MACPP Certification Criteria

For those applicants requiring the completion of NIGP seminars the requirements have changed and now allow for a combination of any two of the following four courses; or their equivalent.

General Public Purchasing
Public Purchasing and Materials Management
Public Procurement Management, Part 1
Public Procurement Management, Part 2

A completed certification application must be received by NIGP three (3) weeks prior to the requested examination date. Copies of the required seminar certificates and or college transcripts must be attached to the application before approval for testing will be granted.

To avoid delay in processing your application, provide official position descriptions on all purchasing experience you want considered in determining whether you meet the eligibility requirements. You MUST provide position. Descriptions with your application for CPPB and CPPO that are COUNTERSIGNED BY YOUR SUPERVISOR(S).

Take time to review your application so you do not have to send us "addenda" and delay the approval process.

If your application is not approved within 5 days prior to your requested exam date YOU WILL NOT BE PERMITTED TO TAKE THE EXAMINATION. Please note: COPIES OF THE REQUIRED SEMINAR CERTIFICATES AND OR COLLEGE TRANSCRIPTS MUST BE ATTACHED TO THE APPLICATION BEFORE APPROVAL FOR TESTING WILL BE GRANTED. We can assist you in rescheduling once your application is approved.

For those of you who are applying for certification as a CPPO, the following provides clarification of the basic requirements for eligibility.

A minimum of five years of experience is required in purchasing, procurement, materials management, contract administration, or logistics management position, four of which must be from the public sector and two of the last four years in a management or supervisory governmental purchasing position.

Management means that the principal function of the position is managing or administering an acquisition related activity. To be considered managing or administering the individual must

• be supervising one or more professionals whose primary duties are managing or administering an acquisition related function, or
• have authority over, and responsibility for, the day-to-day purchasing activities of his/her governmental entity, or
• have authority over the buying activities of people whose primary duty is acquisition.

Supervisory means supervising (with authority to hire, fire, evaluate performance and recommend promotions) professional acquisition, materials management, procurement or purchasing personnel. People in clerical, data entry, and similar positions are not considered to be professional personnel.

Acquisition related activity includes purchasing, procurement, materials management, contract administration, logistics management, specification and standards development, surplus property management, and minority business programs.

A Bachelor Is degree will be a prerequisite for certification as of January 1, 2000. Degree credits may be applied against the experience requirement (see attached chart). Final determination of a candidate's eligibility rests with the Program Administrator.

Typical qualifying positions in which the required experience can be attained include, but are not limited to, the following: director, manager, agent, chief buyer, supervisor or any person in charge of purchasing, procurement, materials management, contract administration, logistics management, or a directly related activity.

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
(Updated March 1,1994)

Effective March 1, 1 994 the written examination for the designation Certified Public Purchasing Officer (CPPO) will be given in a new format.

• Each of parts 1 and 2 of the written examination, formerly essay questions, will now be comprised of 75% multiple choice question and 25% written response to a case study.
• Part 3 of the written examination was changed from essay questions to multiple %. Choice questions January 1993.
• If you are required to take all three parts of the written examination, you should be familiar with all five of the books listed below.
• If you are exempt from taking part 3 because you already have a UPS, you should focus most of your studying on books 3 and 4.
• For the Oral Assessment Interview you should be familiar with all five of the books.

Reading List:

1. General Public Purchasing, National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (Seminar text)
2. Public Purchasing and Materials Management, National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (Seminar text)
3. Public Procurement Management, Part 1, National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (Seminar. text)
4. Public Procurement Management, Part 2, National institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc. (Seminar text)
5. The NIGP Dictionary of Purchasing Terms, National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc.

CPPO Certified Public Purchasing Officer
TESTING REQUIREMENTS

Three-Part Written Examination
Part 1 - Purchasing Management. Includes questions on planning, organizing, staffing, coordinating, directing, and controlling acquisition systems. Also, model codes, etc., and evaluation of purchasing and materials management systems.

Part 2 - Business Management/Public Administration. Includes questions on management concepts, quantitative analysis, budgeting, world economics, international trade, and governmental relations and professionalism.

