topic Minimum annual CPE requirements in Member Support

Minimum annual CPE requirements

ZeroFactor — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 13:43:51 GMT

Can someone please provide an official response that there are no longer any minimum annual CPE requirements? The handbook does not specifically mention it other than in a chart that is somewhat conflicting and ambiguous (e.g. 30 CPEs are both required and suggested annually for the CSSLP). The closest community post I could find is this one that states that the policy will be changing, but not that it has changed.

Again, I'm looking for an official response. If there's already one out please point me towards it.

Thanks

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

Chuxing — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 14:22:22 GMT

Annual 30 CPEs is 'suggested', NOT required. However, 90 CPEs during the three-year cycle is required.

That is, ISC2 will not disqualify you if you don't have 30 CPEs per year, as long as you complete 90 CPEs in the three-year your certification renewal cycle.

"As a certified (ISC)2 member, you are required to earn and submit CPE credits each year of your three-year certification cycle. The total number of CPE credits earned within a three-year cycle must add up to the minimum CPE credits required during a three-year certification cycle. (ISC)2 has a suggested annual minimum to help you balance maintaining your certification. "

You are probably confused by the table with row entry "Total Required" under "TYPE" column, which I think is a leftover from previous version. It should be removed, and placed under the column heading, as "3-YEAR TOTAL REQUIRED", in conjunction with "SUGGESTED ANNUAL".

Hope this helps.

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

Chuxing — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 15:54:56 GMT

@SamanthaO_isc2 I am wandering if someone from ISC2 could check into the handbook, the table on page 6 is somewhat confusing. You have a cell that crosses 'suggested annual' and 'total required'. The word 'required' should be placed at the column heading.

What do you think?

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

JoePete — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 17:52:30 GMT

@Chuxing wrote:
You are probably confused by the table with row entry "Total Required" under "TYPE" column, which I think is a leftover from previous version.

Yes, I believe for a brief period, the (ISC)2 adopted an annual minimum. They changed back about a year ago. You can follow this thread, which includes an official response indicating that there is no required annual CPE:
https://community.isc2.org/t5/Member-Support/Updated-CPE-Annual-requirements/td-p/9216

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

emb021 — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 19:35:44 GMT

For a LONG time there WAS an annual minimum.

When I got my CISSP 4-5 years ago, I was expected to get a minimum of 20 CPEs each year, recommended that I get 40 as the 3 year total needed is 120.

(ISACA continues to have an annual minimum, which is 20 with a 3-year total also of 120).

Then a couple of years ago, they changed it to a minimum of 40 CPEs for CISSP. Basically a third of the required each year, which makes since. [same ratio for the others].

THEN a year ago, they dropped this, where there is no annual minimum, tho its recommended that you get 20 or so each year.

I don't know. I like the idea of an annual minimum as it made sure that folks were keeping up on their CPEs, otherwise you have the folks who put it off and panic at the last minute.

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

AlecTrevelyan — Tue, 25 Jun 2019 19:43:56 GMT

@ZeroFactor wrote:
Can someone please provide an official response that there are no longer any minimum annual CPE requirements? The handbook does not specifically mention it other than in a chart that is somewhat conflicting and ambiguous (e.g. 30 CPEs are both required and suggested annually for the CSSLP). The closest community post I could find is this one that states that the policy will be changing, but not that it has changed.

Again, I'm looking for an official response. If there's already one out please point me towards it.

Thanks

Try looking in your Member Dashboard:

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

Steve-Wilme — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 13:53:14 GMT

emb021 is correct, it used to be 40 CPEs each year and 120 for the certification cycle.

It makes sense if you think about the purpose of the CPEs to spread them throughout the certification cycle so you keep up to date.

Pragmatically, I'd suggest front loading it so you do the majority at the start of the certification cycle, so that if something unexpected happens; like a long illness, you still have time to do enough, within the 3 year cycle.

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

emb021 — Wed, 26 Jun 2019 14:39:44 GMT

@Steve-Wilme wrote:
emb021 is correct, it used to be 40 CPEs each year and 120 for the certification cycle.
It makes sense if you think about the purpose of the CPEs to spread them throughout the certification cycle so you keep up to date.

