The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting professionals in a variety of ways, but career advancement through IAPP certification doesn’t have to be one of them. To help certification candidates stay on track with plans to get certified, the IAPP will be offering the ability to test from home.
The COVID-19 pandemic has meant many in-person testing centers have closed temporarily. But beginning mid-May, IAPP certification candidates will be able to test remotely through Pearson VUE’s online proctoring platform, OnVUE.
Exams can be taken at home or in a secure workspace. Test-takers will need a quiet and private location, a reliable computer with a web camera and microphone, and a strong internet connection. Those who sign up for remote proctoring will be walked through a systems-check to ensure their connection is sufficient prior to starting the exam.
“This is a good time to follow through with your certification, and wherever you are in your journey to get certified, our training department and certification department are here to support people,” IAPP Certification Director Doug Forman said.
In addition, exam expiration dates for those whose yearlong exam window would have expired between now and Aug. 31 have been suspended.
“We want to assure test-takers that they are not going to have their exams expire during this time,” Forman said.
However, for now, the required 20 hours of Continuing Privacy Education credits needed to maintain credentialed status for each IAPP certification is not being suspended. The IAPP is closely monitoring the situation, and if COVID-19 continues to impact professionals’ ability to earn CPE’s by attending events or lectures or for financial reasons, the organization will revisit that decision, Forman said.
There are a variety of opportunities to earn credits from home through online offerings, including web conferences and videos.
“We are particularly sensitive and sympathetic to what’s going on in people’s lives,” Forman said. “We are sensitive to the CPE requirements and that they may become burdensome to earn, and if a solution is necessary, we will take those steps.”
To schedule a remote exam, visit Pearson VUE, choose “online proctoring,” and select a date and time with a live proctor available. Keep in mind, remote proctoring is limited to proctor availability and unavailable in certain countries. Some Pearson VUE test centers are still open for computer-based testing. For more information, visit iapp.org/l/remote-proctoring/.
Photo by Sergey Zolkin on Unsplash
