Business and Leadership
Continuing & Professional Education

Designation
in Certified Administrative Professional

Part-time, in-class study tailored for:

  • administrative assistants
  • office professionals
  • executive assistants

The des­ig­na­tion is award­ed by the Asso­ci­a­tion of Admin­is­tra­tive Pro­fes­sion­als (AAP)

Keep­ing skills up to date with cur­rent trends is vital to any role. More and more often, admin­is­tra­tive assis­tants are being rec­og­nized as key team mem­bers and as such, employ­ers are look­ing for a high­er lev­el of pro­fes­sion­al­ism. The Cana­di­an Cer­ti­fied Admin­is­tra­tive Pro­fes­sion­al (CCAP) des­ig­na­tion is a bench­mark of excel­lence for the advanced admin­is­tra­tive professional.

The des­ig­na­tion is award­ed by the Asso­ci­a­tion of Admin­is­tra­tive Pro­fes­sion­als (AAP), a nation­al asso­ci­a­tion whose main pur­pose is to encour­age peo­ple in the busi­ness world to con­tin­u­ous­ly upgrade their pro­fes­sion­al­ism through con­tin­u­ing education.

The CCAP pro­gram will pro­vide you with valu­able back­ground in gen­er­al busi­ness edu­ca­tion, assist you in under­stand­ing cor­po­rate ini­tia­tives, advance your pro­fes­sion­al devel­op­ment, and pre­pare you for future office demands and innovations.

The Cana­di­an Cer­ti­fied Admin­is­tra­tive Pro­fes­sion­al (CCAP) is a pro­gram for office pro­fes­sion­als inter­est­ed in meet­ing the chal­lenges of today’s demand­ing work­force. Through a series of uni­ver­si­ty-lev­el busi­ness cours­es, you are pro­vid­ed with an up-to-date knowl­edge of busi­ness prac­tices, essen­tial skills, and career-build­ing exper­tise, along with a cre­den­tial wide­ly rec­og­nized in the pro­fes­sion­al office environment.

The CCAP designation certifies that you are up to the standards required to practice your profession. The designation is recognized in the professional environment and can lead to greater challenges, opportunities, and financial remuneration.

The CCAP designation showcases the value of the courses you’ve taken, the administrative excellence and core work competencies you have demonstrated, and your commitment to lifelong learning.

Employers recognize the value of hiring an employee with a professional designation. They also recognize individuals who have worked to complete a personal goal and fully support those who constantly upgrade their skills.

Additional credential opportunity in Management Development Certificate – can receive course equivalencies toward both

A note about COVID-19 measures

If you see a program on our website announced as an in-person or downtown Edmonton offering, please disregard the format—but not the program. Summer & Fall courses have been converted to remote delivery platforms. Register for a course online or apply to a program via email, and keep learning!

  • University of Alberta parchment in as little as 2 years
  • Pay as you go
Earn a Designation
in Certified Administrative Professional

Complete all 4 Core AAP-equivalent courses

Select 4 Elective AAP-equivalent courses

Review Extension–AAP course equivalency:

equivalency chart

Course planner schedule-at-a-glance link

Stu­dents seek­ing strict­ly a CCAP des­ig­na­tion are not required to apply for admis­sion to the Uni­ver­si­ty of Alber­ta — only to reg­is­ter for each course on an indi­vid­ual basis. 

If you’re inter­est­ed in earn­ing a UAl­ber­ta cre­den­tial while you work toward your CCAP des­ig­na­tion, you may enrol in the Man­age­ment Devel­op­ment Cer­tifi­cate pro­gram as you start your stud­ies or, if you pre­fer, after you have tak­en one or more courses. 

Please note that the Asso­ci­a­tion of Admin­is­tra­tive Pro­fes­sion­als does require stu­dents to com­plete a CCAP enrol­ment form, which is avail­able at their web­site. Appli­cants wish­ing to reg­is­ter as a CCAP stu­dent must also become a mem­ber of the association.

Addi­tion­al Cre­den­tial: Man­age­ment Devel­op­ment Certificate

Many of the CCAP cours­es are com­po­nents of the Uni­ver­si­ty of Alberta’s Man­age­ment Devel­op­ment Cer­tifi­cate pro­gram. You may reg­is­ter con­cur­rent­ly in the CCAP cours­es and the Man­age­ment Devel­op­ment Cer­tifi­cate and receive equiv­a­len­cies toward both.

Once you are admitted, you can verify your program requirements by logging into the University of Alberta’s student portal, Bear Tracks, to view your Academic Advisement.

The CCAP program is comprised of seven AAP courses (or 8 equivalent Faculty of Extension courses) that must be successfully completed so you can apply for the designation. As a university accredited by the Association of Administrative Professionals (AAP), UAlberta offers all courses needed to fulfill the designation’s educational requirements.

AAP course titles are not exact matches for university course titles. The chart below lists course titles as they appear on AAP’s website (left hand column), followed by the corresponding UAlberta course titles as they relate to the CCAP designation requirements (right hand column).

The CCAP designation also carries an experience requirement—please consult AAP’s website for more information on non-educational components of the program.

Core courses – complete all 4 equivalent Faculty of Extension courses
AAP COURSE:OUR EQUIVALENT:
Business Englishcomplete both:
Grammar for Effective Writing (EXGEN 3797)
and
Writing Skills: Improving Style and Clarity (EXGEN 3112)
Organizational BehaviourOrganizational Behaviour (EXMGT 5587)
Supervision/Management StudiesIntroduction to Management (EXMGT 5577)

Elective courses – select Extension equivalent of 4 AAP courses
AAP COURSE:OUR EQUIVALENT:
Business or Commercial LawCommercial Law (EXMGT 5566)
Financial AccountingFinancial Management and Budgeting (EXMGT 5515)
Human Resources ManagementHuman Resources Foundations (EXMGT 5596)
MarketingMarketing (EXMGT 5584)

Project Management

complete all 3:
Project Management Essentials (EXMGT 5427)
and
Project Management: Risk and Resourcing (EXMGT 5443)
and
Project Management: From Communication to Closure (EXMGT 5444)
Social Media

complete both:
Fundamentals of Social Media (EXSM 5510)
and
Effective Social Media Communication (EXSM 3988)

Statistics
Business Analytics for Managers (EXMGT 5447)
  • Tuition is paid on a course-by-course basis as you reg­is­ter for your classes.
  • Cours­es are GST-exempt.
  • Eli­gi­ble for the Cana­da-Alber­ta Job Grant.
  • Cor­po­rate mul­ti-reg­is­tra­tion pack­ages are avail­able for most Exten­sion cours­es. Con­tact us at excorp@​ualberta.​ca for pre­ferred pricing.
Bursaries and funding opportunities
Alberta employers & employees: Job Grant UAlberta alumni: PD Grant UAlberta employees: HRDF

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