CPS Designation

The CPS designation is recognized as a standard of proficiency in the secretarial field and is sponsored by the International Association of Administrative Professionals at the national level. The University recognizes the attainment of the Certified Professional Secretary (CPS) rating by any full-time regular employee who is in a nonexempt, classified secretarial/clerical/office support position - Job Family 1 in the University's classification index. In support of this recognized rating for professional secretaries, the University will (1) offer a review course at no cost to the employee; (2) reimburse the employee for the application processing and examination fees for the initial examination attempt; and (3) increase the salary by $600.00 per year for any clerical employee achieving CPS status. The University will not cover expenses for subsequent re-examination attempts or any other charges incurred by the employee. The University offers a review course for all employees who are qualified to take the CPS Certification exam. The CPS review course is now offered as part of the University's Staff Development Programs at no cost to the employee.

CPS Review Course

The CPS Review course provides a review of the topics that are tested on the CPS Exam. The review course does not provide in-depth instruction on each topic so individual study and previous academic knowledge is required for exam preparation. Topics covered during the review process are Office Administration, Office Systems/Technology, and Management.

The structure of the course has changed to incorporate a self-study component with the assistance of an interactive CD-Rom program along with three in class review sessions along with a course orientation to inform participants of exam requirements and about the use of the CD-Rom materials. Colleen Neill will be facilitating the review sessions for each major test portion. The orientation session will be facilitated by Human Resources Training and Development and the Management Development Institute. Representatives from Management Development Institute and Human Resources will be available to answer questions and assist with the application process.  Class dates and online registration for the Spring 2010 CPS Review course will be availble mid-November 2009 .

Event	Date	Time	Location
CPS Orientation	Jan. 2010	TBD	TBD
Office Administration	Feb. 2010	TBD	TBD
Office Systems/Technology	Mar. 2010	TBD	TBD
Management	Apr. 2010	TBD	TBD
CPS Exam	05/08/2010	TBD	TBD

IAAP Application/Examination Requirements

Please check the International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP) website for their qualifications to apply for the exam and for more information on qualifications and to print a copy of the application form. Interested individuals will need to complete an application form and submit it to IAAP for acceptance. The application forms need to be postmarked by February 15, 2010, for May test date. There are some minimum requirements for time in positions and education.

Employees are responsible for prepaying the Application Processing and Examination Fee and requesting reimbursement for the fees by the University. If you have any other questions, please contact Kristi Rippe at X65779 or Paula Wilhelm at X64592 or hrtraining@missouristate.edu.