Organization

The College for Financial Planning (The College) is a for-profit educational institution wholly-owned by Apollo Group, Inc. The College, founded in 1972, is the leading provider of distance education programs and courses to financial service professionals. Each course is followed by a corresponding proctored final examination. A full-time professional faculty of content experts offers a total of eight certificate programs and a Master of Science degree.The Certified Financial Planner', or CFP' program consists of five separate courses and allows the student to meet the educational requirement for the CFP Board of Standards, Inc., certification examination leading to the CFP and Certified Financial Planner designation. Ethics and experience requirements must also be met.The College added the Foundations in Financial Planning course and the Financial Paraplanner Program designation in 1984. This course was designed for support and administrative personnel in the personal financial services industry. To provide a basis in income tax preparation and compliance, the Accredited Tax Preparer program was added in 1988.For individuals working in the investment area, the Accredited Asset Management Specialist education program and professional designation was added in 1993, followed by the Chartered Mutual Funds Counselor education program and professional designation in 1996, to provide education in the characteristics of mutual funds and their selection.In the retirement planning area the College added the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor program and designation in 1998, and the Chartered Retirement Plans Specialist program and designation in 1999.The College's Master of Science program was accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools in 1994.