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Re: IAAP certification: CPACC or WAS?

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From: tim.harshbarger@deque.com
Date: Feb 19, 2024 7:39AM

Mike,

In case you haven't received an answer to your question. Both IAAP certifications are equally recognized. The difference between the certifications is the breadth and depth of knowledge it takes to get the certification.

CPACC covers accessibility more generally. It doesn't just cover web accessibility. It covers things like disability, web accessibility, universal design, laws, and a number of other topics. It doesn't go deep into any specific aspect of accessibility but tries to give the student a good broad understanding of accessibility.

WAS is very much focused on web accessibility. So it goes very deep into that topic. It is definitely considered the more difficult certification.

The general recommendation for IAAP certifications is to take the CPACC first to get a general grounding in accessibility. Then take one of the other certifications that focus on a specific aspect of accessibility like WAS.

Because of this general recommendation, you will find a lot more people with CPACC's than WAS certifcations. Because CPACC is more general, it tends to appear on more job descriptions than WAS which would really only apply to certain types of web development work.

I hope that helps!

Thanks!
Tim