You should apply for an Associate Membership with CPHR Alberta

No - If you are eligible for the Standard Path, this means you have a diploma or degree in Human Resources, and would not be subject to the coursework requirement.

You can register for the NKE once you have been approved for an Associate membership.

Once you are an active Associate Member, you will be able to register for the NKE through your CPHR Alberta Member portal:

• Login to your Member Profile
• Select 'NKE - Exam and Waiver Application'
• Follow prompts to register for the NKE

In order to waive the NKE, a student must achieve 70% overall average grade in the program, as well as be an Associate member in good standing of CPHR Alberta.

You are required to have graduated from said program within the time frame outlined in the Accreditation Agreement. 

Yes, you can still pursue the designation without having completed a CPHR accredited program. If you are not eligible for the accredited pathway, you may still be eligible for the Standard, Coursework, or Senior Path - learn more about these here.

There are no international programs that have been accredited by CPHR Canada therefore you cannot waive the NKE with international education programs.

Once you are an active Associate Member, you will be able to submit a NKE waiver application through your CPHR Alberta Member portal;

• Login to your Member Profile
• Select 'NKE - Exam and Waiver Application'
• Follow prompts to waive the NKE

You can apply to waive the NKE once you have been approved for an Associate membership.

Once you have completed your program you can request to transfer your membership category to Associate in your profile. Be sure to have your post-secondary send in your official transcripts.

You should apply for an Associate Membership.

Yes, for the time being all post-secondary institutions that receive scholarships from CPHR Alberta will continue to receive those.

Yes, the Experience Validation Assessment is required in order to attain the CPHR designation, even if the NKE is waived.

CPHR Alberta recognizes that many post-secondary programs cover the majority of the information included on the National Knowledge Exam.  The accreditation process will allow CPHR Alberta to assess which programs cover 80% or more of the CPHR Competency Framework content.  If a student has achieved 70% or higher as an overall grade in an accredited program, CPHR Alberta is confident that the student already possesses the knowledge tested in the National Knowledge Exam, so CPHR Alberta is comfortable waiving the exam in that case.

Yes, there is a fee for waiving the NKE. Please click here for details.

As long as the program content has been the same for your whole education in that program, CPHR Alberta will recognize your accredited education toward waiving the NKE.

Graduates of accredited programs after January 1, 2022 have 5 years from their graduation date to apply for the NKE waiver.

Yes. Members must meet the minimum education requirement of either a 2-year diploma or degree to be eligible for the CPHR designation.

No, there is no cost to the post-secondary institution for the process.

No, there is no cost to the post-secondary institution for the process.

The process requires the post-secondary institution to provide extensive information to CPHR Alberta with regard to the content of their programs.  The process will vary from program to program, but it is expected to take a number of months in each case.

If your program is accredited, it will be listed on the CPHR Alberta website. Please find this list of accredited institutions and programs here.

Yes, all provinces that are members of CPHR Canada (Chartered Professionals in Human Resources) will recognize the programs accredited by CPHR Alberta, and CPHR Alberta will do the same for programs accredited by other member associations of CPHR Canada.

CPHR Alberta will engage qualified consultation used by our fellow CPHR Canada Provincial Associations to review the application submission and determine if the program curriculum content covers at least 80% of the CPHR Competency Framework. 

No, the Senior Path is not a new or separate designation. It's an alternative path to achieve the CPHR Designation.

The Senior Path to the CPHR is an alternative path to achieving the CPHR Designation. It provides an opportunity for HR professionals with extensive HR experience at the senior level to be recognized within their profession. Applicants will need to pass a rigorous Experience Validation Assessment to be granted the CPHR designation.

As a first step, login to your online account with CPHR Alberta and click on Senior Pathway Questionnaire in the menu on the right hand side. Fill out the pre-screening questionnaire. Dependent upon your answers in the questionnaire, you will then be notified on next steps. Those approved for the Senior Path will apply for a General Membership and upload a copy of your current resume with your application.

You should apply for a General Membership.

A significant number of HR professionals have worked in human resources for many years, and are in the upper echelons of the profession working on or consulting to executive or leadership teams in a variety of organizations. The bottom line is that these people have been working in the business for many years and are far removed from the textbook HR knowledge from current post-secondary programs. As a result of this, an exam becomes an obstacle for senior-level professionals. These individuals have the experience, expertise, and knowledge to warrant a professional designation. As a result, several provincial members of CPHR Canada decided to make a path for professionals in this situation. The Senior Path allows members with considerable experience to skip the exam portion of the designation process and move directly into the experience validation assessment. CPHR Alberta's Board of Directors and staff carefully considered the benefits, concerns, and implications of introducing a Senior Path in Alberta, and in June 2019, the Board approved the implementation of a Senior Path to the CPHR. We thoroughly explored the feasibility of this option to attain the CPHR, and to ensure that we were applying a rigorous process for those going through the Senior Path.

No, your Senior level HR experience exempts you from the NKE requirement. To achieve the designation with this pathway, you must complete a more comprehensive experience requirement.

International experience can be used for the Senior Path.

For your Senior Path EVA application, you must submit:

The Director of Professional Standards & Registrar assesses if you are eligible to apply for the Senior Path by using a pre-screening questionnaire to ensure you meet the basic requirements for the Senior Path. This assessment does not guarantee that you will pass the Senior Path EVA as it is a pre-screening process.

A sub-committee of the Registration Committee made up of Senior Path Reviewers assesses SPEVA applications. They follow CPHR Alberta Board approved guidelines to assess each application independently.  The committee is made up of CPHR members who have more than 15 years of HR experience.e

You can apply for the Senior Path at any time. Senior Path Experience Validation Assessment applications are reviewed twice each year – in June and October. The application deadlines for SPEVA applications are May 31 and September 30.

CPHR Canada implemented the coursework requirement so that when people write the National Knowledge Exam, they are well prepared to be successful on the exam and on the path to their CPHR Designation. This requirement has been introduced to set the bar for academic comprehension, establish a standard for educational requirements and build on credibility of the CPHR designation.

There are nine (9)  required HR courses you must complete to be eligible to write the National Knowledge Exam (NKE). These courses are:

• Accounting & Financial Management
• Human Resources Management
• Industrial Relations
• Organizational Behaviour
• Occupational Health and Safety
• Recruitment and Selection
• Strategic Compensation
• Strategic Human Resources Planning
• Training and Development

You can ,eet the coursework required through an accredited Canadian, or non-Canadian equivalent, post-secondary institution, or via CPHR Canada’s Academic Program with Captus Press. You can also refer to our list of pre-approved courses from post-secondaries in Alberta, as well as the database of currently pre-approved courses from all provinces available from Captus Press.

Yes, eligible Human Resource courses you completed within your non-HR diploma or degree can be applied to the coursework requirement. A review of your official transcripts will be conducted to determine eligibility. 

A diploma or degree in HR fulfills the coursework requirement so you can move to the next step in obtaining your designation – registering for the National Knowledge Exam.

Courses completed within your certificate in HR can be applied to the coursework requirement. A review of your official transcripts will be conducted to determine eligibility. 

If your education was completed outside of Canada, we require that a course-by-course IQAS or WES assessment be completed, and then sent to us directly from IQAS/WES. 

You can register for the NKE once you become an associate member.