National Knowledge Exam™

The National Knowledge Exam® (NKE) assesses one’s understanding of the CPHR Competency Framework as they relate to academic knowledge. Academic knowledge refers to basic facts, policies, practices, methods, legislation, etc. It is information that can be written into procedures and transferred fairly accurately during the learning process. Examples of academic knowledge include: the rights and responsibilities of management and labour during union organizing and negotiation processes; the various methods of training and developing staff; and human rights, employment equity and pay equity legislation.

More details about NKE content and structure can be found on the CPHR website.

In the Fall of 2019, the National Knowledge Exam (NKE) moved to computer-based testing (CBT). Following suit with other provinces, CPHRNB’s transition from paper to computers will give members security, efficiency and convenience when writing the NKE and aligns the Association with industry best practice.

CPHR Canada has partnered with Yardstick to offer members its exam delivery software, Measure: a user-friendly and intuitive exam delivery platform that is used by a wide variety of certification and licensure bodies in Canada, the United States, and globally.

Going forward, the exam will offer a choice of two different dates (depending of the number of sign ups). Although the choice is not guaranteed, we will do our best to accommodate your request.

With Measure, exam writers will have access to numerous tools that will aid them in writing the exam while reducing anxiety. This includes:

• the option to bookmark and revisit questions;
• a “notes” feature for members to write and make reference to throughout the exam;
• a question navigator to easily jump back and forth between questions;
• a time remaining clock with optional reminders at specific intervals (e.g. 5 minutes remaining);
• a language toggle (for French speakers);
• accessibility features such as font size increase/decrease;
• a thumbnail presentation of images with magnification feature;
• a “Submit with unanswered question” check;
• a restrictive copy/paste functionality; and
• question count (e.g. ‘Question 1 of 8’).

Measure provides accessibility for all exam writers and creates efficiencies in answering questions in a completely secured environment.

Fall 2020 Exam: October 30, 2020 – 9:00am, 1:00pm (local time) – Registration deadline: August 31, 2020

Spring 2021 Exam: May 28, 2021

Fall 2021 Exam: November 5, 2021

Exam Fee: $400 + HST
Yardstick Seat Fee: $125 + HST

Once registering to write the NKE, exam registrants may defer to the next sitting of the exam up to five (5) business days prior to the exam. A deferral fee of $100 +HST will be charged each time a writer defers.

View Cancellation and Deferral Policy.

Exam fees are refundable for first time registrants (exam fee has not been deferred to a future exam write) if requested by March 30, 2020. The exam fee is non-refundable if a writer cancels their registration after the registration deadline or wishes to cancel following a previous deferral. Extenuating circumstances will be taken into consideration.

Once registering to write the NKE, exam registrants may defer to the next sitting of the exam up to five (5) business days prior to the exam. A deferral fee of $100 +HST will be charged each time a writer defers.

After May 21, no deferrals will be allowed. In certain extenuating circumstances the deferral may be granted after this deadline. The provincial member association would grant exceptions (i.e. death in immediate family, serious illness with doctor’s note).

Note: all deferrals after May 14 will forfeit their $125.00 seat fee for that exam. This fee will be charged again for the deferred sitting (no exceptions). A maximum of two deferrals are allowed per exam fee.

Candidates who are unsuccessful passing the NKE three times will be required to wait one full year prior to attempting the NKE for a fourth and final time. A fifth attempt may be permitted following a review process by the appropriate provincial HR association. During the break period between the third and fourth attempts, candidates are encouraged to take a NKE preparation course and/or review the material which their NKE results indicate require more study.

Exam results are emailed approximately eight weeks after each exam session.

Click here to find out more about exam scoring

Candidates who do not successfully pass the NKE have the right to request a manual score verification. Candidates must submit requests to their provincial association within 20 business days after the results have been sent out. The cost for the manual score verification is $65 and payment must be received at the time the request is made.

Members who have passed the National Knowledge Exam and have not yet completed the Validation of Professional Work Experience (VPWE) will be granted the ability to use “CPHR Candidate” as a professional title. Previously, candidates were referred to as such, but were not permitted the use of an official title.

The CPHR™ is valued by the employment community and the ability to be officially recognized as a CPHR Candidate will provide you with additional recognition. You may use this title in resumes, business cards, emails, Linked-In or any other public profiles.