us [cfxhelp@mit.edu] by following this protocol below:

Reporting an urgent issue

If you have a technical issue with the CFx exam, please email cfxhelp@mit.edu. Please make sure that your email includes these items below:

• Subject: CFx13_November_2023 – brief description of your issue
• edX username and edX email
• Computer and Operating System that you are using
• Country where you are taking the exam from
• A detailed description of the issue
• Screen Shot with the date and time (if possible)

If we’re not able to assist you, we may direct you to edX support at [info@edx.org] or ProctorTrack support at +1 (844) 753-2020 or support@verificient.com for technical assistance.

Reporting a NON-urgent issue

If something minor happens during the exam, please complete your exam and finish the proctoring session. Then report the incident to us at cfxhelp@mit.edu after the exam with email title “Not Urgent - brief description of what occurred”. It is important to remember that when you email us, please provide your edX username and edX email.