Certified Professional Organizer
Encyclopedia
The Certified Professional Organizer (CPO) designation is an experience and exam-based certification for professionals who have met specific minimum standards, and proven through examination and client interaction that they possess the requisite body of knowledge and experience.
Prior to sitting for the examination, a CPO candidate must be prepared to verify employment as a professional organizer preceding the exam date. The CPO designation indicates that an individual has the knowledge, experience and skills necessary to teach, transfer or demonstrate organizing skills to facilitate and support a client’s overall personal and/or business goals.
The Board of Certification for Professional Organizers (BCPO) examination presumes that candidates possess and maintain the level of education and experience required for certification as outlined in the eligibility requirements section of the BCPO web site.
Upon successful completion of the BCPO examination, CPOs retain the credential for three years, during which time a total of forty-five (45) continuing education unit
s (CEUs) must be obtained in order to renew the credential.
CPOs adhere to a code of ethics
that is enforceable through a stringent ethics complaint procedure.
Recent reality television
series such as Hoarders
and Hoarding: Buried Alive
, and related news stories have brought certified professional organizers into the public eye.
survey was conducted under the supervision of Schroeder Measurement Technologies, Inc. (SMT), to determine the important knowledge and skill elements required for entry-level practice as a professional organizer.
A Subject Matter Expert
(SME) Committee, representing a diversity of practice, experience, geographic regions, and education was appointed to provide content expertise, and charged with determining Job/Task Analysis
(JTA) of a professional organizer. From a comprehensive search of the relevant literature, SMT developed an exhaustive list of knowledge and skill elements required for competent practice, and presented it to the JTA Committee for review and approval. An online survey instrument was developed that combined a demographic questionnaire with measurements of the importance of each knowledge and skill element that had been identified.
Statistical analysis of survey results from more than 3,000 professional organizers was used to differentiate important from unimportant elements of professional organizing practice. SMT then translated the JTA-approved list of knowledge and skill elements into an examination content outline. One committee was charged with identifying reference material to support the content outline, and another with writing legally defensible questions that could be associated with specific references.
Finally a Program Definition Team (PDT) set eligibility criteria and related policies. The PDT determined that, based on characteristics of the professional organizing industry, the largest component of eligibility criteria would be interaction with clients.
or a similar authority.
Prior to sitting for the examination, a CPO candidate must be prepared to verify employment as a professional organizer preceding the exam date. The CPO designation indicates that an individual has the knowledge, experience and skills necessary to teach, transfer or demonstrate organizing skills to facilitate and support a client’s overall personal and/or business goals.
The Board of Certification for Professional Organizers (BCPO) examination presumes that candidates possess and maintain the level of education and experience required for certification as outlined in the eligibility requirements section of the BCPO web site.
Upon successful completion of the BCPO examination, CPOs retain the credential for three years, during which time a total of forty-five (45) continuing education unit
Continuing education unit
A Continuing Education Unit is a measure used in continuing education programs, particularly those required in a licensed profession in order for the professional to maintain the license. Examples of people who need CEUs include interior designers/interior architects, lighting designers,...
s (CEUs) must be obtained in order to renew the credential.
CPOs adhere to a code of ethics
Ethical code
An ethical code is adopted by an organization in an attempt to assist those in the organization called upon to make a decision understand the difference between 'right' and 'wrong' and to apply this understanding to their decision...
that is enforceable through a stringent ethics complaint procedure.
Recent reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series such as Hoarders
Hoarders
Hoarders is an American documentary series that airs on A&E. The series depicts the real-life struggles and treatment of people who suffer from compulsive hoarding. The first episode aired August 17, 2009, and has since aired three full seasons. The fourth season debuted June 20,...
and Hoarding: Buried Alive
Hoarding: Buried Alive
Hoarding: Buried Alive is an American documentary television series that premiered on TLC on March 14, 2010. The show follows hoarders through their life experiences and helps them learn to manage their illness.- Overview :...
, and related news stories have brought certified professional organizers into the public eye.
Mission statement
The BCPO online mission statement statesDevelopment
In 2005, a Job AnalysisJob analysis
Job analysis is the process of describing and recording aspects of jobs and specifying the skills and other requirements necessary to perform the job.-Purpose:...
survey was conducted under the supervision of Schroeder Measurement Technologies, Inc. (SMT), to determine the important knowledge and skill elements required for entry-level practice as a professional organizer.
A Subject Matter Expert
Subject Matter Expert
A subject matter expert or domain expert is a person who is an expert in a particular area or topic. When spoken, sometimes the acronym "SME" is spelled out and other times voiced as a word ....
(SME) Committee, representing a diversity of practice, experience, geographic regions, and education was appointed to provide content expertise, and charged with determining Job/Task Analysis
Task analysis
Task analysis is the analysis of how a task is accomplished, including a detailed description of both manual and mental activities, task and element durations, task frequency, task allocation, task complexity, environmental conditions, necessary clothing and equipment, and any other unique factors...
(JTA) of a professional organizer. From a comprehensive search of the relevant literature, SMT developed an exhaustive list of knowledge and skill elements required for competent practice, and presented it to the JTA Committee for review and approval. An online survey instrument was developed that combined a demographic questionnaire with measurements of the importance of each knowledge and skill element that had been identified.
Statistical analysis of survey results from more than 3,000 professional organizers was used to differentiate important from unimportant elements of professional organizing practice. SMT then translated the JTA-approved list of knowledge and skill elements into an examination content outline. One committee was charged with identifying reference material to support the content outline, and another with writing legally defensible questions that could be associated with specific references.
Finally a Program Definition Team (PDT) set eligibility criteria and related policies. The PDT determined that, based on characteristics of the professional organizing industry, the largest component of eligibility criteria would be interaction with clients.
Future plans
According to the BCPO web site, the organization's intention is that the CPO credential eventually be recognized by ANSIAnsi
Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....
or a similar authority.