April 30, 2018
April 19, 2018
Misconceptions about the CIP
Recently I've had a number of people ask a variety of questions about how one goes about getting the CIP. I thought I'd answer those questions here in the interest of clearing up any uncertainty.
The CIP is a formal certification. There are many, many differences between a certificate program, such as AIIM's training programs, and a formal certification. This is a much longer discussion beyond the scope of this post, but there is one that directly applies.
Many certificate programs that offer an assessment make it available in a non-proctored, and frequently online, format. Certification program assessments are proctored as a rule, and while there are a number of ways to conduct the assessment, there is nevertheless a more formalized structure to them.
The only way to get the CIP is to pass the formal certification exam. There are two ways we deliver the exam. First, candidates can schedule an exam at any Kryterion test center around the world. On the appointed date/time, the candidate appears, is placed into an exam station, and takes the exam, by him or herself, and with no additional references or study aids.
Second, AIIM can offer the CIP exam in an onsite proctored model. A group of people takes the exam in the same room, often at the end of an onsite CIP Prep Workshop, and we also do this at the annual AIIM conference. A human proctor is in the room the entire time to make sure individual candidates complete only their own exam and do not attempt to assist or influence any other candidates' exams.
But that's it. Those are the only two ways to earn the CIP certification and designation. The only exception to this in the history of the CIP program was that we made the decision when CIP was launched to grandfather in about 40 subject matter experts that wrote the initial exam. This is not uncommon - why would you test people on the exam you just trusted them to write? But this only happened for the first CIP exam; when we updated it in 2016, we used only CIPs who had passed the original exam to conduct the update. When we update it again in 2019 we will use the same process.
Common questions/misconceptions about CIP
So here are some of the most common questions I've gotten, and my responses to them.
Now, here's the Reader's Digest version: The only way to get the CIP is to take a proctored exam. Anyone who has told you otherwise is flat-out wrong - at best.
I welcome any additional questions, thoughts, concerns, or assertions to the contrary at jwilkins@aiim.org.
The CIP is a formal certification. There are many, many differences between a certificate program, such as AIIM's training programs, and a formal certification. This is a much longer discussion beyond the scope of this post, but there is one that directly applies.
Many certificate programs that offer an assessment make it available in a non-proctored, and frequently online, format. Certification program assessments are proctored as a rule, and while there are a number of ways to conduct the assessment, there is nevertheless a more formalized structure to them.
The only way to get the CIP is to pass the formal certification exam. There are two ways we deliver the exam. First, candidates can schedule an exam at any Kryterion test center around the world. On the appointed date/time, the candidate appears, is placed into an exam station, and takes the exam, by him or herself, and with no additional references or study aids.
Second, AIIM can offer the CIP exam in an onsite proctored model. A group of people takes the exam in the same room, often at the end of an onsite CIP Prep Workshop, and we also do this at the annual AIIM conference. A human proctor is in the room the entire time to make sure individual candidates complete only their own exam and do not attempt to assist or influence any other candidates' exams.
But that's it. Those are the only two ways to earn the CIP certification and designation. The only exception to this in the history of the CIP program was that we made the decision when CIP was launched to grandfather in about 40 subject matter experts that wrote the initial exam. This is not uncommon - why would you test people on the exam you just trusted them to write? But this only happened for the first CIP exam; when we updated it in 2016, we used only CIPs who had passed the original exam to conduct the update. When we update it again in 2019 we will use the same process.
Common questions/misconceptions about CIP
So here are some of the most common questions I've gotten, and my responses to them.
- AIIM can just "give" people the CIP. Categorically not true. A very, very small number of AIIM staff have access to the CIP exam platform and it has a very detailed audit trail, with every candidate's attempts and even every question and response for every candidate. We can't fake it - and wouldn't if we could. Even the AIIM staff that have earned the CIP did it in one of those two ways - by going to a Kryterion test center, or by sitting through an onsite proctored exam. Same thing with those on the AIIM Board of Directors that have earned the CIP.