For parts 1 and 2, refer to topics in public Procurement Management, Part 1, Public Procurement Management, Part 2, General Public Purchasing and Public Purchasing and Materials Management NIGP Seminar Courses.

Part 3 - Purchasing Related Technical and Operational Functions. Includes technical and operational questions on purchasing related functions. Refer to topics in General Public Purchasing and Public Purchasing and Materials Management NIGP Seminar Courses.

• Achievement of the CPPB designation by testing precludes the necessity for the Part 3 examination.
• Under our agreement with the Purchasing Management Association of Canada (PMAC), holders of the P.P. designation are exempt from the three-part written examination for the CPPO.

Assessment Interview
Required. 1 1/2 hour oral Assessment Interview conducted by Board of Examiners

.RECERTIFICATION

Required every five (5) years (15 points).

ELIGIBILITY
A minimum of five years of experience is required in purchasing, procurement, materials management, contract administration, or logistics management position, four of which must be from the public sector and the last two years in a management or supervisory governmental purchasing position. Typical qualifying positions in which the required experience can be attained include, but are not limited to, the following: director, manager, agent, chief buyer, supervisor or any person in charge of purchasing, procurement, materials management, contract administration, logistics management, or a directly related activity. A degree that includes credit requirements in certain areas related to purchasing will be a prerequisite for certification as of January 1, 2000. Degree credits may be applied against the experience requirement (see chart on reverse). Final determination of a candidate's eligibility rests with the Program Administrator.

CPPB Certified Professional Public Buyer
TESTING REQUIREMENTS

Two-Part Written Examination
Part I - Purchasing Related Technical and Operational Functions. Includes technical and operational questions on purchasing related functions.

Part 2 - Organization and Coordination. Includes technical and operational questions on purchasing related aspects in organization and coordination.

For both parts, refer to topics in General Public Purchasing and Public Purchasing and Materials Management NIGP Seminar Courses.

Assessment Interview
Not required.

RECERTIFICATION
Required every five (5) years (10 points).

ELIGIBILITY
A minimum of four years experience is required in purchasing, procurement, materials management, contract administration or logistics, of which at least two years must have been acquired in a public or governmental purchasing position; additional higher education credit is allowed against the experience requirement (see chart on reverse). A degree that includes credit requirements in certain areas related to purchasing will be a prerequisite for certification as of January 1, 2000. Final determination of a candidate's eligibility rests with the Program Administrator.

LIFETIME CERTIFICATION FOR CPPB AND CPPO

Holders of either the CPPB or CPPO Certificate who have fifteen (15) or more years of purchasing experience may apply for Lifetime Certification at retirement or upon attaining the age sixty-two (62).

Education/Experience Requirements

Degree Requirements
Degree requirements in Purchasing, Materials Management, Contracting, Acquisition Management or Logistics. Degrees in Business Management or Public Administration must include a total of 12 credit hours from at least two of the following disciplines: contracts, law, purchasing/materials management, and transportation. See Recommended College Courses for types of courses in each discipline. Bachelor's degrees in other fields must be supplemented by 24 credit hours in the disciplines listed. Twelve of these credits must be from at least two of the following disciplines: contracts, law, purchasing/materials management, and transportation.

Recommended College Courses
Education is an important part of any profession. Courses in the following disciplines are recommended for those persons interested in the purchasing profession. Course titles may vary depending on the college or university.

• Accounting (e.g., general accounting, cost accounting, managerial accounting)
• Communication (e.g., written communication, public speaking, organizational communication)
• Computers (e.g., management information systems, data processing)
• Contracts (e.g., contract administration, contract negotiations, contract management, cost and price analysis)
• Economics (e.g., managerial economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics)
• Ethics (e.g., business ethics)
• Finance (e.g., business finance, governmental finance, financial management)
• Law (e.g., business law, contract law, legal environment of business) Management (e.g., organization theory, organizational behavior, public administration, project management, corporate policy)
• Personnel (e.g., personnel management, performance appraisal, employee development)
• Purchasing/Materials Management (e.g., purchasing management, materials management, inventory control)
• Quantitative Methods (e.g., business statistics, quantitative analysis, productions operations management)
• Transportation (e.g., physical distribution, traffic management, logistics)

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