Updated CPE Portal & Annual requirements

[netzwerg]

I just jumped on the portal to submit some CPE requests for podcasts.  It appears that the portal has a glitch that doesn't recognise that means it doesn't remove the 250-500 word "book review" requirement for the podcasts, which makes it quite painful to submit the request.  I have also found that if you are too close to either end (250 or 500), it glitches and tells you you haven't reached the 250-500 word limit.

[Fareed]

No. You can't do that - just check everything off. I will explain. On the
ISC2 provided CPE list I discovered three items titled "(ISC)2 e-Symposium
Webinar." But guess what. They are really InfoSecurity Professional
Magazine. These items can't be corrected since they are entered by ISC2 and
in my case my three year cycle finished so they are written in stone. If I
hadn't actually reconciled the ISC2 list with my list I wouldn't have
realized the error. I might have gotten confused and kept trying to add the
magazine quiz CPE. In fact, customer service at ISC2 told me to do that -
add the magazine entries manually. But then during my reconciliation
exercise I realized that the CPE credits and date matched the certificates
I have for the magazine quiz. Please do not take shortcuts. Check
everything.

[denbesten]

@Fareed wrote:

Wow. You've got a great setup there with all your colleagues. Sadly, we aren't all so lucky.

Our dozen attendees hold various certifications -- Secuirty+, CEH, CCSA, etc.  Typically, we have two CISSPs in the room.    We let anyone into our "CPE club", even those that have no CPE requirements, but are just interested in information and comradeship.

@Fareed wrote:

I have already invested about $70,000 in the CISSP - getting it and maintaining it over the years.

CISSP is 24 years old, indicating you are spending at least $2916.66 annually.  

I was able to do it for $800 in the first year and $85 thereafter.  I earn all my CPEs for free, mostly BrightTALK, vendor webinars and ISP Magazine.  Are you charging your labor to your CISSP costs?

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BTW if you're on the audit committee it would be great to know.

If I were, I would not be discussing audits on a public board or with those who might come under my review.

(ISC)² does offer formal advise in the CPE Handbook. Page 10 says "Members will need to provide proof of attendance or a brief description of the activity."  Hence the reason I send myself (and others -- in the case of our CPE club) and email immediately after watching.  The timestamp and the "I watched this" declaration is about as convincing as I can get.  

Also my CPE earning goal is to have 120 CPEs at the end of month 29 and 140 by the end of month 36. This will provide a nice plan-B if I were to fail an audit and will also give me a good head-start (thanks to rollover) on my next cycle.

[denbesten]

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@Fareed wrote:
... during my reconciliation exercise I realized that the CPE credits and date matched the certificates I have for the magazine quiz....

You and I have different goals. I feel no desire to maintain a complete and accurate list of every CPE I have earned.  My sole goal is to have at least 120 CPEs by the end of my cycle, with a few to spare incase I lose an audit (or audits).

The fact that CPEs offered by  (ISC)² are automatically submitted and not subject to audit (CPE Handbook page 12) is incredibly freeing.  As long as the total is right, I am done with them.  No records, no self-audit, Don't care if the titles are right, nothing.

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@Fareed wrote:
 Yes, it makes the presentation take up to 50% longer to watch but it is the only way to get the proof I might need.

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Or, you could spend 2 minutes generating minimal proof and the other 28 minutes watching another Webinar so that you can afford to lose an audit.  After all, there is more than one way to reduce risk.

As I said, I email myself a screenshot of the webinar. In the case of BrightTALK, it can also be useful to include a screenshot of the webinar in your viewing history, since BrightTALK history only goes 10 videos deep.  So maybe recordkeeping grows to 3 minutes.

[Fareed]

Hello Denbesten,

In answer to your queries on how I came up with the $70,000 figure, I don't
go the low cost route in earning CPEs. I'm a corporate executive and
there's no time for that. In my roll overseeing or with an interest in
large projects, plus meetings, strategy sessions, etc. it's too easy to
have a scheduled weekly training hour overcome by something else. I
generally take a week's vacation and enroll in some sort of course so I
learn something new and useful in a compact time period and I put all
distractions aside. This gives me 36 CPEs in a short period of time. A
typical week long SANS course delivered in person will have an enrollment
fee of at least $5000 - add to that airline tickets, hotel, etc. It's a
personal choice that works for me. One year it was a week of TOGAF
training. Another year I did security for app developers. Everyone has
their own idea about the best way to get those CPEs. I use the CPEs to
support all my certifications so I think it's reasonable. And, with my role
in setting corporate security strategy and ICT direction I really need to
be well informed. I would say that I look at quality and value in security
education rather than cost savings as my priority.

I also really like a detailed framework and clear structure in all
documentation related to my certifications. That's why the current CPE
portal situation is frustrating.

Again, how to earn the CPEs is a personal choice. I honestly don't have
room in my schedule for additional time spent getting CPEs in case some
fail in audit. That would be time I would take away from my family and they
see me little enough as it is. If I added in my hourly rate to the cost of
getting CPEs that would raise the $70,000 further.

Thanks for your comments and questions. Send me more if you have them.

[Fareed]

Denbesten,

As I mentioned in my previous email, to earn my CPEs, I generally take
courses not watch webinars. This year was the first time in fact that I did
turn to Brighttalk for any of my CPEs. It seems it was the wrong time to
try that. We clearly have different ways of looking at this topic.
Interesting to know your perspective.

[Fareed]

And I want to add, so there's no misunderstanding, that the quality and value I am looking for in examining a security topic is more of a deeper dive, which is why I prefer taking on site courses. I would like to engage with an expert in whatever my particular area of focus at that time might be. While a webinar or video presentation certainly has value, there is little ability to examine in detail how the topic relates to the security circumstances at my organization. That is important to me. Thanks for considering my clarification and thank you to those who are endeavoring to present new ideas through Brighttalk. It is appreciated.   

[denbesten]

@Fareed wrote:
 I don't go the low cost route in earning CPEs....there's no time for that.

The amusing part is that time is the motivating factor for both of us.  Since a CPE represents 1 hour of educational effort, we will both spend 40 hours a year in an educational setting.

You view travel, hotels and a classroom setting as more time-efficient because you can knock the requirement out in one week. I view that as spending 120 hours to earn what I could have done in 40, an hour at a time after the kids have gone to bed. 

For more "depth", you might additionally consider Cybrary. They do not auto-submit but they do have a "completion certificate" which is a great defense in an audit.

[MStockdale]

Another two weeks gone - any update yet? I've currently no way to view or manage my CPE's which is becoming a bit of a pain. I'd be happy if there was at least a way for me to review current CPE's.

[green20151]

Here's the deal:

Contact Member Support. They need to approve your pending CPEs.

Here's the workaround a nice lady gave me there:

When you submit your CPEs, don't select Save and Continue. Select Save and
Exit. This will queue the CPE as Pending.

Email them and ask them to review your Pending CPEs.

The reason for the red error after one submits a CPE is because the date of
submission is now after the date opf the certification. But not to worry:
it seems there is a 60-day grace period for them to review CPEs and set
things right. (At least, that's what they told me.)

Lesson to me: submit CPEs early and often. Now, their website was not
working very well earlier, so I don't feel too badly about it.

[amandavanceISC2]

@MStockdale Thank you for your comment and I apologize for the inconvenience. I will be happy to provide you information on your cycle. Please feel free to email me or send a DM with your primary email address on file and your member ID number, along with any questions you have.

Best Regards,

Amanda Vance

avance@isc2.org