- Getting the ERM Master can get you the CIP. There was some confusion around the end of 2015, when there was some concern about the future of CIP. AIIM posted that the CIP had been retired and that all CIPs would be converted to ERM Masters or another AIIM certificate designation of their choice. That decision was rescinded and CIP was updated in 2016, but the misconception still remains - but this is the exact opposite of the misconception.
- Being a CRM or passing Part 5 can get you the CIP. Similarly, AIIM and the ICRM have a partnership wherein CRM candidates that complete the ERM Master Class can submit that in lieu of their Part 5 exam. So there may be some confusion that ERMM leads to, or grants, CIP - it doesn't, it just counts as 1 of the 6 exams required to receive the CRM. At some future date there might be some reciprocity between CIP and the CRA/CRM, but not at present.
- You have to be an AIIM member to get, or maintain, the CIP. Nope - lots of people have earned the CIP who barely know who AIIM is, but thought that the CIP would provide value (they're right!). And there are a ton of benefits to AIIM membership - I think highly enough of them that I maintain my paid membership despite having been on AIIM's staff for over 7 years. But there is no connection between the two other than discounts on the workshop, the exam, and renewal fees.
- You have to take the AIIM CIP Prep Course to get the CIP - or - Taking the CIP Prep Course will give you the CIP. Nope and nope. While we offer the CIP prep course, and we'd love to have you take it as part of your preparation, it is absolutely not required. If you do take the course, you need to know that, while it covers everything on the exam, we don't teach to the exam. Rather, we teach the concepts that the exam covers. You also need to know that there's no guarantee that taking the course will ensure you pass the exam. While our results are pretty good historically, ultimately the course is the course and the exam is the exam.
- You can take the CIP online. While the Kryterion test platform, Webassessor, is technically delivered through the Web, this is not an online exam in the way that certificate programs often are. You can only access the exam by having it launched by a proctor, either at a Kryterion test center or at an AIIM-delivered onsite proctored exam.
- The CIP doesn't expire. False - you have to maintain the CIP every three years, either by completing continuing education or by retesting. Once that date passes, your CIP is lapsed and you should not use or claim it anymore unless you reinstate.
Now, here's the Reader's Digest version: The only way to get the CIP is to take a proctored exam. Anyone who has told you otherwise is flat-out wrong - at best.
I welcome any additional questions, thoughts, concerns, or assertions to the contrary at jwilkins@aiim.org.
April 17, 2018
CIP Today Newsletter - March 2018
We're less than three weeks away from The AIIM Conference 2018 in San Antonio, TX and I'm really excited about the agenda this year. We're putting extra focus on the CIP program and all of you as individual CIPs during the event. Here are just some of the highlights:
With the event just around the corner, you need to act soon if you're going to join us in San Antonio. We'd love to have you. Visit http://www.aiimconference.com for more details.
I hope that you will find this newsletter valuable, and I welcome your thoughts, comments, and submissions at jwilkins@aiim.org.
Sincerely,
Jesse Wilkins, CIP
Director, Professional Development
AIIM
We're Looking For A Few Good...Stories!
One of the things that helps to build the value of CIP is to share stories and case studies. I'm looking for a few good examples of what the CIP has meant to you and your organization. For example, one CIP recently shared with us that "Our technology world is rapidly changing, and companies are requiring that our skills span multiple dimensions. To compliment my technical skill set, the AIIM Certified Information Professional was my certification of choice. Due to its high recognition in the EIM world, it helped me launch my career. I'm proud to say I have accepted a great opportunity with a great company." That's pretty powerful.
So how has CIP helped you - have you gotten a promotion, a raise, or a new job or new responsibilities? If you're a solution provider or consultant, has it helped you develop new business? We'd like to share your name and company if at all possible; if your company isn't willing to do so, we can refer to it generally, e.g. "A large North American bank". But the more of these stories, and interviews, and case studies we can get, the greater the impact on the CIP program as a whole. Please reach out to me at jwilkins@aiim.org if you are interested.
