Beginning this month, (ISC)² has a new annual continuing professional education (CPE) policy, which requires members to earn an equal number of CPEs each year within a three-year certification renewal period. This policy was updated to help our members remain current on their CPEs on an annual basis, therefore, making the comprehensive three-year certification renewal process easier for them to manage. We have experienced situations where many members found themselves significantly lacking CPEs during the last year of their cycles. The new policy will apply to all new certification cycles starting on or after January 1, 2015.
Continuing education is a crucial part of staying current in today’s burgeoning cybersecurity threat landscape. Technology changes so rapidly that information security professionals, especially those holding an (ISC)² certification, must remain in a continuous state of learning to remain effective in the industry. By requiring an equal amount of CPEs each year within the three-year certification renewal cycle, we want to make the renewal process as easy and as successful as possible for our 100,000+ global membership.
The required domain-related (Group A) and optional professional development (Group B) CPEs per year for each three-year renewal cycle will now be evenly divided as shown in the table below. The total number of CPE hours required for each certification remains the same but will be distributed equally amongst the three-year cycle. Group B CPEs remain optional and may be substituted by Group A CPEs.
We provide a multitude of free or discounted continuing professional education opportunities as part of (ISC)² members’ exclusive benefits, including:
- Free, bi-monthly members-only magazine
- 50% off official (ISC)² textbooks
- Free online and local events
- Discounts on multiple-day (ISC)² events and industry conferences
- Networking opportunities
- (ISC)² Chapters
- Global Awards Program
- Helping kids stay safe and secure online
- Industry research reports
- (ISC)² Journal
I hope that you’ll take advantage of these opportunities and I welcome your comments, questions and feedback in regards to this new CPE policy. In fact, I will soon send out a membership value survey because I want to understand what’s important to our global membership. As always, I’m here to advocate for our members. Feel free to connect with me at [email protected].
-Erich Kron, CISSP-ISSAP, HCISPP, Director of Membership Relations and Services, (ISC)²