1. Do I have to enroll in CompTIA’s Continuing Education (CE) program?
I thought my certification never expired. If you earned one or more of the following certifications, CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ or CompTIA Security+, on or before Dec. 31, 2010, those certifications will never expire, and you will always be considered “certified for life” for those certifications, regardless of if you participate in the CE program.
If you earned a CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ or CompTIA Security+ certification after January 1, 2011, you are automatically enrolled in the continuing education program, and your certification has an expiration date of three years from the date certified. You will have three years from the date certified to either retake the most recent version of the certification exam or successfully complete the CompTIA Continuing Education program to earn a recertification.
2. Technically, I’m certified “for life.” Why is my employer asking me to enroll in CompTIA’s Continuing Education program?
Because information technology changes so rapidly, employers (in particular, those in the federal defense sector) often require participation in continuing education programs to pro-actively keep IT workers’ skills and knowledge current. CompTIA’s continuing education program provides a variety of methods for you to demonstrate your ongoing pursuit of knowledge and skills that will keep you current and relevant in your IT profession.
If you enroll in the CE program, you will be held to its policies for certification renewal. You will have three years from the date of enrollment in the CE program to meet all the program requirements, which also includes completing the appropriate level of continuing education units to receive a new CE designation. The “ce” will appear on your certificate (e.g., CompTIA Security+ce.) to indicate that you have completed a CE program cycle. Your “certified for life” designation will display as a separate credential on your record.
3. How do I read the CompTIA Continuing Education Program Activity Chart?
I can’t find the activity I was looking for. Due to the vast amount of relevant content and activities available as continuing education options for the various CompTIA certification programs, we have intentionally kept the CE activities broad to provide the greatest flexibility to participants. It’s likely there are things you are already doing in your day-to-day job that could count for units. Look for the description that closest matches the activity you plan to use to gain continuing education units (CEUs). Once you’ve determined your activity for earning CEUs, make sure you review the submission guidelines to help ensure you’ve meet the requirements. The information submitted may be audited.
4. I have questions about selecting CEU activities for myself or for my company’s employees, such as: Does CompTIA have a list of pre-approved CEU-earning activities? What types of computer-based or instructor-led, in-house training CompTIA will accept? Will SkillSoft e-learning courses count towards my CEUs? Whose training material can I use? What classes should I take to earn CEUs to renew my certification?
There is no list of pre-approved CEU-earning activities. CompTIA does not pre-approve or pre-authorize materials, classes, programs or activities that count towards CEUs. Our goal is to allow program participants to take advantage of the wide variety of continuing education options available for staying current in IT professions. However, you should follow two guidelines to help ensure that a selected activity will count towards CEUs for renewing your CompTIA certification or that of your employees:
1) The activity must be relevant to the level of certification that you are seeking to renew: it must build upon or exceed the objective levels of the original certification. AND
2) The information submitted must meet the submission requirements for that activity.
It is important to note that books and study guides that train to CompTIA exam objectives must bear the logo of the CompTIA Approved Quality Content (CAQC) program to be accepted materials for CEU activities in CompTIA’s continuing education program.
Check with your training provider to ensure they are using CAQC approved materials for their CompTIA training programs. Training can be counted towards CEUs even when the materials are not CAQC-approved if a) the training does not explicitly train to CompTIA exam objectives, and, b) the training builds upon or exceeds the original objectives of the CompTIA certification you are seeking to renew.
Follow all directions for submitting the proper information for your activities to help ensure that your CEU records are complete and to avoid any problems if your record is audited. Anyone in the CompTIA Continuing Education program can be audited at any time during his or her participation. Unresolved problems from an audit can result in a loss of CEUs and, worse case, decertification from a previously earned recertification.
5. I can’t find the advanced certification that I plan to obtain on CompTIA’s chart of Qualified Higher Level Certifications earning full CEU credits. Will you accept this advanced certification if it’s not on the chart?
We are continually evaluating other new or existing IT certifications programs for inclusion in the CompTIA Continuing Education program. As needed, we update the CompTIA chart of higher-level certifications approximately every six months. The next update is planned for July 2011. Go to CompTIA IT Pro and join the CompTIA Continuing Education forum to suggest advanced certifications for evaluation and/or ask about the status of a specific higher-level certification. CompTIA staff monitor the forum and will respond.
6. Do the maximum CEUs allowed for an activity pertain to one year or three years?
The maximum CEU limit pertains to the continuing education program’s three-year window for earning CEUs to renew a certificate.
7. I am a Department of Defense employee. How can I get my renewal fee paid for by my component?
You should check with your component point of contact to determine whether your component will pay for your annual CE maintenance fee and, if they will pay, how they will do it. Each defense agency handles the payment processes differently.
8. How many continuing education units (CEUs) are required to renew my certification?
With a 3 year CE cycle for a candidate to renew, CompTIA A+ requires 20 CEUs; to renew CompTIA Network+, 30 CEUs; and to renew CompTIA Security+, 50 CEUs.
9. I hold multiple CompTIA certifications. Am I required to renew each of them?
No. Individuals with multiple CompTIA certifications will be prompted to renew at their highest level of certification held. For example, someone who holds CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications would only need to meet the continuing education requirements for CompTIA Security+ to renew all three certifications.
10. How do I sign up for/enroll in the CompTIA Continuing Education Program?
- Login to the Candidate Database using your CompTIA Career ID.
- Click on the Continuing Education menu item.
- Click on Enroll in the menu bar or the Enroll link in the text.
- Click on the Enroll button.
