The Human Resources Professionals Association has made the decision to discontinue the Online Academic Program (OAP) effective January 1, 2022. The last offering of this program will be in the Fall semester of 2021.
HRPA’s OAP, offered through Captus Press, provided the academic courses required for the Certified Human Resources Professional (CHRP) and the Certified Human Resources Leader (CHRL) designation in an online format.
The OAP – along with its precursor, the Evening Academic Program (EAP) – was introduced at a time when limited course options were available to meet HRPA’s Coursework Requirement.
Much has changed since then, including the expansion in the number of credible institutions offering online HR courses that are approved by the HRPA.
Today, there are abundance of HR courses available at both the college and university level to help you fulfill HRPA’s Coursework Requirement. Many of these are also accessible without any minimum entrance requirements.
As a result, we feel confident in stepping back from our role of offering the OAP.
Next Steps
To view the list of alternative courses from post-secondary institutions that meet the HRPA’s Coursework Requirement, click here.
To search for a list of HRPA approved courses, click here.
For more information, click here to view the Discontinuation of OAP webinar recording, where our HRPA staff can answer any questions related to OAP.
Click here for the webinar Q & A
Click here for the webinar presentation slides
You can also check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below.
The OAP – along with its precursor the Evening Academic Program (EAP) – has served its purpose and offered education at a time when limited HR courses were available to meet HRPA’s Coursework Requirement.
The Human Resources profession continues to evolve and mature and today, there are plenty of HR courses available both at the college and university level to fulfill HRPA’s Coursework Requirement.
The mission of the OAP has been accomplished.
Yes. Colleges and universities offer approved HR courses online and in-class to meet HRPA’s Coursework Requirement. In fact, the post-secondary institutions are HRPA’s stakeholders.
Here are three ways to search for alternate courses:
- To view the list of alternative course offerings from post-secondary institutions, click here.
- You can also use the School Search Tool here.
- The colleges in Ontario also offer online courses through the consortium, Ontario Learn. For more information on Ontario Learn click here.
You will need to contact the school of your choice directly to register and obtain information on scheduling, costs, etc.
The post-secondary institutions establish the pre-requisites for their course offerings. You would need to check with the individual school for any entrance requirements.
HRPA has provided a list of alternative offerings here and those offerings do not have any pre-requisite requirements.
HRPA is no longer offering qualifying educational courses – like the OAP program – however we will continue offering Continuing Professional Development courses to support our members after the achievement of a designation, or merely for personal development.
Yes. HRPA will continue to accept courses that were previously taken in the OAP, if they meet the 10-year validity period. All courses will be accepted up to and including the Fall 2021 term.
HRPA has a course approval process outlined here in which the Academic Standards Committee reviews all course submissions from the academic institutions for possible approval. All course submissions are vetted through this committee.