Monday, January 21, 2013

PCI Workshop and PCIP Savings – Do The Math



The Treasury Institute’s PCI Workshop is a great opportunity for PCI education and networking with other institutions.  Because of the Institute’s focus on Higher Education and the participation of sponsoring organizations, the workshop is also a great value financially.  At $450, the price of the three-day PCI workshop is less than half what similar corporate workshops would be. 

At the risk of sounding like a TV commercial, I have to add: “But there’s more…”

This year the benefits are even greater thanks to the Institute’s partnership with the PCI Security Standards Council and NACUBO.  Workshop attendees will have the opportunity for PCI Security Standard Council's PCI Professional (PCIP) education at no additional cost, and by doing so attendees qualify for a significant discount on the test to receive their PCIP credential. 

The PCIP is a credential for industry professionals who demonstrate their expertise in and understanding of PCI standards. This credential is an individual qualification that does not require a sponsoring employer.  That is, it stays with the individual. 

Here are the details:
  • The PCIP credential requires an application fee and a test
  • Most applicants also take the PCIP eLearning, which workshop attendees may find they do not need after the PCIP education at the workshop. 

Here are the numbers:
  • There is a PCIP Application fee of $395 plus discounted exam fee of $225 (regularly $395) = $620.  For most people, I expect this is what they will spend.  Therefore, you save $170 on the exam, and you also save the $995 eLearning fee ($1,250 for non-Participating Organizations).   
  • Note: if you decide you still want the Council’s eLearning training, they have graciously agreed to let you apply your Treasury Institute/NACUBO $170 discount there, and spend a reduced total of $1,220 ($395 for the application, and $825 for the discounted eLearning, which includes the exam fee). 

How much will you save?  Well, if you attend the workshop and benefit from the PCIP education, you could save well over twice the cost of the workshop. To work out your own budget, be sure to see all the details at the Council’s website. 

There is no obligation to take the PCIP exam.  Attendees will, however, benefit greatly from this in-depth education.  Also, the Treasury Institute reminds everyone that attending the PCIP education is no guarantee you will pass the PCIP examination.  However, the PCIP education coupled with your diligent review of other PCI documentation on the PCI Council's website (which will be emphasized during the education) should prepare you well for the exam.  

If you already have the PCIP or even an Internal Security Assessor (ISA) credential, and/or you don't want to benefit from the education, the Institute's 10th PCI workshop is still for you.  As you will see by the agenda posted on the Institute’s website, there are parallel sessions where together with your peers we will delve into topics such as mobile commerce, point-to-point encryption, and scoping your PCI assessment.  Then after the PCIP education, we have the Higher Education PCI case studies separated into business and IT tracks.  It's all  detailed in the agenda.  

That means PCI Workshop benefits PCI newcomers and veterans alike.  And while the workshop will have two tracks this year, there will be plenty of time where we all will be together for important sessions, including our networking hours after both Monday and Tuesday. 

1 comment:

  1. I'm having trouble with the math. The PCI site seems to say that the application fee is $995, not $395. Is the $395 a special price too?

    Jim Gramke

    ReplyDelete