How to Conduct a Certification Study Group

							How to Conduct a Certification Study
             Group
Why have a Chapter Study Group?

• Many members find group study more effective for
  them than individual study alone
• Others find that the discipline of a commitment to
  a group reinforces their commitment to stick to
  their study plan and actually take the exams
• Aid in Certification Preparation is one of the most
  frequently sought services from Chapters
• The presence of a Chapter Study Group Program
  can attract new members to the Chapter or re-
  engage existing members who have not
  participated recently in Chapter events.
 What type of person do I need to LEAD
 a Chapter Study Group?

• The ideal Chapter Study Group Leader would
  possess the following traits:
   – Highly motivated to help others achieve their professional and
     personal goals
   – Highly effective in speaking to and teaching small groups
   – Subject Matter Expert in the Module(s) they are preparing the
     members to test (Federal, Commercial, General Business)
   – Certified under the new program that they are preparing their
     members for
   – Has the full support (financial and otherwise) of the Chapter
     Leaders
We can’t find anyone with ALL these
traits. What do we do now?

• Of the traits desired, these are the most important:
   – Highly motivated to help others achieve their professional
     and personal goals
   – Has the full support (financial and otherwise) of the Chapter
     Leaders
• Even self-directed Study Groups consisting only of
  certification candidates have been successful in the
  past and can be successful in the future, when the
  two conditions above are met.
Should the duties of Chapter Study
Group Leader be absorbed by the
President or other Officer?

• Generally, NO.
• Effectively leading a Chapter Study Group is a
  major commitment of time and energy.
• Unless the individual has extraordinary energy and
  time available, recommend that Study Group
  Leader be his/her only Chapter role until
  completed.
How large should the Study Group be?

• Most effective size is 6 to 10
   – Allows for active participation and sharing by all
   – Also allows the group to be effective if 1-2 members are
     absent from a given meeting
• Larger groups may wish to divide into smaller sub-
  groups, each with their own assigned sub-leader
   – If this is done, periodic meeting of the overall group may be
     desirable
How far in advance should I plan for
forming a Study Group?

• As a Study Group will typically require individuals
  to commit to a 3-6 month process, plans to form a
  study group should generally be announced 3-6
  months in advance
• If you are planning to start a Chapter Study Group
  for the 2005/2006 Program Year – NOW is the time
  to publicize this intention and start getting
  organized!
What are some things we should do to
promote our Study Program?
• Notices in your Chapter newsletter and on your
  Chapter website
• Notices, ads, or press releases in local papers
• Direct mail flyers to members and
  companies/agencies in your area
• Seek one-on-one meetings with local employers
  and ask for their support for candidates from their
  organization
• Ask the National Staff or a CMCAB Member to
  speak about certification at a Chapter meeting
What materials do we need?

• The following are highly recommended for each
  participant:
• Federal Module
   – Guide to the CMBOK
   – Federal Knowledge Module Study Guide
   – CCH paperback version of the FAR
What materials do we need?                 continued


• Commercial Module
  – Guide to the CMBOK
  – Commercial Knowledge Module: Preparatory Study Guide
  – Hard copy of the UCC
What materials do we need?                      continued


• General Business Module
  – One reference set of the General Business Module Study
     Guides, Volumes I-V or
  – One reference set of the under-lying textbooks from which
     the GB Study Guides were developed
                                AND
  - One copy of each Volume of the GB Study Guides or
     reference textbooks for each participant for each area that
     he/she believes they are weak in
What about on-line prep materials?

• On-line certification prep courses for the GB
  Module and the Federal Module are available now
  thru NCMA
• A Commercial on-line certification prep course is
  planned
What about on-line prep materials?
continued


• The on-line courses are NOT designed for group study,
   – but can be useful to augment group study or in lieu of group study
• The on-line GB Prep Courses do NOT use the same textbook
  basis as the written GB Study Guides
   – But both the on-line courses and the written guides cover the GB
     CMBOK competencies
• The Federal On-Line Prep Course does use the written
  Federal Study Guide as its foundation
• It is undetermined what will be used as the basis for the
  Commercial On-Line Prep Course
How often should Study Group
meetings be held?

• To maintain continuity, meeting once a week is
  recommended
• If the Group enjoys strong employer support and
  member commitment, twice weekly meetings can
  be considered
What time of day and for how long
should the Group meet?
• Evening meetings generally work best
• Breakfast or mid-day meetings can be considered if
  the Group enjoys appropriate employer support
• Weekend meetings can be considered, but require
  a higher level of candidate commitment
• Meetings should generally be 2-3 hours in length,
  similar to a college class
   – Shorter meetings tend to not allow sufficient interaction
     between candidates and instructor
   – Longer meetings tend to exceed attention span and energy
     level of candidates and instructors
Where should the Group meet?

