April 11, 2016

SharePointMaven: 10 questions to ask your users before you create a SharePoint site for them
NYTimes: Swim. Bike. Cheat? This is a fascinating story because I do these types of events (albeit much, MUCH shorter distance) and I hate the idea of cheating on them because, as the story says, for most of us cheating on an event is cheating yourself.

But it's also fascinating because, on the one hand, many of the accusations are corroborated by metadata from the ubiquitous digital pictures taken throughout, and on the other hand, the accused could have provided significant data/metadata in her defense from her own GPS devices and hasn't.
Don Lueders: #ARMANextGen: Lipstick, Meet Pig


April 6, 2016

Update on the CIP 2016 exam development process

It's been a while since I've posted about the CIP. No news definitely means good news in this case! We've had more than 25 subject matter experts contribute questions towards the update, and right now we're working our way through more than 300 questions to make sure every question is as clear, correct, and concise as we can make them.

New Provider
When we made the decision to bring back the CIP, we also decided to look at other providers to see what other options were available in the marketplace. We've decided to change providers to Kryterion (https://www.kryteriononline.com/). We believe they offer the best combination of test centers and testing mechanisms for the revamped CIP and we're looking forward to working with them to help finalize the exam, including the beta exam.

The Beta Exam
The next step in the process to get candidates to take the beta exam. This will be available through Kryterion test centers in the next couple of weeks. We'll make a separate announcement through various channels once the beta exam is actually live. This is a critical part of the process because we need 100+ people to take each of the two exam forms in order to ensure the questions are correct and statistically valid.

The cost of the beta exam will be $135.00, which is a massive discount to the full price of the CIP exam once it goes live. This price will only be available until we get the minimum number of beta exams we need.

Candidates who take the beta exam are taking the CIP exam; the primary difference is that you will not receive your score, passing or otherwise, until we get the minimum number of beta exams. That in turn is what we use to set the final passing score. Once we set that final score we will contact every single beta exam candidate and provide their final score, the final passing score, and notification as to whether the candidate passed or failed the exam.

New Pricing
We also made the decision to increase the price of the CIP. There are a number of factors that went into this, including the cost of developing the new exam, the cost of similar sorts of exams in the marketplace, and the need to ensure that the CIP will be self-funding moving forward. Once the new exam is officially launched, the prices will be:
Professional Member: $285.00
Non-member: $349.00

However, the requirements and fees for maintenance will remain the same: 45 hours of continuing education (CEUs) over 3 years, plus a $75.00 fee for Professional Members and $150.00 fee for non-members.

Exam Prep Materials
We are also developing a preparatory course and training manual that will prepare candidates to take the CIP exam. We expect those to be available when the official exam launches. As with the previous CIP, a training class is not required, but candidates may benefit from taking a training class if they are unsure about a particular area of the exam. And unlike the previous CIP exam, taking AIIM training courses are also a great way to prepare for the various parts of the exam. Pricing and specific availability is still being determined and will be announced in the next few weeks.

Last Chance for LAPSED CIPs to Renew
Finally, one more reminder. If you completed the original CIP but let it lapse - that is, you didn't pay the CEU fee and complete the 45 hours of continuing education, we are offering a one-time grace period. Submit your documentation and pay any outstanding CEU fees by April 26, 2016, and you will be renewed and remain a CIP in good standing. Once this date passes, however, you will have to pass the test again at the applicable fee in order to remain a CIP.

Please feel free to contact me directly at jwilkins@aiim.org with any questions.

Update: fixed the link to Kryterion. Thanks to BMOC's Marko Sillanpää for spotting the error.

Update: changed last header to LAPSED CIPs. Current CIPs are current; this note was directed specifically to those who took the CIP but have not renewed it and have let it lapse.