May 2009 Administration Report: UPPCC Releases Key Performance Data

July 28, 2009 -The Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO) and Certified Professional Public Buyer (CPPB) are globally recognized credentials offered exclusively by the Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council (UPPCC). The certification programs systematically raise the level of professionalism within the public procurement profession by offering recognition to those individuals who meet an established standard of competency for public procurement demonstrated through a rigorous application process and superior examination performance.

In June, the UPPCC announced that 230 individuals successfully completed the May 2009 certification exams, including 149 who earned the CPPB certification and 81 who earned the CPPO. To date, 8,758 CPPB and 1,748 CPPO certifications have been awarded by the UPPCC.

Obtaining either UPPCC certification requires the candidate to demonstrate, through an application process, that they meet specific requisites, which includes education, procurement related coursework/training and public purchasing employment experience. A comprehensive written examination (specific to each certification) is required to confirm the candidate's mastery of a variety of public procurement concepts found in the UPPCC Body of Knowledge.

Today, the UPPCC released key performance data from the May 2009 examinations:

Overall Scoring/Passing Rates
Eighty-two percent of the 99 total candidates who tested for the CPPO passed, while 62 percent of the 241 candidates who tested for the CPPB passed. CPPO candidates' mean passing scores were 24 points lower compared to CPPO mean scores.

Testing Time
The total testing time permitted for both examinations is 3.5 hours. This includes time for candidates to comment on individual test questions. This equates to a total of 210 minutes for 175 questions or on average 1 minute and 23 seconds for each test question.

For CPPO, the average completion time was 2.69 hours with a range from 3.5 hours maximum to 1.36 hours minimum. For the CPPB, the average completion time was 2.61 hours with a range from 3.5 hours maximum to 1.01 hours minimum.

Exam Content & Candidate Preparation
Content for both the CPPO and CPPB examinations are dictated by the 2008 UPPCC Body of Knowledge (BOK). A total of 10 domain areas comprise the BOK and are as follows:

1. Administration Aspects of Purchasing

2. Procurement Requests

3. Solicitation and Evaluation of Bids/Proposals

4. Supplier Analysis

5. Negotiation Process

6. Contract Award and Administration

7. External/Internal Relationships

8. Materiels Management

9. Human Resources/Personnel

10. Forecasting and Strategies

The UPPCC reports that for the CPPO, candidates performed the best in Domain 2: Procurement Requests while CPPB candidates performed the best in Domain 6: Contract Award & Administration. The weakest area for both candidate groups was in Domain 10: Forecasting and Strategies. Table 1 data provides a complete breakout of candidate performance by exam vs. the largest represented public entity types.

The UPPCC reports that the majority of candidates indicated, via a survey immediately following the exam, spending between 1 and 3 months preparing for their respective examinations (see Table 2).

The organization further reports that candidate groups who indicated spending between 3 and 6 months preparing experienced the highest rates of passing compared to other timeframes of preparation or no preparation at all (see Graph 1).

Passing Rates and Public Entity Types
UPPCC reports that when comparing passing rates for both examinations with the various types of public entities, special authority entities experienced the highest rates while special state entities experienced the lowest rates (see Graph 2).

Testing for both credentials is now offered via a network of nearly 400 professional testing centers twice annually in May and October. The UPPCC is currently accepting applications for the October 26-31, 2009 testing window through July 27 (through August 10 with late fee).

The Universal Public Purchasing Certification Council (UPPCC) is an independent entity formed to govern and administer the Certified Public Purchasing 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.