• If readily accessible and consistently available, an
  employer’s classroom or conference room works
  well
• If readily accessible and consistently available, a
  public meeting room such as a library or college
  conference room is also good
• Restaurants or similar venues tend NOT to be good
  venues for this purpose
• Convenience for candidates is an important
  consideration in selecting the location
Can a Chapter Study Group be held on-
line?

• Yes – if the candidates and instructor have the
  basic computer equipment necessary
• Absent the supporting technology (which costs)
  and an instructor skilled in its use, simple
  asynchronous email based Study Groups are
  unlikely to be as effective as groups that meet
  physically
• For Chapters with wide geographic dispersion, an
  asynchronous on-line Group may be better than
  nothing
How many sessions should be held?

• 10-12 sessions of 2-3 hours duration over a 3-4
  month period for EACH exam module is a good rule
  of thumb
• Fewer sessions can be considered if they are of
  longer duration (for example, 4-hour Saturday
  study sessions)
• Generally NOT a good idea to extend the period of
  study much beyond 4 months, as candidate
  retention of knowledge gained deteriorates
Can we have a consolidated Study
Group to prepare concurrently for
multiple exam modules?

• This is NOT advisable
• The GB, Federal, and Commercial BOK are each
  quite extensive – there is a LOT of ground covered
  in each exam
• Sequential preparation and testing is strongly
  recommended
   – Those few capable of concurrent prep and testing are
     unlikely to need a Study Group any way!
How can I construct a Chapter Study
  Group schedule to meet all this?
     Pro Forma Example of a
Chapter Study Group Program Year

           Month(s)                  Activity
July                         BREAK
August, September, October   General Business prep
November                     General Business exam
November                     Federal prep
December                     BREAK
January, February            Federal prep
March                        Federal exam
March, April, May            Commercial prep
June                         Commercial exam
Is the sequence (GB, Fed, Comml)
important?
• It could be, depending on the interest and needs
  of candidates in your Chapter
• The GB Module is common to both the CFCM and
  CCCM
• The GB Module is also statistically (thus far) the
  most difficult to pass – hence one approach is to
  tackle the toughest challenge first
• But starting the Program Year with the Federal or
  Commercial could better meet the needs of your
  Chapter and could lead to early success that will
  reinforce the program
Should we charge a fee to be in a Study
Group?

• Most do not …
• … but people tend to value more that which they
  must pay for versus that which is free
• A fee could be used to offset or partially offset the
  cost to the Chapter to acquire study materials,
  reproduce supplementary materials, or even to pay
  a modest honorarium to compensate a highly
  qualified instructor for the group
What are some Lessons Learned and
Best Practices from other Chapter’s
experience?
• Allot sufficient time (# of meetings x meeting
  duration) to conduct the program.
   – Remember, there is a lot of material to cover!
• Work with the resources you have.
   – Do not announce a year-long program covering all three
     modules if you only have an instructor commitment for 4
     months
• Be flexible
   – Plan ahead and have contingency plans for candidate and
     instructor absences
Lessons Learned and Best Practices
continued


• Get a commitment from instructor and candidates
  to pursue an entire Module’s prep up front – get it
  in writing
• Provide a syllabus and program schedule in
  advance of starting the program
• Establish clear lines of communication
   – Have a phone, email, and fax tree for the Group
• Provide a ‘mock-exam’ environment at least once
  during each Module’s program
Lessons Learned and Best Practices
continued


• Train to Task
   – Exams are all multiple choice, so use multiple choice ‘mock’
     quizzes and exams throughout the program
   – Study the tricks of the trade for mastering multiple choice
     examinations
   – Don’t waste time and effort on essay-type preparation
• Involve the candidate
   –   Assign outside reading
   –   Assign candidates to prepare multiple choice questions
   –   Hold candidates accountable for performing assignments
   –   Require candidates to share their work
Lessons Learned and Best Practices
continued


• Recognize your candidates
   – Many Chapters reimburse the exam and/or prep material
     costs for successful candidates
   – If this is not feasible, seek employer commitments to
     reimburse successful candidates
   – Always publicize candidate success, even if no financial
     recognition is possible
   – Privately recognize the effort of those who are not
     successful the first time around and encourage them to try
     again. There are many examples of top-notch professionals
     who failed (some many times) before succeeding
Lessons Learned and Best Practices
continued


• Recognize your Instructor(s)
   – Publicly and with their employer
   – Determine if this experience has put them over the top for
     Fellow qualification (if they are not already a Fellow) and
     nominate him/her for the award
    For more details, download the
     “Chapter Study Group Guide”

www.ncmahq.org/certification/docs/ChptrStudyGroupGuide.pdf