The Events Industry Council (EIC) is offering two new testing options for taking the Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) exam—remote proctoring and year-round testing.

Upon completion of their CMP application, candidates can now sit for the exam throughout the year, either at a testing centre or from their home. Prior to this change, candidates could only take their exam at a testing centre during one of the four quarterly exam windows. Candidates still have the testing centre option.

“EIC is proud to champion our industry’s standards of excellence. Now more than ever, we recognize that our industry peers need more options to take their CMP exam,” said Amy Calvert, CEO, EIC. “The CMP certification opens the door to more opportunities, and we want to help open as many doors as we can, particularly during these trying times for our industry. Offering the option to take the exam from home, and on a year-round schedule, helps create those opportunities.”

The CMP exam is administered for EIC by Prometric at testing centres around the world and now online.

“Through ProProctor™, Prometric’s remote assessment delivery solution, our clients can offer their candidates the ability to take the same test at home that they would at one of our secure professional global testing locations,” said Kavita Meneely, director of Client Success at Prometric. “Each online administration is monitored by a trained and certified proctor, and the software used to deliver the online exam is the same as in the testing centres. ProProctor also incorporates proprietary software designed to ensure a fair and valid test result. This provides greater access and choice for professionals seeking the valuable CMP certification.”

Updates to the CMP and CMP-HC exams are reviewed and approved by the CMP Governance Commission. This process ensures that the policies of the program are consistent with certification program best practices and that all sectors of the meetings industry are represented fairly.

Barbara Connell, CMP, CAE, chair of the CMP Governance Commission, said that earning her CMP was a hallmark of her career. “The Commission is pleased to be able to offer more options to our CMP candidates so that we may collectively continue to advance our profession.”

Relief support for CMP candidates

EIC is also offering relief support for CMP candidates impacted by COVID-19.

Application | For those seeking their CMP, EIC is providing $50 USD relief on the initial application and $50 USD for the certification exam fee if the applicant has been affected by COVID-19 and was furloughed, had their position eliminated or has experienced a salary reduction. Contact certification@eventscouncil.org for a relief code to enter when making an online payment.

Exam | EIC is providing a $50 USD relief for the certification examination fee for those who have been affected by COVID-19 and were furloughed, had their position eliminated or have experienced a salary reduction. Contact certification@eventscouncil.org for a relief code to enter when making an online payment.

Recertification | EIC is freezing the recertification fee at $225 USD through September 30, 2020. No code is required.

Education | EIC offers a slate of complimentary webinars, where CMPs can earn one CE per webinar viewed after taking the quiz. EIC continues to add webinar to the schedule and has expanded capacity to host up to 3,000 attendees.