Mon., Sept. 6: In observance of Labor Day, the College for Financial Planning will be closed. Online testing will be available; however, online testing support will not be available.

COLLEGE PROGRAMS POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
OVERVIEW
EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS
EDUCATION PROGRAMS
LENGTH OF ENROLLMENT
REFUND POLICY
LIVE REVIEW POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
CONTINUING EDUCATION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
MISCELLANEOUS FEES
OVERVIEW

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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EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS

The College assumes you are committed to completing your program and are in agreement with the following:

  • Having a commitment to the time and energy required to complete your program.
  • Working through the course materials continuously and thoroughly.
  • Having access to a telephone, fax machine, e-mail, the Internet, and appropriate course-related software such as word processing and/or spreadsheet software.
  • Understand that it is the student's responsibility to register with the CFP Board of Standards to take the CFP® Certification Examination.

Additionally, the College requires that:

  • During your enrollment term, 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 or assignment.
  • You understand that any duplication of test material is considered a violation of the Examination Procedures and Grading Policy and may result in dismissal from the Program.
  • You will act with competence, exercise due diligence, and use prudent professional judgment in all your professional activities.
  • You will not claim completion of a program, or of earning a designation, until the College has formally notified you of such completion.

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.

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EDUCATION PROGRAMS

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:

  • Accredited Asset Management SpecialistSM, or AAMS®
  • Accredited Wealth Management AdvisorSM, or AWMA®
  • Chartered Mutual Fund CounselorSM, or CMFC®
  • Chartered Retirement Planning CounselorSM, or CRPC®
  • Chartered Retirement Plans SpecialistSM, or CRPS®
  • Foundations in Financial PlanningSM leading to the RP® Designation
  • CRPC® Bridge to CFP Certification Professional Education Program

The College for Financial Planning® awards its professional designations to students who:

  • successfully complete the program;
  • pass the final examination;
  • complete the internship requirement (Registered ParaplannerSM program only);
  • comply with the Code of Ethics, which includes agreeing to abide by the Standards of Professional Conduct and Terms and Conditions; and
  • disclose any criminal, civil, self-regulatory organization, or governmental agency inquiry, investigation, or proceeding relating to their professional or business conduct. Conferment of the designation is contingent upon the College for Financial Planning’s review of matters either self-disclosed or which are discovered by the College that are required to be disclosed.

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:

  • completing 16 hours of continuing education;
  • reaffirming to abide by the code of ethics, terms and conditions and self disclose any criminal, civil, self-regulatory organization, or governmental agency inquiry, investigation, or proceeding relating to their professional or business conduct; and
  • paying a biennial renewal fee.

Detailed renewal requirements for the College for Financial Planning’s professional designation programs can be found at www.cffpalum.org/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 Guides
You 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.

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LENGTH OF ENROLLMENT

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.

  • Students enrolled in the CFP Certification Professional Education Program or the CFP Certification Mentor Online Program or the CRPC® leading to the CFP Certification Professional Education Program have a maximum of three years to complete their studies. If 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.
  • Students enrolled in the Professional Designation Programs (i.e., AWMA®, AAMS®, CMFC®, CRPC®, CRPS®, or RP®) have a maximum of one year to complete their studies. 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.
  • All students must test at least once every six months to remain active in any of these programs' courses. Not testing at least every six months will cause the course to be deactivated.

Examination Procedures
Testing 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.

If an exam includes reference material, please select the Reference link that is located in the exam on the lower right side of the page. In order to access the exam again, you must select the "When you're finished, click here to return to the exam" link. You can also print this material so you can refer to it during the exam.

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:

  1. must pay a non-refundable fee prior to scheduling an exam at a testing site
  2. failure to test will result in course inactivation; there is a course reactivation fee to resume testing in that course
  3. prior to inactivation, a student may purchase a 90-day course extension for a separate fee

Professional Designation students:

  1. must test at a testing site
  2. must pay a testing fee for each exam; there are no free retakes
  3. may not use independent proctors; if you require an exception to this policy, please complete the Request for Proctor Exception form
  4. as of January 1, 2010, Professional Designation students pay a non-refundable testing fee upon enrollment

CFP Certification Professional Education Program students:

  1. receive one free retake if necessary
  2. must pay a testing fee for each exam if testing at a testing site

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.