Pragmatically, I'd suggest front loading it so you do the majority at the start of the certification cycle, so that if something unexpected happens; like a long illness, you still have time to do enough, within the 3 year cycle.

As I have several certifications from several groups, many in the local infosec community where I'm at kind of see me as the "go to" guy in regards to certs: (how they work, what should they go for etc.). I developed a few years ago a presentation I on infosec certs (given at a few local cons here) that goes into how they work (how you get them, keep them, including CPEs, etc), main ones out there (ISC2, ISACA, GIAC, CompTIA, EC-Council) and the various others (OSCP, IAPP, DRI, PMI, etc).

A frequent area I help people with are CPEs. How they work, what they can do to get them, etc. One thing I emphasis is there are a wide range of things you can do to get them, either 'free' or low cost, and there is little excuse NOT to be able to get them and little excuse NOT to rack up enough, up front, that it causes a problem. If you wait till the end of your cycle, you will be scrambling and this is not good.

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

ZeroFactor — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 14:48:39 GMT

I appreciate all the replies. It's good to know that this community is so helpful.

For clarification, I agree that spreading out CPE acquisition is best. This issue arose when different members of our team had different impressions of what was required and what wasn't. There is specific documentation available stating that there is a minimum annual requirement, but we have not found specific documentation stating that there is no minimum annual requirement. We are interested in documentation because we know that UIs (like the CPE status bars in the user info area) can be poorly designed sometimes and misunderstanding the UI is not an excuse for not understanding policy.

The community post that I linked to (that others referenced as well) only indicates that the policy will be changing, not that is has changed.

Thanks again!

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

AlecTrevelyan — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 19:18:14 GMT

@amandavanceISC2

Hi Amanda - please can you provide an official statement to say whether or not annual CPE requirements are still in place?

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

denbesten — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 04:00:08 GMT

@ZeroFactor wrote:

We are interested in documentation.

The official documentation on all things CPE is the CPE handbook, freely available online. Here is the relevant quote from page 5:

As a certified (ISC)² member, you are required to earn and submit CPE credits each year of your three-year certification cycle. The total number of CPE credits earned within a three-year cycle must add up to the minimum CPE credits required during a three-year certification cycle. (ISC)² has a suggested annual minimum to help you balance maintaining your certification.

You might also take a look at page 3 of the 2015 edition for historical context.

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

AlecTrevelyan — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 12:36:46 GMT

@denbesten wrote:
@ZeroFactor wrote:

We are interested in documentation.
The official documentation on all things CPE is the CPE handbook, freely available online. Here is the relevant quote from page 5:

As a certified (ISC)² member, you are required to earn and submit CPE credits each year of your three-year certification cycle. The total number of CPE credits earned within a three-year cycle must add up to the minimum CPE credits required during a three-year certification cycle. (ISC)² has a suggested annual minimum to help you balance maintaining your certification.
You might also take a look at page 3 of the 2015 edition for historical context.

I think the point @ZeroFactor is making is the wording in the CPE Handbook is contradictory and is therefore ambiguous.

The sentences I've highlighted above in red and blue are an example of this and show two contradictory statements. The sentence in red is just wrong and should be removed or reworded.

Also, as was pointed out earlier in the thread, there is a table in the CPE Handbook where it says "Total Required" when adding up the "Suggested Annual" Group A and / or B CPEs which is causing confusion.

EDIT: although this is not documentation @lmartin clarifies this question in the webinar below - skip to 07:30:

https://www.brighttalk.com/service/player/en-US/theme/default/channel/13279/webcast/351765/play?showChannelList=true

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

amandavanceISC2 — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 16:15:23 GMT

@AlecTrevelyan Thank you for adding me to the thread. To confirm, we are no longer enforcing the annual CPE requirements; they are now listed as suggested. All members are required to submit the three-year CPE requirements by the end of their three-year certification cycles. Depending on which certification you hold, your requirements will be different.

Example: CISSP

By the end of the three-year cycle, a CISSP member must have a total of 120 CPEs submitted with at least 90 being Group A (domain related).

The suggested annual CPEs to obtain are 40, but are not required (40x3=120)

Best Regards,

Amanda Vance

Re: Minimum annual CPE requirements

ZeroFactor — Mon, 01 Jul 2019 14:13:03 GMT

Thank you!