CompTIA Certification Renewal Policy Clarified

[craigie]

CompTIA Certification Renewal Policy Clarified

Current certificate holders remain certified for life; renewal requirement applies only to certifications earned on or after January 1, 2011

Oakbrook Terrace, Ill., January 26, 2010 – CompTIA, the leading provider of vendor neutral skills certifications for the world’s information technology (IT) workforce, today clarified details of its upcoming certification renewal and continuing education policy.

All individuals currently certified in CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and/or CompTIA Security+ will retain their “certified for life” status with no requirement to recertify or retest.

Individuals who become certified in CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ or CompTIA Security+ by December 31, 2010 also will be considered certified for life.

Read More here

Thanks to NotesBloke!

[Theprof]

LOL that's much better!

[nXPLOSi]

Thats abit more like it.

Whether or not people will bother with CompTIA much after 2010 is still a question in my mind, but as long as they stick to what they promised when I certified, I have no beef.

[supernova]

Obviously they have gone back on there original decision considering one of the original examples was based on gaining a exam in 2005. Also the original statement said it was to start mid 2010 , now its 2011

.. people power!

[wagnerk]

Just received the same e-mail from Comptia 2 minutes ago:

Originally Posted by Comptia

Dear Candidate:

Thank you for your e-mail and we are sorry for the delay in responding to your inquiry. This is the most recent information regarding our new Certification Renewal policy that was released on 01/26/2010. There are significant changes to this policy which we believe will help answer your question.

Current certificate holders remain certified for life; renewal requirement applies only to certifications earned on or after January 1, 2011.

All individuals currently certified in CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and/or CompTIA Security+ will retain their “certified for life” status with no requirement to recertify or retest.

Individuals who become certified in CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ or CompTIA Security+ by December 31, 2010 also will be considered certified for life.

Effective January 1, 2011, all new CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications will be valid for three years from the date the candidate becomes certified.

The policy that takes effect on January 1, 2011 will allow CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+ and CompTIA Security+ certifications to maintain their accreditation with internationally accepted standards for assessing personnel certification programs (ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024).

The new date for the launch of our continuing education program will be January 1, 2011. The program will offer CompTIA certified professionals a range of ways to keep their certifications earned on or after January 1, 2011 current without necessarily having to take a new exam.

Certification holders and candidates are encouraged to visit www.comptia.org/renewal for the latest updates. Soon, information will be available on this web site on how to participate and help shape the program.

This solution balances the interests of our current and future certification customers with the stringent requirements set for CompTIA by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the American National Standards Institute ANSI. CompTIA’s ISO accreditation is extremely important to us because of the global credibility it carries.

CompTIA is also in the process of developing a new PDF function in the candidate certification database at https://certmetrics.com/comptia/login.aspx where candidates will have the ability to download a new certificate if you wish to have a new certificate that does not indicate our previous ISO certification valid through date as well. We are hoping to have this functionality available sometime in mid-2010.

If you have any questions regarding our new certification renewal policy that you are not able to find on our website you can e-mail removed@mail or call XXX-XXX-XXXX option #5.

Regards,

CompTIA

Skills Development Customer Service Team

-Ken

[slypie]

This has made them look like incompetent idiots. They didn't do their homework but at least they have seen sense for past certified people. The change in 2011 will still probably finish CompTIA off in the end as it's a ridiculous change.

[Sparky]

Good news!

[GiddyG]

Originally Posted by slypie

This has made them look like incompetent idiots. They didn't do their homework but at least they have seen sense for past certified people. The change in 2011 will still probably finish CompTIA off in the end as it's a ridiculous change.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

[craigie]

I have to say I think CompTIA are a bunch of muppets, yes this is my professional opinion.

What other company takes over 7 months to do some beta results and then comes up with this crap and turns around and realises its going to cost them a ton of revenue and then back tracks.

Never have recommended CompTIA and never will.

[jk2447]

Ha ha after all the murder they've caused they go an say this. Its comical. I think CompTIA need a reshuffle at the top after this. I'll still recommend their certs tho purely because expire or not, the A+, N+ and Sec+ all have a good syllabus IMHO and at the end of the day, who cares about your paper. The fact that you can support stuff is all that matters again IMO. Woohoo, Security+ for life tattoo wasn't such a bad idea after all ha ha

[Fergal1982]

I hate to say it (especially since I think the original plan was so bad, and I do so hate to do an about turn), but I think this might be a mistake in the long term.

Sure, those of you already certified remain certified for life, and thats right since it was what they told you at the time. However, it wont be long before those employers who are aware of A+ begin to think of those who dont have to recertify less than those who do. Sooner or later you might have to recertify anyway if you are banking on those certs, just from pressure from potential employers.

Perhaps it might have been better to compromise - Give a few free recertifications, or a much reduced rate or something. Or perhaps it might just have been better to leave well enough alone in the first place.

[nugget]

Originally Posted by jk2447

I'll still recommend their certs tho purely because expire or not, the A+, N+ and Sec+ all have a good syllabus IMHO

This was always the point that a lot of people missed. The end result should be viewed here and not just the viewpoint of whether the cert is valid for life or only 3 years.

Originally Posted by Fergal1982

However, it wont be long before those employers who are aware of A+ begin to think of those who dont have to recertify less than those who do. Sooner or later you might have to recertify anyway if you are banking on those certs, just from pressure from potential employers.

Maybe, maybe not, but at least the choice is up to you.


In all honesty, if Comptia had announced these changes to start with everybody would sit back and say 'thats fair'. I see their point and also agree with it too about the fast pace of technology and the need to recertify to keep current. I just didn't agree with their way of announcing the changes and that they made it retroactive for the last 10 years.

Now they only need to lower the prices for the exams in accordance with their renewal policy. If they keep the prices for the renewals at the same prices for the lifetime exams then it really is only about the money.

[swatto]

Thats awesome news

Not gonna go back to Network+ now though until MCDST is complete.

[Josiahb]

Originally Posted by nugget

Now they only need to lower the prices for the exams in accordance with their renewal policy. If they keep the prices for the renewals at the same prices for the lifetime exams then it really is only about the money.

and ensure they actually keep the sylabus up to date, the recert policy lives or dies on them keeping the quality and relevancy up now.

It might also help if they get people to actually proof read the questions before they release them as well....

[darkplayer]

Yesssssssssss, I'm glad I read this, now I can go ahead and get network+ and Security+ out of the way.