PPAI has updated its professional certification program to better engage and support industry professionals in the pursuit of continuous improvement and education. The changes to the program are designed with a focus on learning and testing on specific content, and on the pursuit of electives that best suit professionals’ specific learning needs.

PPAI’s updated Trained Advertising Specialist (TAS) and Certified Advertising Specialist (CAS) programs are available now, and the updated Master Advertising Specialist program will be available in the Fall of 2018. The Master Advertising Specialist Plus (MAS+) program remains unchanged.

Updates to the TAS certificate include the adoption of a set of dedicated courses with a short quiz after each course, which are available as a package on PPAI’s online education platform. The TAS certificate is now required to pursue the CAS, although a fast-track option is available for industry veterans who want to move past the TAS. Because it is a certificate of completion, rather than a certification, the TAS does not require recertification.

The CAS is now composed of dedicated courses that provide roughly 25 dedicated CAS credits. Each course includes a quiz taken upon completion of the course through the online education platform. Candidates can take the quizzes at any time. No paper or online proctored exams are offered with the new program.

CAS candidates are required to complete 25 credits of elective CAS/MAS courses—which will be followed by a survey, rather than a quiz—and can be taken through the online education platform or at live events. Industry veterans who want to move through the CAS program quickly can pursue a fast-track option. CAS-certified industry professionals must complete 25 CAS/MAS credits and submit a recertification application every three years.

More information on the certification program can be found here. For additional information or to ask questions, email certification@ppai.org.