HRPA has developed an Alternate Route to meeting the coursework requirement. The Alternate Route is intended for individuals with advanced HR education or experienced HR professionals. To provide the greatest flexibility, a points-based system was developed that gives ‘points’ for experience, formal training, coursework, and other relevant designations.
Fifty points are needed to pass the Alternate Route and qualify for the CHRP Knowledge Exam or the CHRL Knowledge Exam. Applicants are encouraged to also review the Guide to the Alternate Route (PDF).
The Alternate Route is divided into two streams
1. Alternate Route Application – Academic Stream
You may be eligible for this stream if you have one of the following:
- Advanced degree in HR or Industrial Relations (Master’s degree or PhD)*
- Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) or Senior Professional in Human Resources – International (SPHRi) certification
- Chartered Membership with CIPD
- Other HR-related designations (see application for details)
- Completion of any of the the nine required courses in HR from the approved list with a minimum grade of 65% being achieved
Apply Now! Alternate Route Application – Academics (PDF)
*Please note: If you are applying with a Master’s degree or PhD completed outside of Canada, your degree must be assessed by a credentialing agency to determine its equivalency to a Canadian Master’s degree or PhD. For a list of accepted credentialing agencies, please review the Degree Requirement section of the website.
Processing Alternate Route – Academic Stream applications usually take about a week. Please submit your application at least one week prior to CHRP-KE or CHRL-KE registration deadline dates to allow for sufficient processing time.
2. Alternate Route Application – Experience Stream
To apply via the Alternate Route – Experience Stream, you may submit any of the following, alone or in combination:
- Experience at a professional level in HR
- Experience at a managerial level with significant HR responsibilities (51% of time or more)
- Responsibility for overall HR function in medium to large organization
- Experience as an independent HR consultant
- Practice in employment law
- Experience teaching an HR course at an accredited institution
- Completion of any of the nine required courses in HR from the approved list (must meet the minimum required grade of 65% in each course)
- Other HR-related designation (see application for details)
Apply Now! Alternate Route Application – Experience (PDF)
Applications for the Alternate Route – Experience Stream are reviewed by a panel of HRPA’s Experience Assessment Committee. The submission deadline is the last business day of each month (except for December), and results are released via email approximately eight to ten weeks after the submission deadline. If you are planning to register for the next sitting of the CHRP-KE or the CHRL-KE, please make sure to submit your Alternate Route – Experience application at least three months before the registration deadline for the exams to allow sufficient processing time.
The Points-System
Below, please find an overview of how many points you may be eligible for under each category for both Alternate Route Streams.
| Overview of the Alternate Route Points System | Alternate Route Points |
|---|---|
| Advanced degree in HR or IR | 50 |
| Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) or Senior Professional in Human Resources - International (SPHRi) | 50 |
| Chartered Member of CIPD | 50 |
| Other HR-related designation (see application for details) | 10 or 20 |
| Responsibility for overall HR function in medium to large organization | 10/year |
| Practice in employment law | 10/year |
| Experience at a professional level in HR | 5/year |
| Experience at a managerial level with significant HR responsibilities (51% of time or more) | 5/year |
| Experience as an independent HR consultant | 5/year |
| Experience teaching an HR course at an accredited institution | 5/year |
| Completion of any of the nine required HR courses | 5/course |
How Do I Submit My Application?
Applications can be submitted via email or mail. Transcripts and/or credentialing assessments must be original and submitted in hardcopy:
Email: registrar@hrpa.ca
HRPA – Office of the Registrar
150 Bloor Street West, Suite 200
Toronto, ON M5S 2X9
How Long are Alternate Route Results Valid?
In order for you to be eligible to write the CHRP-KE or the CHRL-KE, the coursework requirement must be fulfilled at the time the exam is taken – which means your Alternate Route results must still be valid. The validity of the results will vary depending on a variety of factors:
- Courses taken towards meeting the coursework requirement and submitted as part of the Alternate Route application
- Other HR designations submitted in support of an Alternate Route application remain current
- No more than two years have passed since any professional level HR experience was approved – after two years, recency (three months of professional level HR experience in the past two years) would need to be confirmed
The exact validity period for your Alternate Route application, if successful, will be communicated in your results. Only a Master’s degree or PhD submitted in support of an Alternate Route – Academic application is valid indefinitely.
Alternate Route and the CHRL Professional Experience Requirement
Both the Alternate Route – Experience Stream and the Validation of Experience give credit for professional level HR experience. The definition and assessment criteria for professional level HR experience are the same for both processes. Detailed information about how experience is assessed can be found in the Experience Requirement section of the website and in the Guide for Assessors.
Because the definition of experience is the same for both processes, if you successfully submit a minimum of three years of professional level HR experience as part of your Alternate Route – Experience Stream application, you also meet the Experience Requirement at the same time and your HRPA record will be updated accordingly.