Certified Network Professional Program

THE CNP
March 2008

The Certified Network Professional® or CNP is the professional international network designation for Network Information Technology (IT) professionals in the world. The Network Professional Association® (NPA), the international association of networking IT professionals, introduced the CNP designation in 1996 providing a demonstrated history of professionalism.

The NPA, through the volunteer efforts of its members, is involved in a number of initiatives related to setting standards within the IT networking profession. Two of the main programs are: the accreditation of individual IT practitioners (the CNP) and maintaining the code of ethics and accountability for the profession.

The CNP was updated and re-released to the community in October 2005, by the international Network Professional Association (NPA). Until now, IT networking practitioners were without the benefits such a professional designation where education, experience and professionalism are married together. CNP is the designation to be recognized as the seal of approval for our profession in the same way that the Certified Public Accountant or CPA is recognized as the seal of approval for accountants.

The CNP will be an internationally recognized designation and we are working with other countries' certifying organizations to make it so. In today's global economy, success for International companies depends on professionals acquiring and maintaining universally accepted standards. Working with the world's leading IT professional organizations, the NPA represents the interests of IT Networking practitioners in ongoing discussions concerning the harmonization of international IT standards.

Members of the British Computing Society (BCS), Canadian Information Processing Society (CIPS) and Electronics Technicians Association, International (ETA), find your incentive package here.

Why Hire CNP Holders

1. Rigorous designation criteria ensure CNP-designated professionals will be superior contributors to an organization's bottom-line.
2. Customers are assured of high-quality network systems being used to develop and support products and services.
3. The perception of an organization is enhanced internationally through broad recognition of the CNP.
4. One hundred hours of professional training completed every year by each CNP, ensures an organization is applying the best of current practices.
5. Access to the educational resources and networking opportunities provided by the NPA, keeps contractors and staff current and informed.
6. An increasing number of CNP holders internationally.
7. Effective self-regulation of the profession provides confidence to customers and the general public while avoiding the burden of regulation.
8. Supporting staff to receive and maintain the CNP reflects an organization's appreciation that their staffs are professionals.
9. There will be one place that an employer or client can contact to verify all of your certifications and experience as well as the status of your CNP

How to Obtain the CNP

Obtain the CNP designation by a passing a background check, a required base exam then demonstrate proficiency through

1. Experience credits only
2. A combination of education and experience credits

Base Exam

All candidates for the designation must pass a base exam as specified in the CNP Guidelines. The base exams are to be considered stand alone exams. The fact that some of them are part of other industry certifications and qualify for certifications on their own (example Network +) does not prevent the candidate from utilizing the certification awarded, as a result of passing any base exam, for meeting the requirements for the CNP.

Experience Credits Only

Experience credits can only be assigned for professional level work as determined by CNP Guidelines. Some examples of professional work activities would include: 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.

10 or more years of professional level experience in networking qualifies as meeting the standards for entry as a CNP.

Education Credits plus Experience

Completion of any of the widely recognized certification programs from Major Vendors and the Open Source Community apply. A minimum of 100 points are required for qualification of meeting the standards for entry as a CNP. Those points could come from the certification category only, the education category only or a combination of both of the categories. The certification or education credits from a completed program count.

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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