CompTIA Revises Previously Announced Changes in IT Certification Program
February 8, 2010 - By Justin E. Gehrke
February 8, 2010 – Since industry-recognized IT certification giant, CompTIA, began administering certification examinations in 1982, their policy has been that, once a candidate passes an examination, their certification remains good for life. Unlike Microsoft, which requires certified professionals under previous operating systems to re-certify under new ones, CompTIA has only encouraged (not required) members to update their skills, by taking new versions, as they are released. Back at the beginning of January, though, the industry-recognized IT certification company, CompTIA, announced its intention to change its certification policy for popular certifications, to include, among others, the CompTIA A+, Security+, and Network+. When a new version of the examination was released, a member certified under the previous version would have to complete a “Bridge Examination” to migrate them forward to the new certification version.
What was the result of their announcement? It quickly became apparent that CompTIA certified professionals were not happy. Popular social media networks like Linked-In, Twitter, and Facebook were flooded with complaints. Some complained CompTIA’s change on a misguided attempt to generate revenue. Others felt it was a move that would re-validate an IT professional’s knowledge and ensure they were keeping up with the times. Still others stated that, if CompTIA were really interested in maintaining a member’s professional knowledge, they would adopt a policy whereby members must complete a minimum number of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) credits, on an annual basis, through the completion of classroom/online training, teaching/training of others, authoring articles, etc. The latter option would align CompTIA with other internationally recognized certification institutions like the International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC2), which provides certifications such as the CISSP, CISM, and CISA.
It appears that the massive response received by CompTIA resulted in their reconsideration of the intended change. On January 26, 2010, an updated announcement was posted on the CompTIA website advising that those professionals currently holding the certifications, as well as those who successfully pass the examinations prior to December 31, 2010, will be considered as “certified for life”. Those who become certified after that date will be required to retest every three years or satisfy the requirements of a yet-to-be-announced continuing education program. The change should not only satisfy new those who are currently satisfied but also those who have yet to become certified, since the requirements are clearly defined beforehand.
In the official statement posted on the website, CompTIA encourages IT professionals to regularly visit their Renewal and Blog pages to see the most current updates, as they are released.
