Certification

Changes to the IAAP Cerfification Program Effective November 2011 Click here for PDF

The International Association of Administrative Professionals^® (IAAP^®) offers the Certified Administrative Professional^® (CAP^®) rating and the Organizational Management specialty exam. The benefits of certification are many, including improving your professional qualifications, increasing your skills and knowledge, earning a higher salary, raising your professional self-esteem, and possible college credits. Today's administrative professional needs a wide base of knowledge ranging from technical skills to expert communication abilities. Employers expect their admin to be familiar with current technologies as well as advanced practices and procedures that are integral in business today. Give yourself an edge - get certified!

To attain the Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) rating, a candidate must meet certain educational and work experience requirements and pass the 4½ hour examination. The exam is administered twice a year, in May and November, by the Institute for Certification, a department of IAAP. Many schools offer college credit for achieving the CAP rating. Areas tested include communication, organization and planning, information distribution, records management, physical and information resources, document production, financial functions, and human resources.

The CAP rating is the industry-recognized mark of excellence. It indicates to employers and colleagues the desire to succeed in a career, which is why more and more employers are choosing to recognize the rating.

The new Organization Management specialty program covers an expanded scope of administrative skill and knowledge. The Organizational Management (CAP-OM) designation builds on the existing CAP rating which includes sections on organizational planning, advanced communication, advanced administration, and team skills, and is a 3½ hour exam. IAAP's Institute for Certification oversees and administers the CAP and CAP-OM programs.

Membership in IAAP is not a requirement for achieving the CPS/CAP ratings, nor are the CPS/CAP ratings a requirement for membership in IAAP.

EXAMINATION FACTS & FIGURES

Upcoming Examination Dates

Candidates will be taking the next CAP and CAP-OM exams May 5, 2012. The CAP exam will be administered Saturday morning; The OM exam will be administered Saturday afternoon. These candidates will receive an admission card in early April.

 

Examination Fees	MEMBER	NON-MEMBER
CAP Examination Fee        (includes $50 processing         fee)	$200	$300
OM Examination Fee	$125	$175
Late Fee (if applicable)	$50	$50
*New candidates apply to take either the CAP exam or, if they already hold the CAP rating, only the Organizational Management specialty exam.

 

Special Fees

CAP holders applying for the CAP-OM rating are required to take only the Organizational Management exam; they are exempt from retaking the CAP exam. The fee is $125 member/$175 non-member; processing fee is waived.

Examination Parts

The CAP and Organizational Management specialty (CAP-OM) exams will be under a new exam blueprint effective with the November 2011 examinations. The new blueprint was released in July 2011. All new candidates entering the program November 2011 and later will be tested under the new exam blueprint.

For additional information, exam guides, application forms, etc. see the IAAP website at this link: http://www.iaap-hq.org/certification

CAP EXAM consists of:
     18% Communication
     16% Organization and Planning
     14% Information Distribution
     14% Records Management
     14% Physical and Information Resources
     14% Document Production
       8% Financial Functions
       4% Human Resources

ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT EXAM consists of:
     36% organization Planning
     27% Advanced Communication
     23% Advanced Administration
     14% Team Skills
    

PROMOTING CERTIFICATION

The PowerPoint Presentation, Professional Certification: The Career Advantage, is available to assist in promoting our certification programs. The presentation and script are available to all chapters through the Certification Department at IAAP Headquarters. E-mail certification@iaap-hq.org to request the presentation and script.

The Career Advantage brochure mentioned earlier is a great promotional piece to take along when using the PowerPoint Presentation.

REVIEW PROGRAMS

Is your chapter giving a review course for the CAP or CAP-OM exams? Are you aware of other CAP or CAP-OM review courses in your area? Please have the review course coordinator send information to the IAAP Certification Department. We are interested in knowing the location of the course (city and state, where the class meets), who is instructing the course (are these local CAP or CAP-OM holders, educators, or practitioners?), the class schedule (how many times a week, how many hours, how many months, how long before the exam does the class start?), the class structure (what is the breakdown of the course per exam part?), what materials are used in the class (college texts listed in the Certification Review Guide, the Prentice Hall review manuals, the Metcalf review materials, or something developed by the course coordinator?), and how would interested parties contact someone about the class?
 

RECERTIFCATION

Remember that all CPS holders who applied January 1, 1988 and later must recertify every five years.  If your certification or last recertification date is 2006, you need to have your complete Recertification Application, Spreadsheet and fees to the certification department in 2011 by the end of month you earned your rating.

Questions on recertification or other certification matters?  Contact the certification department at 816-891-6600 ext. 2248, 2225 or 2227; or e-mail your questions to certification@iaap-hq.org. 

 
 

 
Membership Required!
  
Members' Place is filled with valuable information, most of which is only available to IAAP members.To view these sections of our web site, you are invited to become a member of our IAAP Lehigh Valley Chapter.