Announcements
CIP Reinstatement:
As with other formal certifications, in order to maintain your CIP status, you must either retest every three years or complete 45 hours of continuing education credits. But sometimes stuff comes up, or you forget the renewal date, and you end up letting your status lapse. Until now the only way to reinstate your CIP status was to retake the exam.
After a lot of research and discussion, both internally and with a few current (and former!) CIPs, we've developed a reinstatement process that we think is fair, that underscores the value of the CIP, and that stresses the importance of maintaining the CIP over time. I wrote about it at length, but here are the highlights:
If you're not sure whether your status is still current or not, we maintain the updated list of active CIPs at http://www.aiim.org/Education-Section/CIPs-List. If your name is not on the list, your status has lapsed. If you think your name was removed from the list in error, please contact me directly at jwilkins@aiim.org and I'll investigate.
New Modern Records Management Master Class:
In February, we completed the development and launch of the Modern Records Management Master Class. This is complementary to, and includes, the MRM Specialist content we announced in the previous newsletter.
The course differs substantially from the ERM course in three main areas. First, we've removed a lot of the "RM 101"-type content. That content will be made available at some point, probably as a quick study course. Second, we've added a ton of in-depth content on digital recordkeeping including specific processes for how to conduct a systems and information inventory and how to conduct a file share cleanup. And most importantly, every module includes some focus on records management as a business enabler, with content that will help records managers get a seat at the table by showing how effective records management supports the goals of the organization.
The MRM Master Class is worth 26.0 CIP CEUs; for students who have already taken the MRM Specialist, you can elect to take just the Master content at a discount and earn 13.0 CEUs.
More information about this course is available at http://www.aiim.org/Education-Section/Deep-Dives/Deep-Dive-MRM.
You can find more information about all of our courses, all of which are approved for CEUs, at http://www.aiim.org/training.
The AIIM Community:
If you haven't been to the AIIM Community recently, you don't know what you're missing! Every day brings new questions and discussions that could be directly relevant to what you're doing. The Community includes an Open Forum, groups for individual chapters, and five specialist interest groups:
Anyone can read the posts, but you have to be a member to post something yourself. This is just one of the great benefits of being an AIIM member. The Community is available at http://community.aiim.org.
From the CIP:
Five Things that Well Written IM/IT Policies Avoid
by Lewis Eisen, CIP
Well-written administrative policies are clear, concise, and respectful to the people they govern. IM/IT policies are no exception.
The written policies of many organizations fall far short of that goal, however. They are overly long, ambiguous or confusing, and written as if angry parents were talking to bad children. It should come as no surprise in those cases that the organization spends an inordinate amount of time dealing with compliance problems.
There are five things that well written IM/IT policies avoid. [Continue reading.]
Why Do We Need Standards?
by Betsy Fanning, CIP
Standards reduce risks the organization may have when implementing technologies because they are developed by subject experts who collaborate to document the best way to implement or utilize a technology or improve a process. When you use a standard, you can be certain it has been tested which will provide a high level of reliability in its use. [Continue reading.]
CIP, the Lingua Franca of ECM
by Marko Silanpaa, CIP
To me, one the biggest value of the Certified Information Professional program is as common language for Enterprise Content Management. The lack of this common vocabulary easily costs tens of thousands of dollars to vendors and can add months to the vendor selection cycle for end users. [Continue reading.]
Share Your Story
As a CIP, I want to know what you're doing and how you're doing it. If you have a story to share, an article you think would be of interest to other CIPs, or even just want to tell your CIP story, send me a note at jwilkins@aiim.org. I can help you write it if needed, and we'll make sure it gets in the next newsletter.
Upcoming CEU Opportunities
Just a reminder that all CIPs have to complete 45 hours of continuing education every three years in order to remain certified. Here are some upcoming AIIM events you might wish to consider:
And non-AIIM events are OK too, as long as they are educational in nature and address at least one topic on the CIP. Vendor demos/presentations/sessions as well. Questions? Ping me at jwilkins@aiim.org.
