2021 CFA Program Exam Changes

hey what's happening everybody peter olento with you i'm one of the lead instructors for the wiley review for the cfa and i'm here to discuss with you today what are the exam changes so due to the global coronavirus pandemic the cfa institute announced on august 4th an accelerated move to computer-based testing for all three levels of the cfa exam starting in 2021 so what are these changes well they mostly affect levels two and three previously there was only one 2021 test date for levels two and three with the recent changes there are now two 10-day exam windows to take each exam at a prometric testing center now for level two the exam windows will be may and august for level three the exam windows will be may and november now as previously communicated level one will still have four 2021 exam windows all administered via the computer-based testing for candidates who were postponed from the june 2020 exam to the december 2020 exam you have the option to stay with that exam date administered as the last paper-based exam or switch to any of the available 2021 computer-based exams all right guys so candidates who have registered for the june 2021 paper-based exam that was originally scheduled you all can revert to the december 2020 paper-based exam by the registration closing date now get this of august 19th or select any of the available 2021 computer-based options now if you wish to move to a cbt computer-based test exam you have until you're ready october 20th to do so so now registration will be open on august 20th for all levels and all dates for the 2021 computer-based exams now candidates can't register for adjacent windows what that means is for example let's say you're a level one candidate you take the february 2021 administration and you don't pass the exam it probably means you didn't take widely but let's just pretend you don't and you fail the exam you can't sit in may that would be the adjacent window what you'd have to do is wait until the august administration now a level two candidate let's say who passes the exam of course they took wiley during the august administration well they can't sit for level three in november they'd have to wait until the may 2022 exam now while the exam structure will remain the same the length of all exams are going to be shortened so the total testing time is going to be reduced get this from six hours to approximately four and a half hours now the number of questions are going to be reduced as well so the candidates are going to have the same average time per question that they would have had under the paper-based testing so level one for example 240 questions six hours that was an average of a minute and a half so obviously if they reduce the number of questions you'll still have on average a minute and a half all right guys so the next big question for us is how can you adapt your studies based upon these exam changes so the exam content for the 2020 paper-based exams get this is going to be exactly the same content for the 2021 computer-based exams for all of our wiley cfa exam review customers you already have access to all of the most current content that's going to be tested on the 2021 cbt exams so there's no reason to delay if you have already purchased one of wiley's cfa exam review courses you're going to have free access until you pass your exam regardless of your exam date now if your exam date is going to change you also want to make sure you reassess your study schedule you want to make sure you're keeping your studying on track but you also have to avoid burnout and that can seem like a difficult task so we encourage all of our wiley students to take advantage of the exam planner it's included in your course free of charge now the great thing about that exam planner it allows you to create your own personalized study schedule while allowing a days off occasional days off so that you avoid burnout all right guys now last but not least what can you expect on exam day well here are just a couple of tips for taking computer-based testing exams now with computer-based testing candidates will take their exam in a secure computer lab but with many fewer candidates at a time now in addition to easier social distancing and safety procedures there's also going to be greater flexibility around lunch breaks and exam completion time now many candidates are still going to find it very helpful to solve math problems long hands so rest assured you're going to be provided with scrap paper writing materials to use during the exam and you'll still be able to bring your own calculator so just as before the calculators either have to be the ti or the hp 12c now before scheduling an exam appointment with prometric which is where you'll take the exam you have to be currently enrolled in the cfa program when you are ready to schedule you're going to be able to do that online at the prometric website now guys it's important you remember any appointment has to be scheduled or rescheduled by the published deadline now if you fail to schedule your appointment or fail to sit for the exam your exam fees guys are not everything is non non-refundable non-deferrable and non-transferable so let's make sure that doesn't happen also it's important to note that your passport must be current at the time of your scheduled exam so be careful with the with the expiration dates on your passport you will not be allowed to sit for the exam if that passport is expired don't let that happen to you so those are just a few tips guys on the computer-based exams we'll have a lot more built into the course as you're preparing for the exam trust us we have a long history preparing candidates for computer-based tests so you're going to be in good hands exam day so uh we wish you guys all the best thank you for tuning in and we'll see you guys in class you