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UPPCC: New Strategic Plan... New Name, New Certification Eligibility

November 15, 2010 -The UPPCC announced today that it has officially changed the name of the organization to the Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC). Previously known as the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council since its founding in 1978, the members of the UPPCC Governing Board, UPPCC's policy making body, decided that a name change was in order for the organization during its 2010 strategic planning process which concluded in April. View the 2010-2015 UPPCC Strategic Initiatives.

To coincide with the changes made to the name of the organization, the Governing Board also changed the name of its senior-level certification program to Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO). The Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification name remains unchanged.

The strategic planning process also brought to light the desire of the organization to renew its commitment to elevating the importance of certification within the public procurement profession. To support this initiative, the UPPCC is introducing new certification eligibility and recertification requirements. These new requirements will become effective as of January 1, 2014.

New Certification Eligibility Requirements 
The new eligibility requirements will be based on minimum requirements that will apply to all applicants. These minimum requirements will replace the current eligibility schedules which are based on a sliding scale directly related to the applicants' level of formal education.

Highlights of the new eligiblity requirements include the following:

formal educational degree from an accredited college or university is required
- Accredited college/university level procurement coursework is required
Only coursework and training completed and experience obtained within the previous ten (10) years of submitting an application for certification will be applicable toward meeting the minimum eligibility requirements. This ten year limitation does not apply to formal educational degreesearned by the applicant; formal educational degrees are applicable toward meeting the minimum requirements for certification regardless of the year in which they were earned. 

For specific CPPO and CPPB requirements, visit UPPCC 2014 Certification Eligibility.

New Recertification Requirements
The new recertification requirements will be based solely on participation in activities that contribute to a certificant's continued professional development or to the field of public procurement in general.

Highlights of the new recertification requirements include the following:

Membership category eliminated as a potential source for earning recertification credit
Recertification Credit must be earned in a minimum of 2 out of 3 categories: (1. Continuing Education - Accredited, 2. Continuing Education - Non-Accredited, 3. Professional Contributions) 
- Current Lifetime Status replaced with a new Retired Status

As stated by the current Chair of the UPPCC Governing Board, Norma J. Hall, FNIGP, CPPO, CPPB, CPM, "if we want to elevate the value of certification and the profession we have to consider higher education as an integral part of our eligibility requirements and build a system of requiring continuous professional development of those that hold UPPCC certifications."

Reminder: The UPPCC will be accepting applications for initial certification and recertification under the existing requirements until the new changes take effect in 2014. The next application submission deadline is January 31, 2011 for the May 2-14, 2011 testing window. Please view the UPPCC Exam Schedule for additional deadlines and testing dates.

Certificates and lapel pins bearing the new organization and CPPO certification name(s) will be first issued to the October 2010 certification class to be announced in early December. Although new certificates will not be issued to previous certificants, they may be purchased individually for a small fee via UPPCC Forms.

The Universal Public Procurement Certification Council (UPPCC) is an independent entity formed to govern and administer the Certified Public Procurement Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) certification programs. The CPPO and CPPB programs are highly regarded and respected among procurement professionals and employers involved in the public sector. To date, the UPPCC has certified well over 10,000 professionals primarily within the US and Canada as well as in other nations around the globe.

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