To attain the Certified Professional Secretary® (CPS®) rating, a candidate must meet certain educational and work experience requirements and pass the one-day three part 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 CPS rating. Areas tested include finance and business law, office systems and administration, and management.
The CPS 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 Certified Administrative Professional® (CAP®) program covers an expanded scope of administrative skill and knowledge. The CAP designation builds on the existing CPS rating which includes sections on finance and business law, office systems and administration, management, and organizational planning. IAAP's Institute for Certification oversees and administers the CPS and CAP 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
| Two Certification Programs: |
3-part CPS Exam
and
4-part CAP Exam |
| Examination Dates: |
The exams are given the first full weekend of May and November |
| Parts 1-3 of the CPS and CAP Exams are administered all day Saturday |
| Part 4 of the CAP Exam is administered Friday afternoon |
| Application Deadlines: |
February 15 for the May examinations |
| August 15 for the November examinations |
| International candidates are encouraged to mail their paperwork and fees two weeks prior to the deadline dates. |
Upcoming Examination Dates:
Candidates already registered will be taking the CPS and CAP exams November 7 and 8, 2008. Part 4 of the CAP exam will be administered Friday afternoon, November 7; Parts 1-3 of the CPS and CAP exams will be administered Saturday, November 8. These candidates will receive an admission card in early October.
Future exam dates and deadlines can also be found on the Web at
www.iaap-hq.org/cert/dates.htm.
| Examination Fees: |
CPS EXAM |
CAP EXAM |
| Members |
|
Processing Fee |
$50 |
$50 |
|
Registration Fee - all parts* |
$160 |
$210 |
|
Registration Fee - retakes |
$60 per part |
$60 per part |
| Nonmembers |
|
Processing Fee |
$75 |
$75 |
|
Registration Fee - all parts* |
$210 |
$260 |
|
Registration Fee - retakes |
$85 per part |
$85 per part |
*New candidates apply to take either the three-part CPS exam or the four-part CAP exam and must take all parts on their first attempt; CPS exam candidates will take three parts - CAP exam candidates will take four parts. CAP candidates do not receive the CPS rating upon passing Parts 1-3 of the CAP exam.
Special Fees:
CPS holders applying for the CAP rating are required to take only Part 4 of the CAP exam; they are exempt from Parts 1-3 of the CAP exam. The fee is $120 member/$145 nonmember; processing fee is waived.
Examination Parts:
Following a content validity study, the CPS and CAP exams will be under a new exam blueprint effective with the November 2004 exam. The new blueprint was released in January 2003. All new candidates entering the program November 2004 and later will be tested under the new exam blueprint. It is recommended that the Certification Review Guide be used to direct any course of study. The Certification Review Guide for these new candidates is found on the Web site at www.iaap-hq.org/Cert/examrevw.pdf.
| Part 1 |
Office Systems & Technology (CPS and CAP exams) |
| Part 2 |
Office Administration (CPS and CAP exams) |
| Part 3 |
Management (CPS and CAP exams) |
| Part 4 |
Advanced Organizational Management (only CAP exam) |
Candidates who started the program May 2004 or before, will complete their time limit under the previous outline. The Certification Review Guide for these existing candidates is found on the Web site at www.iaap-hq.org/Cert/examrevwb.pdf.
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 kschone@iaap-hq.org or jmead@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 CPS or CAP exams? Are you aware of other CPS or CAP 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 CPS or CAP 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?