This process defines the review of courses taught outside of the IFPUG Workshops that are submitted to provide credit in the IFPUG Certification Extension Program. For courses with a documented standard, the review process will normally be completed within 30 days of submission. If there is no documented course standard for the submitted course, the review process may take 90 days.
The CFPS Certification Extension Program is under the jurisdiction of the IFPUG Certification Committee and class direction is the province of the IFPUG Education Committee, with oversight for both provided by the IFPUG Board of Directors.
The IFPUG Board of Directors reserves the right to change or discontinue the CFPS Certification Extension program and/or the Service Provider Class Registration processes at any time, without advance notice. CFPS Certification Extension Program applications postmarked prior to the discontinuance will be evaluated under then current program rules.
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Course Provider Submits Course Registration Request |
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A course provider submits a request to register a non-IFPUG venue course to provide IFPUG Certification Extension Credit by filling out the online CEP Non-IFPUG Venue Course Registration Form or printing the form and faxing or mailing the form to the IFPUG office. The form may be: |
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Submitted via the online form, (not yet available) or |
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download form and mail to IFPUG at 191 Clarksville Road, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 |
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A copy of the course materials must accompany the registration if the application is mailed or be sent separately if the submission is made via the online form. Course materials may be e-mailed to the IFPUG office at ifpug@ifpug.org. A separate Form must be completed for each Course. There is an $850 per year registration fee per Course which must accompany each Form. NOTE: A registration fee discount of $100 per year for the first three (3) years is being offered to Service Providers who register a Course by December 31, 2004. |
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Determine if Course is CEP-Eligible Where no Standard Exists |
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If the course has no documented standard and has not been approved to provide IFPUG Certification Extension Credit, the request including a copy of the course materials is forwarded to the IFPUG Certification Committee to determine if the proposed class meets the criteria for the IFPUG Certification Extension Program. |
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Establish Course Standard if None Exists |
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If the course is determined to meet the criteria for the IFPUG Certification Extension Program and no Course Standard exists for that course, the IFPUG Education Committee documents a standard for the course. As part of the standard documentation, the IFPUG Education Committee will ask the IFPUG Counting Practices Committee, New Environments Committee, and Certification Committee if there are specific rule interpretations that they recommend be included in the Course Standard. The IFPUG Certification Committee will determine if the standard is sufficient to determine eligibility for the course in the Certification Extension Program. |
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Determine if Submitted Course Meets Course Standard |
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The submitted course is reviewed by a group of IFPUG Education Committee members that are not affiliated with an IFPUG course provider to determine whether the course meets the criteria outlined in the Course Standard for that course.
If the submitted course meets the Course Standard, the Education Committee reports to the IFPUG Office and the IFPUG Certification Committee that the course for that course provider meets the standard and recommends that the course be added to the list of approved courses, and that the class be registered if registration fees have been paid. |
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Post Registered Course on IFPUG Web Site |
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After review and approval of the course (see step 2.4 above), the newly registered Course will be posted on the IFPUG web site. Posting will occur within ten (10) business days of approval. See the CEP Non-IFPUG Venue Course Registration Form for details on information that will be posted to the web site for each Registered Course. |
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Notify Submitter if Course Does Not Meet Standard |
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If the submitted course does not meet the Course Standard, the Education Committee notifies the submitter of the area where the course does not meet the Course Standard. If a course is rejected because it does not meet the standard, it may be resubmitted at no additional fee within one calendar year of the initial submission date. Review of a resubmitted course will normally occur within 90 days of the resubmission. |
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Submitter Requests Standard Change |
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If the submitter disagrees with the Course Standard, they may submit justification for the standard to be modified. The IFPUG Education Committee will review the justification and determine whether the standard should be changed. For rules interpretations, the IFPUG Education Committee will forward the justification to the IFPUG Counting Practices Committee for determination of whether the Course Standard should be changed. |
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Standard Modification is Communicated to Course Providers |
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If a Course Standard is modified, the revised standard is provided to the registered course providers for that class. While the course offered by the approved provider will not require a new formal review, the provider must make any appropriate changes to their course to reflect the Course Standard changes for any classes taught more than 90 days after the date the Course Standard change is communicated. |
Courses taught by IFPUG must meet minimum content standards and adhere to the rules outlined in the International Function Point Users Group ( IFPUG) Counting Practices Manual based on either the current release or the release covered by the IFPUG Certified Function Point Specialist certification exam at the time the class is taught. CEP courses require the live interaction of an instructor that is a CFPS. Courses utilizing computer, web and/or video based training techniques must have an acceptable level of instructor interaction as judged by the Certification and Education Committee members reviewing the material to qualify as a CEP registered course. The course content standard has three major sections.
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Required Course Content |
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Items listed in the Required Course Content section provide a list of topics that must be covered as part of the class to provide consistency to the course across diverse course providers and instructors. Courses that do not meet the required course content standard will not be certified for the Certification Extension Program if taught outside of the IFPUG Workshops. |
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Required Rule Interpretations |
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Items may of may not appear in the Required Rule Interpretations section of the Standard. If an item is listed, that rule interpretation must be taught as part of the course content. |
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Rule Interpretations for Optional Content |
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While a course must contain the required course content, it may contain additional information beyond what is required by the course standard. This section allows the designation of rule interpretations if a particular scenario may optionally be addressed in the class. It is impossible to anticipate all cases where a rule may apply in optional course content. However, in cases where rule interpretations are addressed in this section, the course must adhere to this rule interpretation if the rule is addressed within the framework for the class. |
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Failure to Meet the Standard |
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Classes providing Certification Extension Credit are required to meet the published course standard for that course and adhere to the rules in the IFPUG CPM. The International Function Point Users Group may at its option discontinue the participation of a given course provider or instructor for a particular course or all courses taught by that course provider or instructor in the Certification Extension Program if classes taught by that course provider or instructor fail to meet the standard for that course. An instructor may be denied the ability to teach Certification Extension Credit (CEC) eligible Courses due to poor performance by an instructor based on evaluation of the instructor. Revocation of participation in the Certification Extension Program for a course provider or instructor for a particular course or all courses for violation of course standards or poor performance is done by a vote of the IFPUG Board of Directors.
The IFPUG Board of Directors may also revoke the registration to provide Certification Extension Credit (CEC) eligible Course for a course provider or instructor if they fail to meet the requirements for reporting information to IFPUG for the Certification Extension Program or provide fraudulent information.
The IFPUG Board of Directors reserves the right to discontinue the CFPS Certification Extension Program and/or the Service Provider Class Registration processes at any time, without advance notice. CFPS Certification Extension Program applications postmarked prior to such discontinuance will be evaluated under then current program rules. |
