CNP Program Guidelines
Definitions and Guidelines for the CNP Designation and Application
Submissions to determine whether a item is acceptable within the requirements of the CNP may be directed to NPA Certification Committee.
Identity:
Principle – Any government issued identity, which is commercially verifiable is acceptable.
The candidate must provide a vehicle to validate their identity. It must contain these items:
a number or a value
the issuing authority
the ID Type
The issuing authority is the governmental entity that issued the ID. For example a drivers license is issued by a state (Ohio) in a country (USA)
The type of ID is the purpose for the ID. Examples of ID types are Passports, National or Tax ID’s (US – SSN), Drivers Licenses, or Military IDs.
Accepted Core Fundamentals Exam:
Principle – Any current, widely accepted IT Certification exam that is recognized as being a good base knowledge test is acceptable, with Committee/BOD Approval.
Microsoft Azure Fundamentals
Microsoft Certified Azure Fundamentals
Microsoft 365 Certified Fundamentals
Commvault Core Fundamentals Course
Microsoft Certified: Dynamics 365 Fundamentals
Microsoft .NET Fundamentals
ITIL® Foundation Certification
Comptia Network +
Comptia Server +
Comptia Security +
ICCP Core IT Skills Examination
Cisco CCT Exam
Electronics Technicians Association CNST (Certified Network Systems Technician)
Linux Professional Institute Linux Essentials
ISC2 CyberSecurity Foundations
Experience:
Principle – Any Network Based, Professional Level experience is acceptable
Examples are:
Network systems analysis and design,
Network data base analysis or administration,
Network systems programming,
Web development,
Network hardware design,
Telecommunications,
Network systems planning or analysis,
Network security design and analysis,
Research involving networking,
Management of networking activities,
Maintenance where network design or analysis is included,
Teaching networking at a professional level,
Sales or marketing where professional level network recommendations are required.
Certifications:
Principle – Any current IT Certification that can be earned through a major authorized testing center (for example Pearson, Prometric, etc.) Each exam taken has a value of 10 points.
A partial list of examples:
| Amazon Web Services | Certified Solutions Architect - Professional Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional Certified Developer |
| Microsoft | Developer |
| Cisco | DevNet Associate DevNet Professional CCDE CCAr CCNA CCNP Enterprise CCIE Enterprise Infrastructure CCIE Enterprise Wireless CyberOps Associate CCNP Collaboration CCIE Collaboration CCNP Data Center CCIE Data Center CCNP Security CCIE Security CCNP Service Provider CCIE Service Provider |
| HP | Workstation ISV Certification Aruba Certified ClearPass Expert (ACCX) Aruba Certified Design Expert (ACDX) Aruba Certified Edge Expert (ACEX) Aruba Certified Mobility Expert (ACMX) HPE Master ASE - Hybrid IT Solutions Architect V1 Aruba Certified ClearPass Professional (ACCP) Aruba Certified Design Professional (ACDP) Aruba Certified Edge Professional (ACEP) Aruba Certified Mobility Professional (ACMP) Aruba Certified Switching Professional (ACSP) HPE ASE - Hybrid IT Solutions Architect V1 Aruba Certified ClearPass Associate (ACCA) Aruba Certified Design Associate (ACDA) Aruba Certified Edge Associate (ACEA) Aruba Certified Mobility Associate (ACMA) Aruba Certified Switching Associate (ACSA) HPE ATP - Hybrid IT Solutions HPE Product Certified - Aruba Location Services Specialist HPE Master ASE - Advanced Server Solutions Architect HPE Master ASE - Hybrid IT Solutions Architect HPE ASE - Composable Infrastructure Integrator HPE ASE - Hybrid IT Solutions Architect HPE ASE - Server Solutions Architect HPE ATP - Hybrid IT Solutions |
| Linux Professional Institute | LPIC-2 Certified Linux Engineer LPIC-3 Linux Enterprise Professional DevOps Tools Engineer BSD Specialist |
| Micro Focus (Novell) | ... Certified Expert |
| Red Hat | Red Hat Certified System Engineer (RHCE) |
| (ISC)² | Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) |
| ITIL | Managing Professional Strategic Leader Master |
| ICCP | Certified Computing Professional (CCP) |
| EC-Council | Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) |
| VMware | Certified Professional |
| Mile2 | Certified Disaster Recovery Engineer (C/DRE) |
| Business Continuity Institute | Certificate of the Business Continuity Institute (CBCI) |
| DRI International | Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP) |
| Certified Information Security | ISO 22301 Certified Business Continuity Manager (CBCM) |
Formal Education:
Principle – Any degreed program from an accredited institution is acceptable
Work Experience Documentation:
Principle – At least the number of years of experience claimed needs to be documented
Continuing Education:
Principle – If it furthers your career or it relates to your professional Information Technology activities, it counts.
