Upon closer look at YouTube’s announcement it appears that the partner program will essentially be a two tier system with anyone who has a video being monetized being called a partner as one level and ther other level containing what has been typically recognized as partners who have access to all the additional feature. Here’s what they stated in their announcement:
"We’re excited to provide more creators with the opportunity to become partners and have access to programs and resources to help them be successful on YouTube. These programs will be tailored to partners based on their specific needs. We also recognize that custom thumbnails and banners are sought-after features by many creators. We are working on making these and other features available to more newly-made partners over time, like we have done with long uploads and monetization."