When you enroll in the College's programs or courses you expressly agree to comply with and abide by the operational policies and procedures stated herein, and with any changes adopted during your period of enrollment. These policies and procedures pertain to the programs and courses (excluding the Graduate Degree Programs and Continuing Education and Professional Development courses) offered by the College. You are expected to notify the College promptly of changes in your address, e-mail, fax, or telephone number.
The College reserves the right to change or amend policies and procedures, testing administration, course content and materials, tuition and other fees, as well as cancel a course, without advance notice. The College also maintains the right to suspend or dismiss any individual who does not comply with its policies and procedures.
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The College assumes you are committed to completing your program and are in agreement with the following:
Additionally, the College requires that:
Failure to abide by these expectations or any other unethical behavior may result in action by the Academic Disciplinary Committee and may result in discipline up to and including your dismissal as a student of the College for Financial Planning® or taking away your right to use the College’s designation.
Professional Designation Programs Tuition covers the cost of one set of materials per course. Once you are accepted into one of the programs listed below and the College receives the appropriate fee, your study guides will be shipped to the address you provided:
The College for Financial Planning® awards its professional designations to students who:
Students must complete the initial application online within six months of passing the final exam. Failure to complete the application within this time frame may result in termination of the individual’s candidacy. If an individual wishes to apply for authorization to use the Marks in the future, he or she may be required to fulfill the initial designation requirements in place at the time of passing the exam.
Successful students receive a certificate and are granted the right to use the designation on correspondence and business cards, in accordance with specified guidelines, for a two-year period.
Continued use of the College’s professional designations is subject to ongoing renewal requirements. Every two years individuals must renew their right to continue using the designations by:
Detailed renewal requirements for the College for Financial Planning’s professional designation programs can be found at www.cffpalum.org/info/renewal.
CFP Certification Professional Education Program Tuition covers the cost of one set of study guides per course. Once you are accepted into the CFP Certification Professional Education Program and the College receives the appropriate fee, a set of study guides for the first course will be shipped to the address you provided.
After successfully completing the exam for a CFP® Certification Professional Education course, you are automatically enrolled in the next course in sequence; the appropriate study guides will be shipped to you five business days after you pass the exam. To take courses outside the normal sequence, call the Student Services Center or send an e-mail to cffpssc@apollogrp.edu.
It is the student's responsibility to register with the CFP Board of Standards to take the CFP® Certification Examination.
CFP® Certification Education Mentor Online Program For CFP® Certification Education Mentor Online Classes, after successfully completing a course, you will be automatically enrolled in your next course in sequence. Appropriate study guides are shipped two weeks prior to your next class. If you would like to take courses outside the normal sequence, receive your materials earlier, or skip a scheduled session you must call Student Services at 1.800.237.9990, option 2, or send an e-mail to Student Services immediately. One session change is allowed for a Mentor student's entire period of study at no cost. Mentor class schedules are subject to change without notice.
Updates to Study GuidesYou will be tested on the original study materials you received. If you reinstate into a CFP® course or if you voluntarily order new materials, you will be tested on your updated materials.
If major legislative changes occur the College makes all attempts to revise its materials in a timely manner. Purchase of updated study guides available in print is optional for a fee for each course plus shipping and handling. You may purchase updated study guides at any time.
To ensure you progress through and complete your coursework on a timely basis, the College has a maximum length of enrollment for its courses/programs. If you do not make academic progress, you may be dismissed.
Examination ProceduresTesting academic achievement is an ongoing process. Although the examinations administered over time may appear similar in content and format, they are continually modified by our academic staff. Exam items are selected from a large pool of questions, which permits the creation of unique, high-quality exams for every test administration. Security measures implemented by the College require that questions remain in the test pool; thus, they are not available for release. Examinations are the property of the College and cannot be released to students. Exam format and administration are subject to change.
Before, during, and after a testing session, it is expected that you will conduct yourself in an ethical manner befitting the situation and that you will not compromise your performance or the ability of others to perform independently on any examination.
You may not use your study materials or have any outside assistance when taking your end-of-course examination. You may not print or copy any exam questions. You will have four hours to complete your test.