To retain your CNP or ACNP designation, you must maintain your professional currency. Once you have been certified, you will need to recertify annually. Professional currency involves a combination of self-directed educational activities plus maintenance of your currency in the field of Network Information Systems.
Requirements
You are required to obtain:
At least 100 education credits per year.
At least 1000 hours per year of IS professional level activities.
A log and supporting information must be submitted with the recertification application. The recertification fee is $200 and is separate from your NPA membership fee. This fee supports the work of our committees and councils involved in professionalism related activities. These include: development of a common body of knowledge and registration of the CNP.
Examples of education credits are:
| Attending Vendor Education | 1 in class hour = 1 credit |
| Attending Formal Education | 1 in class hour = 1 credit |
| Teaching a recognized course* | 1 in class hour = 3 credits |
| Attending Seminars & Conferences | 2 hours = 1 credit |
| Teaching/Leading Seminars | 1 hour = 3 credits |
| Presenting at Conferences | up to an hour = 60 credits, after that it is an additional 40 credits for each 30 min interval |
| NPA & other professional events | 1 hour = 1 credit |
| Self Study/CBT/Video | 2 hours = 1 credit |
| Certification Test passed | 10 credits |
| Paper accepted for publication | 25 credits |
| Publishing a book | Credits are on a case by case basis, up to 100 credits |
All continuing education must be CNP approved and only completed courses will be accepted.
Fractional units will not count
No more than 50 credits of self-study accepted.
A maximum of 3 papers can be used for credit.
1 paper published outside the Network Professional Journal (NPJ) will be accepted for credit.
2 additional papers will be accepted for credit if they are accepted for publication by the NPJ.
* Teaching credits only count for those classes outside of your normal profession. Those persons that teach as a profession can only use those hours for professional experience and not for continuing education credit. Educators can take the credit if the course was outside of their normal work experience.
If I do not re-certify, what happens?
Your CNP or ACNP membership will be changed to inactive. You must cease using the CNP or ACNP designation, and cannot indicate that you are an Accredited Member of the NPA. In order to re-qualify, you will need to reapply under the CNP certification guidelines in use at that time. The fee for the review process is $300.
Code of Ethics:
Principle – All professionals must adhere to a code of ethics.
Ethics and Professionalism Committee:
Principle – There must be accountability for a person to be considered to be a professional
There will be a process to ensure that CNP holders are being held accountable for their ethics and professionalism. All complaints will be investigated by the Ethics and Professionalism Committee and all outcomes will be governed by the NPA Accountability Guidelines.
From the “Certified Network Professional Code of Ethics”
Discipline and Revocation
The CNP Advisory Board shall automatically revoke any Certificate for noncompliance with mandatory recertification processes. The CNP Advisory Board, on behalf of the Network Professional Association, has the right to revoke any Certificate which has been awarded by it in the event that the recipient violates the Codes, or engages in conduct that discredits or disgraces the network computing profession.
The CNP Advisory Board has created a set of policies and procedures for handling revocation. These procedures detail the grounds for revocation, the due process requirements of a revocation proceeding, the hearing process with ample opportunity for both sides to present facts and arguments and an appeal process.”
Signatures:
Principle – All Candidates must sign that they accept the ethics and that what they are presenting in the application is correct and valid. The candidate also authorizes the NPA to validate the information on this application through any commercial means available, including criminal, background and credit checks.
The CNP program was developed and funded by the Network
Professional Association® (NPA). The NPA is a self-regulating, non-profit
organization dedicated to advancing the network computing profession.
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