11/14/2001 -- Cisco announced this week on its Web site that it will retire its CCNA, CCNP and CCDP WAN specialization exams on Dec. 31.

No reason was given on the Web site; however, the company announced previously that it would be retiring many of its title-specific specializations when it debuted its new Qualified Specialist designation earlier this year.

At the time of that announcement, the company said that although specialization exams would be retired, the titles themselves would remain valid for at least two years.

The exams will remain available at VUE and Prometric testing centers until the above date.

To view the official announcement, see the "What's New" section of Cisco's Web site. -B.N.