Students who fail to comply with these standards are subject to the action of the Academic Policy Committee and may result in discipline up to and including your dismissal as a student of the College for Financial Planning®.
Testing Policy Because we want our students to be successful in their programs by progressing at a consistent rate, the College requires that students test at least every six months until program completion.
All Students:
Professional Designation students:
As of January 1, 2010, Professional designation students pay a non-refundable testing fee upon enrollment.
CFP Certification Professional Education Program students:
Proctored Examinations: All end-of-course examinations must be proctored by a disinterested third party either via a testing site or a registered individual proctor. A student's proctor must be someone with whom the student has no business or family relationship. Business relationship is further defined as working within the same company regardless of physical location title or position. The proctor may not be a current student with the College for Financial Planning.
PSI Services: A student may have an exam administered at a PSI testing center. This process requires that the student contact the College by phone at 1-800-237-9990 Option 2 and pay a non-refundable testing fee. The next step is to contact PSI and schedule an exam. Please review PSI scheduling policies and procedures by visitinghttp://PSIexams.com
Prometric Testing Center: A student may have an exam administered at a Prometric Testing Center. This process requires that the student contact the College for Financial Planning® by phone at 1-800-237-9990 Option 2 and pay a non-refundable testing fee. The next step is to contact Prometric Testing Center and schedule an exam. Please review Prometric scheduling policies and procedures by visitinghttp://securereg3.prometric.com/ProgramInformation.aspx?mode=schedule
ISO Quality Testing Center: A student may have an exam administered at a ISO Quality Testing Center. This process requires that the student contact the College for Financial Planning® by phone at 1-800-237-9990 Option 2 and pay a non-refundable testing fee. The next step is to contact ISO Quality Testing Center and schedule an exam. Please review ISO scheduling policies and procedures by visitinghttps://www.iqttesting.com/Default.aspx?Function=Registration
Individual Proctor Option: This must be someone with whom the student has no business or family relationship. Business relationship is further defined as working within the same company regardless of physical location title or position. The individual proctor must register through the College's Proctor Registration process.
GradingAll examinations for the College’s non-graduate courses and programs are graded on a criterion-referenced letter-grade system with the following percentage values:
A 90%-100% Excellent achievement with mastery of learning objectives and content. B 80%-89% Above-average achievement with good comprehension of learning objectives. C 70%-79% Average achievement with reasonable understanding of most learning objectives. F 69% or below Insufficient achievement with below-minimum understanding of learning objectives.
Excellent achievement with mastery of learning objectives and content.
Voluntary WithdrawalYou will be assigned an enrollment status of “withdrawn” if you voluntarily withdraw from any College course or program. To voluntarily withdraw you must complete and sign the College for Financial Planning’s Withdrawal Form. This form can be returned by fax or mailed to the number and/or address provided. For refund purposes, your withdrawal will be effective the date the College receives your written notification of withdrawal and your request for a refund. Also see Refunds.
DismissalIf you have not successfully completed the CFP Certification Professional Education Program within three years from your date of enrollment, you will be dismissed from the program. If you have not successfully completed the AWMA®, AAMS®, CMFC®, CRPC®, CRPS®, or RP® programs within one year from your date of enrollment, you will be dismissed from the program.
InactivationIf you have not tested within six months from enrollment of a course, or from the previous test taken in that course, the course will be inactivated.
Reactivation Individuals who have courses inactivated may reactivate those courses for a fee per course. This fee is non-refundable. You will be required to test within six months of reactivation or by the end of your program date, whichever comes first. You must also bring your previous account current, if applicable. If you need updated study materials, you may purchase them at the current update price per course. To reactivate your course, contact the Student Services Center.
Professional Designation ProgramsIndividuals whose enrollment in a professional designation program was voluntarily withdrawn or dismissed must re-enroll if they wish to continue their course of study.
Transfer of CreditIf you have completed relevant courses elsewhere, they may be accepted for transfer of course credit into the CFP Certification Professional Education Program. A maximum of two of the five courses may be considered for transfer credit. The Transfer of Credit Committee will not consider exams you have previously attempted in the College's programs for transfer credit.