Key POCs
You have questions? We have answers. Here's where to get AIIM-related information:
For questions about your CIP status, CEU status, or general questions about CIP - Me! jwilkins@aiim.org
For questions about AIIM training - Maureen Hearn, mhearn@aiim.org
To register for AIIM training:
US/areas outside of Europe: Michelle Clark, mturner@aiim.org
Europe: Angela Hymas, ahymas@aiim.org
For questions about Professional membership – Jessica Lombardo, jlombardo@aiim.org
- 12.5 CIP CEUs for conference, and 6.5 more if you attend a precon workshop
- The CIP precon on April 10
- The CIP exam on April 11
- The exclusive CIP-only luncheon on April 11, right after the exam. This is also where you will get your exclusive CIP T-shirt!
- The annual CIP photo
- Lots of great speakers, many of whom are CIPs as well
- And lots of opportunities to network with your fellow CIPs and the other attendees.
With the event just around the corner, you need to act soon if you're going to join us in San Antonio. We'd love to have you. Visit http://www.aiimconference.com for more details.
I hope that you will find this newsletter valuable, and I welcome your thoughts, comments, and submissions at jwilkins@aiim.org.
Sincerely,
Jesse Wilkins, CIP
Director, Professional Development
AIIM
We're Looking For A Few Good...Stories!
One of the things that helps to build the value of CIP is to share stories and case studies. I'm looking for a few good examples of what the CIP has meant to you and your organization. For example, one CIP recently shared with us that "Our technology world is rapidly changing, and companies are requiring that our skills span multiple dimensions. To compliment my technical skill set, the AIIM Certified Information Professional was my certification of choice. Due to its high recognition in the EIM world, it helped me launch my career. I'm proud to say I have accepted a great opportunity with a great company." That's pretty powerful.
So how has CIP helped you - have you gotten a promotion, a raise, or a new job or new responsibilities? If you're a solution provider or consultant, has it helped you develop new business? We'd like to share your name and company if at all possible; if your company isn't willing to do so, we can refer to it generally, e.g. "A large North American bank". But the more of these stories, and interviews, and case studies we can get, the greater the impact on the CIP program as a whole. Please reach out to me at jwilkins@aiim.org if you are interested.
Announcements
CIP Reinstatement:
As with other formal certifications, in order to maintain your CIP status, you must either retest every three years or complete 45 hours of continuing education credits. But sometimes stuff comes up, or you forget the renewal date, and you end up letting your status lapse. Until now the only way to reinstate your CIP status was to retake the exam.
After a lot of research and discussion, both internally and with a few current (and former!) CIPs, we've developed a reinstatement process that we think is fair, that underscores the value of the CIP, and that stresses the importance of maintaining the CIP over time. I wrote about it at length, but here are the highlights:
- You must reinstate within one (1) calendar year of lapsing.
- You must submit 45 CEUs and pay the reinstatement fee of $200.
If you're not sure whether your status is still current or not, we maintain the updated list of active CIPs at http://www.aiim.org/Education-Section/CIPs-List. If your name is not on the list, your status has lapsed. If you think your name was removed from the list in error, please contact me directly at jwilkins@aiim.org and I'll investigate.
New Modern Records Management Master Class:
In February, we completed the development and launch of the Modern Records Management Master Class. This is complementary to, and includes, the MRM Specialist content we announced in the previous newsletter.
The course differs substantially from the ERM course in three main areas. First, we've removed a lot of the "RM 101"-type content. That content will be made available at some point, probably as a quick study course. Second, we've added a ton of in-depth content on digital recordkeeping including specific processes for how to conduct a systems and information inventory and how to conduct a file share cleanup. And most importantly, every module includes some focus on records management as a business enabler, with content that will help records managers get a seat at the table by showing how effective records management supports the goals of the organization.
