Attaining the Certified Professional Secretary (CPS) or Certified Administrative Professional (CAP) designation requires a minimum experience level and writing a comprehensive exam which is offered twice per year on the first consecutive Friday and Saturday of May and November.
The CAP exam is broken down into three parts:
- Office Systems and Technology
- Office Administration
- Management
The CAP-OM exam consists of the same three parts as the CAP exam with the addition of one more:
- Advanced Organizational Management
The first three parts are written on the Saturday. Should you also wish to write the fourth part, it is written on the previous afternoon (the Friday).
Each of the first three parts consists of approximately 175 multiple-choice questions, and you are given two and a quarter hours to write. The fourth part is 175 multiple-choice questions, and you are given three and a half hours to write. The CAP exam is designed to test what you know, and is based on typical work experience. The fourth part for the CAP-OM exam, "Advanced Organizational Management," tests how well you can apply what you know.
You will be told if you "pass" each part individually or if you still "need" a given part. Should you not pass a part, you have up to two years to redo that part. You do not need to rewrite the entire exam, just the part you are missing.
In Newfoundland, the exams are offered at Memorial University on Prince Philip Drive.
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