This is one of the questions that come with many students' minds, "Can I go for my CBAP examination with the CCBA training that I took?".

Many would like to upgrade as people, in general, understand the fact that CBAP has a lot more market standing compared to CCBA. If you are thinking in the same direction, let us guide you with the right approach. Several aspects need to be considered-

1. The first aspect is meeting the work experience requirements of IIBA.
2. The second is the PD Hour, the professional development hours requirement from IIBA.
3. The third aspect is subject coverage between the exam for CCBA and CBAP.
4. The fourth aspect is the questions coverage.
5. The fifth aspect is the effort and time required
6. The sixth and last one is the fee difference between CCBA and CBAP exam

#1. Meeting the work experience requirements of IIBA

IIBA has a BA work experience requirement of 7500 hours for CBAP against 3750 hours for CCBA.

#2. CBAP requires 14 Additional PD Hours

The PD hours requirement by IIBA is different for CBAP. CBAP requires 35 PD hours instead of the 21 PD Hours that you might have gotten from your CCBA training. So, you need to obtain the additional 14 PD Hours from your training provider or some other source so that you can apply for the CBAP examination.

#3. Between CCBA and CBAP, there is no additional subject coverage 😊

The next aspect that we need to look for is subject coverage. The good part about subject coverage between CCBA and CBAP is that both the exams have identical subject coverage though the weightage of the knowledge areas varies for both exams. So most likely, things that you studied for CCBA would pretty much be required for CBAP. There is no additional subject that you need to cover. So from this point of view, you're doing well.

Here is a snapshot of the comparison for both exam patterns-

#4. Getting prepared with case-type questions

Then the fourth point we need to take care of is the questions coverage.

Remember, the questions for CBAP are quite different and complex compared to questions for CCBA. About 70 percent of questions are similar to the CCBA exam and the CBAP exam, which are short scenario questions. However, CCBA does not have case-based questions which come in the CBAP exam. Case-based questions are typically about 1.5 to 2 pages long with multiple questions, presenting a huge amount of information. Some of the given information is needed while answering the questions, whereas the rest is given to confuse the exam taker.

You need to talk to your training provider and find out how you can access the additional question types, which is the case type of question for your preparation. Without preparing for case-based questions in a rigorous manner, it may be difficult for you to complete the CBAP examination.

#5. Additional effort and time required for CBAP preparation

CBAP exam complexity is much higher than CCBA (almost 75 to 100% more). It requires extra effort and time to prepare. The recommended preparation effort for CCBA is about 80 hours, whereas for CBAP, it can be as high as 140 hours. Similarly, one can complete CCBA preparation in about 8 to 10 weeks, whereas CBAP, may require 12 to 16 weeks.

#6. Additional Fees Needed to Take CBAP

The exam fee between CCBA and CBAP is about $100. So we don't think it is a significant concern for anybody looking to upgrade from the CCBA to the CBAP exam.

Hope this blog clarified key aspects one needs to consider while upgrading from CCBA to CBAP. If you have any further questions, please feel free to write to us at info@adaptiveus.com