The MRM Master Class is worth 26.0 CIP CEUs; for students who have already taken the MRM Specialist, you can elect to take just the Master content at a discount and earn 13.0 CEUs.
More information about this course is available at http://www.aiim.org/Education-Section/Deep-Dives/Deep-Dive-MRM.
You can find more information about all of our courses, all of which are approved for CEUs, at http://www.aiim.org/training.
The AIIM Community:
If you haven't been to the AIIM Community recently, you don't know what you're missing! Every day brings new questions and discussions that could be directly relevant to what you're doing. The Community includes an Open Forum, groups for individual chapters, and five specialist interest groups:
- ECM - Peer to Peer Advice
- GDPR - Peer to Peer Advice
- U.S. Federal Government
- Oil & Gas
- Women in Information Management
Anyone can read the posts, but you have to be a member to post something yourself. This is just one of the great benefits of being an AIIM member. The Community is available at http://community.aiim.org.
From the CIP:
Five Things that Well Written IM/IT Policies Avoid
by Lewis Eisen, CIP
Well-written administrative policies are clear, concise, and respectful to the people they govern. IM/IT policies are no exception.
The written policies of many organizations fall far short of that goal, however. They are overly long, ambiguous or confusing, and written as if angry parents were talking to bad children. It should come as no surprise in those cases that the organization spends an inordinate amount of time dealing with compliance problems.
There are five things that well written IM/IT policies avoid. [Continue reading.]
Why Do We Need Standards?
by Betsy Fanning, CIP
Standards reduce risks the organization may have when implementing technologies because they are developed by subject experts who collaborate to document the best way to implement or utilize a technology or improve a process. When you use a standard, you can be certain it has been tested which will provide a high level of reliability in its use. [Continue reading.]
CIP, the Lingua Franca of ECM
by Marko Silanpaa, CIP
To me, one the biggest value of the Certified Information Professional program is as common language for Enterprise Content Management. The lack of this common vocabulary easily costs tens of thousands of dollars to vendors and can add months to the vendor selection cycle for end users. [Continue reading.]
Share Your Story
As a CIP, I want to know what you're doing and how you're doing it. If you have a story to share, an article you think would be of interest to other CIPs, or even just want to tell your CIP story, send me a note at jwilkins@aiim.org. I can help you write it if needed, and we'll make sure it gets in the next newsletter.
Upcoming CEU Opportunities
Just a reminder that all CIPs have to complete 45 hours of continuing education every three years in order to remain certified. Here are some upcoming AIIM events you might wish to consider:
- AIIM18, April 11-13, San Antonio, 12.5 credits (done!)
- AIIM18 preconference workshops, April 10, 2018, San Antonio, 6.5 credits (done!)
- ECM Master Class, April 10-13, Amsterdam, 13.0 or 26.0 credits (done!)
- MRM Master Class, April 24-27, Toronto, ON, 13.0 or 26.0 credits
- MRM Master Class, May 15-18, Silver Spring, MD, 13.0 or 26.0 credits
- MRM Master Class, May 15-18, London, UK, 13.0 or 26.0 credits
- BPM Master Class, June 5-8, Silver Spring, MD, 13.0 or 26.0 credits
- Implementing Information Management on SharePoint and Office 365, June 26-29, Amsterdam, NL, 26.0 credits
- Upcoming AIIM Webinars, 1.0 credits
And non-AIIM events are OK too, as long as they are educational in nature and address at least one topic on the CIP. Vendor demos/presentations/sessions as well. Questions? Ping me at jwilkins@aiim.org.
Key POCs
You have questions? We have answers. Here's where to get AIIM-related information:
For questions about your CIP status, CEU status, or general questions about CIP - Me! jwilkins@aiim.org
For questions about AIIM training - Maureen Hearn, mhearn@aiim.org
To register for AIIM training:
US/areas outside of Europe: Michelle Clark, mturner@aiim.org
Europe: Angela Hymas, ahymas@aiim.org
For questions about Professional membership – Jessica Lombardo, jlombardo@aiim.org
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