I'm a student at Western Governors University. They pay for the study materials and 2 attempts at each of these tests... and the certs end up counting as part of my curriculum toward a Bachelor's Degree in IT.
For the A+, they gave me books & practice exams to prepare myself.
For all others, they gave me Labsim study guides to go through (videos, chapter practice exams, exam practice). I select which ones I'm going to go for during a specific academic term (terms are 6 months at this school) and that's how long I have to prepare myself and take the test. I'm also assigned a mentor who checks on my study progress every Friday.
For the Win7 70-680 and Security+ exams, they gave me Labsim modules AND practice exams on WileyPlus.com, as well as recommending I watch the free vids at ProfessorMesser.com...