You may petition for a transfer of course credit prior to completing your enrollment application. The College will determine the acceptability of transfer credit on a case-by-case basis, based on the review by the Transfer of Credit Committee and determination if the transfer course is comparable in content and academic level to the College course it would replace. Acceptable sources of transfer credit are formal academic graduate- and undergraduate-level courses, and certain certificate-level education program courses. Courses must have been completed at a regionally accredited institution within 10 years of submission of the petition. However, courses that include a substantial tax component must have been completed within five years, such as CFPE1103—Income Tax Planning, CFPE1104—Retirement Planning and Employee Benefits, and CFPE1105—Estate Planning. You must also provide an official transcript, sent directly from the college or university to the Registrar’s Office at the College for Financial Planning, to support the Petition for Transfer of Course Credit submitted. Delay in providing the transcript will cause a delay in the decision process.
An Enrolled Agent in good standing (as defined by the Internal Revenue Service) may qualify for 3 hours of transfer credit to replace CFPE1103—Income Tax Planning. Evidence of good standing, such as a copy of current license, must be enclosed with the Petition for Transfer of Course Credit. Sources of transfer credit that are not acceptable include registration and work and life experience.
For further information and access to the Transfer of Credit Petition, please click on the following link: Request for Official Transcript from the College for Financial Planning®.
GrievancesUnder most circumstances, you will be able to progress through a course or program by adhering to the procedures or soliciting assistance. On occasion, you may be dissatisfied with the College’s policies and procedures. If you have a grievance with the College that cannot be satisfied, the following procedures should be employed:
You must provide a formal grievance document detailing, in writing, the situation you feel has not been resolved (click here to access a Grievance Form). Be as specific as possible, outlining the grievance issue and noting any previous communications with College personnel, including suggested resolutions to the situation. This document must be sent to:
Grievance Resolution CommitteeCollege for Financial Planning Administrative Offices 8000 E. Maplewood Avenue, Suite 200 Greenwood Village, CO 80111
fax: 303-220-5146 e-mail: cffpssc@apollogrp.edu
The Grievance Resolution Committee will review the facts of your complaint and determine a disposition. The decision of the Grievance Resolution Committee will be final. Please allow three weeks for a reply from the committee.
RefundsYou are enrolled in courses with the understanding that you will complete the entire curriculum. If, for personal or professional reasons, you are compelled to withdraw from a course or program, you may be entitled to a refund based on the following guidelines.
Other than noted above, refunds are based on the amount of time the student was enrolled in a program or course and calculated accordingly. See table below.
Students who attended a College for Financial Planning Live Review class and are unsuccessful on the CFP® Certification Examination are entitled to one free retake of the Live Review course. (Does not include airfare, accommodations, or meals.) Attendance at a review will be verified from the sign-in sheet or online attendance report. Students must provide a copy of their results from the CFP® Certification Examination along with a registration form to the Student Services Center.
Additional retakes will be available at a cost of one-half the current price at the time of retake.
Cancellations will be accepted up to the Friday before the first scheduled class. A refund will be issued minus a $50 non-refundable processing fee. The cancellation request must be in writing and can be faxed or e-mailed to the Student Services Center.
Review locations are subject to change. If unforeseen circumstances prevent a professor from teaching a review topic, it may be covered via an interactive Web class the following week. If a review in a particular city is cancelled, you may elect to either attend the Mentor Web Review or a review in another location.
Students are responsible for contacting a hotel to make their own arrangements for accommodations during the Live Review.
It is the student’s responsibility to register with the CFP Board of Standards, Inc. to take the CFP® Certification Examination.
Payments and fees for CE courses are nonrefundable. Students have one year from purchase date to successfully complete the course. You must achieve a score of 70% or higher (80% for Code of Ethics courses) on the end-of-course assessment to successfully pass the course.
Students have two attempts to pass the final exam. If the second testing attempt is unsuccessful, the student will need to contact the Student Services Center at CFPSSC@apollogrp.edu or 800-237-9990.
The College for Financial Planning® is a registered CE Sponsor with CFP Board, NASBA, Texas State Board of Accountancy, and most state insurance departments that require sponsor registration. See the continuing education section of our web site for more details.