Testing Centers

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 visiting http://www.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 by phone at 1-800-237-9990 Option 2 and pay a non-refundable testing fee. The next step is to contact Prometric Testing Centers and schedule an exam. Please review Prometric scheduling policies and procedures by visiting
http://securereg3.prometric.com/ProgramInformation.aspx?mode=schedule.
ISO Quality Testing Center: A student may have an exam administered at an ISO Quality 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 ISO Quality Testing Centers and schedule an exam. Please review ISO scheduling policies and procedures by visiting
https://www.iqttesting.com/Default.aspx?Function=Registration.
Individual Proctor Option: This option is available only under special circumstances. The individual 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 individual proctor must register through the College's Proctor Registration process.

Grading
All 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.

Voluntary Withdrawal
You 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.

Dismissal
If 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.

Inactivation
If 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.

CFP Certification Professional Education Program Reinstatement
Individuals previously enrolled in the College's CFP Certification Professional Education Program may have their enrollment reinstated and will receive credit for any courses completed within five years of the date of the requested reinstatement. Students will pay a prorated fee to reinstate their enrollment. You must also bring your previous account current, if applicable. Reinstated students are required to test on the most current version of the examination. Updated materials may be purchased at the current update price per course. To be reinstated, contact the Student Services Center.

Professional Designation Programs
Individuals 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 Credit
If 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.

You must petition for a transfer of course credit prior to completing your enrollment application (the forms may be e-mailed to you). 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, taken within the past 10 years (five years for the income tax course). Sources of transfer credit that are not acceptable include licenses, registrations, and work and life experience.

Transcript Request
You may request an official transcript showing your academic history with the College for Financial Planning by completing the Request for Official Transcript from the College for Financial Planning Form. This transcript will provide you an academic history of your course work while enrolled in programs and/or courses with the College for Financial Planning. There is a fee for each transcript requested. The student's account must be paid in full before a transcript request will be processed.

Grievances
Under 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, 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 Committee
College 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.

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REFUND POLICY

Refunds
You 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.

  • The program/course enrollment fee, Graduate Degree Programs application fee, international fee, testing fees, shipping and handling fees, and all other miscellaneous fees are non-refundable.
  • You must withdraw in writing, by fax, or by e-mail.
  • For refund purposes, withdrawal is effective the date the College receives a written, signed notification of withdrawal and request for a refund.
  • CFP® Certification Mentor Education Program refunds are calculated based upon the date the student’s FIRST set of study materials are shipped.
  • For purposes of refunds, CFP® Certification Professional Education Program single courses that are available for enrollment via a corporate agreement are considered "Professional Designation Programs."
  • CFP® Certification Mentor Education and/or Self-Study Certification Program students who test within the first 30 days of enrollment will revert to the 31-60 days refund period as shown below.
  • CFP® Certification Mentor Education and/or Self-Study Certification Program students who test twice within the first 60 days of enrollment are not eligible for a refund.
  • Professional Designation Programs students will not be eligible for a refund if they test within the first 30 days.
  • Students should allow three weeks for the processing of withdrawal requests and refunds.
  • Whether or not the College’s contractual agreement is with the student, or with a company that may have sponsored the student, is important. A sponsoring company may require an employee to sign a written agreement regarding recovery of tuition.
  • Refunds are credited to the individual or company that paid for the original purchase of the program and/or course.

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.

Length of Enrollment CFP® Certification Education Programs Professional Designation Programs*
0—30 days
100%
100%
31—60 days
50%
0%
More than 60 days
0%
0%
* includes AAMS®, AWMA®, CMFC®, CRPC®, CRPS®, and RP®
LIVE REVIEW POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

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.

CONTINUING EDUCATION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

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.

MISCELLANEOUS FEES
Biennial Desgination Renewal Fee
$75
Biennial Designation Renewal Fee for 2 or more designations
$95
CFP Program Reinstatement
$250
Check Return or Declined Credit Card
$30
Course Reactivation
$100
International Fee $575* or $200**
90-Day Course Extension
$50
2nd Mentor Session Change
$200
Testing Fee
$100
Transcript
$15
Tuition Deferral
$15
Updated Course Materials
$135
*CFP® Certification Professional Education Program
**Professional Designation Program