Certified Government Digital Services Professional (CGDSP) Certification Program

CompTIA PTI is excited to announce that the kick-off class will take place September 6, 2022 during the NAGW 2022 Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. NAGW will offer a FREE conference pass to CGDSP program students. Students unable to attend in-person will be allowed to attend the kick-off class virtually. All following classes / modules will be presented virtually and are up to two hours in length.

The position and responsibilities for today's government web manager have transformed from serving as a technical resource to becoming a professional digital communications manager. There is a growing demand for practical and leadership-oriented professional development certification aimed at recognizing the web professional in this fast-evolving field: Delivering digital services through new methods and platforms.

In response to this need, three respected national organizations – CompTIA Public Technology Institute (PTI), the National Association of Government Web Professionals (NAGW) and Rutgers University Center for Government Services - have partnered to offer the Certified Government Digital Services Professional (CGDSP) Certification Program.

Managing a government's web service delivery has become more complex as expectations increase and many new – and more sophisticated – users, whether residents or other departments, are utilizing government web services.

The entire program will be offered online only. Students will participate in a series of live, 90-minute virtual class discussions and self-paced pre-recorded presentations and online courses.

Graduates from the program are encouraged to display the Certified Government Digital Services Professional - CGDSP - designation after their work title.

Members of NAGW and CompTIA PTI receive a discount rate on tuition.

Program Overview

The Course
Recognizing how busy you are and the time constraints you face, this program is designed to be a mix of virtual class discussions and self-paced online coursework, and delivery of a Capstone paper – 10 to 15 pages in length – describing a program or practice that you have implemented, or an organization or web/digital services issue that you have resolved.

Course Topics
The Certification program is divided into 10 modules and all course-work will be graded on a pass/fail basis. These modules will be covered beginning in the first class. After that, modules will be covered with light reading/homework assignments, followed by a combination of recorded presentations and 90-minute virtual/online discussions to be held approximately every 3-4 weeks.

Following are the topics to be covered during these virtual discussions:

Module 1: Citizen participation (pictures, video, recorded meetings, live meeting participation, polling, etc.)
Module 2: Web management
Module 3: App Management
Module 4: Multi-channel systems
Module 5: Digital service delivery
Module 6: Metrics and big data
Module 7: Reporting systems, techniques
Module 8: Management, leadership, and governance, policies and procedures
Module 9: Compliance and Contract management (CJIS, PCI, HIPAA, FOIA, e-Discovery, Accessibility, Records Act, etc.)
Module 10: Security and Crisis Management

As an added feature, students of the program will have access to a series of two online courses (self-paced) provided through SkillPort, a web-based, e-learning portal that allows you to access a range of training resources at work or at home. The topics to be covered are:

Working as a team
Emotional Intelligence

Applicant Prerequisites

An applicant applying to the CGDSP Program should possess the following:

Be employed in the public sector for at least three years.
Have a track record of administrative or managerial experience in basic web design and communications management.
Have exposure to social media and app applications.
Have at least a 2-year college degree or equivalent.

The above requirements are necessary to help ensure a robust and meaningful class. Applicants can still apply if they do not meet or exceed the above requirements by requesting a waiver. (With regard to a college degree: CompTIA PTI's experience has been that a student's overall experience surpasses formal learning.)

A minimum of 6 students are required in order for the program to proceed.

Tuition

NAGW and CompTIA PTI Member Officials: $2,900
Non-members: $3,400

Tuition is to be paid in full prior to the start of the program.

Re-certification

Certification is granted for a period of three years from the date of graduation. Graduates are expected to be re-certified every three years through a series of activities, including, but not limited to participating in NAGW and CompTIA PTI education events – such as attending web seminars and webinars, the NAGW annual conference, participating in state- or local-based digital service events, writing articles, mentoring staff, etc.

Ethics Policy

Upon graduation, all students will be required to sign a non-binding Digital Ethics Policy.