August 17, 2012
Dear
Colleague,
CFP
Board requests comments on proposed revisions to the Continuing Education
requirement for CFP® certification. The proposed revisions
result from a comprehensive review of the current requirement and are
summarized below.
The
periodic review of certification requirements is consistent with best
practices for professional certification organizations, including CFP
Board’s accrediting organizations, the National Commission on Certifying
Agencies (NCCA) and the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE).
Comments
received during the 45-day public comment period, which ends September 30,
2012, will be posted to CFP Board's website and reviewed and considered by
CFP Board. Any final proposed amendments are expected to be presented to
the Board of Directors for action in November 2012.
Overview
of Proposed Changes
CFP
Board’s Continuing Education (CE) requirement assures that CFP®
professionals maintain and enhance competency in financial planning
principles and practices. Consistent with NCCA accreditation standards, CE
is a recertification vehicle. CFP Board’s current CE requirement (available
for review at www.CFP.net/certificants/ce.asp) remains largely
unchanged from its introduction in the 1990’s.
During
the past six months, CFP Board’s Council on Education (Council) has been
engaged in a focused and comprehensive review of the current CE
requirement. The Council’s membership includes CFP®
professionals, with representation from practice, representatives of CFP
Board-Registered Programs and the academic community, and representatives
from other professional certification organizations. The Council’s
expertise was augmented with advice provided by CE subject matter experts
from established professions (architecture and law). After reviewing and
discussing substantive research of other certifications, designations and
licensing CE requirements, the Council developed several recommendations
for revising CFP Board’s CE requirement.
The
proposed changes under consideration are:
- Increasing total CE hours required each renewal
period (every 2 years) from 30 to 40 hours.
Rationale: Personal financial planning knowledge and practices are fast-changing, which requires ongoing learning to maintain competency. The proposed increase in required hours remains consistent with or below similar requirements for established professions and comparable designations. The proposed increase in required hours is consistent with recommendations from CFP Board’s 2007 and 2008 Education Task Forces.
- Granting CE credit for practice management programs
and/or pro bono activities, up to 4 hours (total combined) per renewal
period.
- Practice management CE programs. Defined as programs focused on the planning,
development and management of a CFP® professional’s
business operations, office management, business model design,
budgeting processes and leadership.
- Pro Bono (volunteer personal delivery of financial
planning) services.
These activities must be supervised by a registered CE Sponsor
organization and will be accepted for 1 hour CE credit per 4 hours
pro bono service.
Rationale: Recognize
the importance practice management plays in the delivery of competent and
ethical professional financial planning services to clients. Encourage pro
bono service for the public benefit.
- Increasing the Ethics CE requirement from 2 hours
to 4 hours, which shall include a mandatory CFP Board-produced Ethics
program (2 hours) plus 2 hours of ethics programming, which is
expanded to include both pre-approved programs on CFP Board's
Standards of Professional Conduct and general ethics-related content.
Rationale: Results from CFP Board's 2009 Job Analysis Study, which is the basis for CFP Board's CFP® Examination and Education curriculum, reflect an increased emphasis on ethics knowledge.
- Expanding the professional activities that qualify
for CE credit (currently accepted professional activities are teaching
and authorship) with the following:
- Participation in Registered Program Financial
Planning Development ("capstone") course grading panels. These activities must be verified with
documentation of active participation, written assessments and
qualitative feedback;
- Study Group Activities that meet certain
guidelines;
- Research.
Research may address future trends in financial planning beyond CFP
Board's current lists of Job Task Domains and Principal Topics.
Rationale: Encourage
body of knowledge expansion and no cost CE opportunities.
- Implementing a "50% cap rule," which will
limit CE credit for any single topic area or professional activity to
50% of total required CE hours. For example, if 40 hours required, then
"cap" would be 20 hours. Topic areas are: General
Principles, Insurance, Investments, Income Tax, Retirement and Estate
Planning, Interpersonal Communication, Professional Conduct and
Fiduciary Responsibility. Conferences, which are comprised of
individual educational sessions, will not be subject to the "50%
cap rule."
Rationale: Ensure diversity of learning experiences across breadth of planning topics.
- Eliminating CE credit for completing professional
licenses and designation examinations.
Rationale: Inconsistent with professional certification program best practices. Program content or coursework may be eligible if consistent with CE topic and other requirements. Exam prep or review courses remain ineligible.
- Reviewing online courses for academic credit (with
grading) delivered by regionally accredited colleges or universities
as “live” CE programs, rather than “self study.”
Rationale: Recognize the quality control measures that regionally accredited institutions are required to incorporate in the development and delivery of self-study courses offered for academic credit.
- Encouraging increased rigor and quality of all CE
program delivery methods.
Rationale: Help ensure that CE programs available to CFP® professionals contribute to their professional competency.
Comment
Submission Guidelines
Any
individual or group wishing to comment on the proposed revisions should
submit written comments no later than September 30, 2012. Comments may be
sent to CFP Board by email to CEComments@cfpboard.org
or by regular mail to:
CFP Board
c/o Michele M. Warholic, Esq., CAE
Managing Director, Education, Examinations and Talent
1425 K St., NW #500
Washington, DC 20005
Comments
received will be reviewed and considered by CFP Board and, at the end of
the comment period, will be posted to CFP Board’s website in their
entirety. If you wish your comment to remain confidential, please omit any
personally-identifying information from your comment or include in your
comment a clearly-stated request that it not be published on the website.
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER BOARD OF STANDARDS, INC.
mail@cfpboard.org
P 800-487-1497 • F 202-379-2299 • CFP.NET
1425 K STREET, NW #500 • WASHINGTON, DC 20005
Retirement. Budgeting. Taxes. Investments. Estate planning. Insurance. Let's make a plan.
