Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
30,000
Candidates
Pass
Total CDP Holders
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
1962
1963
1964
1965
1966
1967
1968
1969
1970
1971
1972
1973
Figure 7.3
CDP recipients, 1961-1973.
Whereas participation in the exam in 1965 had jumped by more than
300 percent from the previous year (possibly in anticipation of the impo-
sition of these requirements), applications for the session in 1966 dropped
by almost 85 percent. Of the eighty-eight scheduled examination sites,
twelve were dropped for lack of attendance. A major controversy erupted
within the data processing community, particularly in DPMA-oriented
publications such as Datamation and Computerworld .
Advocates of the academic requirements argued that such require-
ments not only elevated the status and legitimacy of the CDP but also
were standard for most other professions, including law, medicine, engi-
neering, and accounting. Opponents claimed that the specifi c course
requirements were ambiguous, meaningless, and irrelevant. The DPMA
Committee for Certifi cation, which administered the CDP program, was
fl ooded with letters from disgruntled applicants requesting special dis-
pensation. Each case had to be individually evaluated. 53 In 1966 only
1,005 candidates were approved to sit for the exam. In 1967, this
number dropped to 646. This posed not only fi nancial diffi culties for the
DPMA but presented a grave threat to the perceived legitimacy of the
entire CDP program as well. Faced with the imminent collapse of
their membership support, the DPMA admitted that “the established
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