Growing pains of the new CCWP Program
This year has been a busy time for the new Colorado Certified Water Professionals (CCWP) Program. On March 1, 2019, the new CCWP Office opened its doors to assist operators with any certification needs. The new CCWP team anticipated a fully functional operator portal to help them manage their responsibilities. However, some key operations of the CCWP Portal were delayed.
Therefore, the CCWP team identified the following priorities for March and April: 1) issue certificates to the operators who had passed exams in January and February; and
2) evaluate and approve renewal applications for certificates expiring in March, April and early May.
To accomplish this work without the portal, the CCWP team developed creative processes to manage collection of data using Google Forms and receipt of payments using a secure online payment site. The team exerted considerable effort to process applications within their target of 10 business days to ensure that operators were not adversely impacted by the transition to the new system. At the same time, the CCWP team did a fair amount of troubleshooting as minor issues with the CCWP Portal were identified and fixed.
At the beginning of May, the CCWP Portal began to accept applications for approval to sit for exams, for certificate renewals, for certificates by reciprocity and for review of courses for training unit approval. Despite having to resolve a few more bugs in the new portal, the staff at the CCWP Office did an admirable job reviewing applications in a timely fashion and issuing certificates through the CCWP Portal. Approved candidates for certification by examination have begun to schedule and take tests through the program’s new exam administrator.
The CCWP team is grateful to operators and other stakeholders who encouraged the CCWP Office staff and demonstrated patience during the transition to the new CCWP Program.
For more information about the CCWP program, or to access the new CCWP Portal, please visit the new Colorado Certified Water Professionals website.
Contact
CCWP Office
719-225-7339
➽ Nancy Horan, Local Assistance Unit
