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Security University Credential
Standards Comment Period Set to Open A review and revision process for the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing began in 2009. The Joint Committee overseeing the revision of the Standards is planning to open the comment period for the revision draft in January. The comment period will close in April 2011.
The Standards are published by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA) and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). Compliance with the testing Standards is essential for any organization that is, or plans to be, accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) under the Standards for Accreditation of Certification Programs or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) under ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024.
The draft and online comments form will be available by mid-January at http://www.teststandards.org/Revision.htm. All organizations that develop and administer certification exams are encouraged to review the draft and submit comments.
Lessons in Social Media from the ICE Conference
By now, we should all know what social media is, but the larger question is how best to use it. There is not a simple answer to this question, unfortunately, and the answer often varies from organization to organization.
During the recent ICE conference in Atlanta, I attended a session debunking the myths of social media. The presenter, Jarin Schmidt, had a lot of great advice for attendees. Here are a few takeaways that stuck with me when it comes to social media.
- Go where your customers are. Many of us get into the world of social media by using all available, free outlets. We start a Facebook page, a Linked In group, get onto Twitter, etc. Consider if your customers are using all of these channels. If not, why are you on them?
- The details do matter. Treat social media with the same respect that you with other communication channels.
- Think of social media as coordinating interactions among your audiences, not just pushing information out.
- Having a strategy is good, but sometimes it is okay to react to what others post.
ICE Releases Guidelines for Performance Evaluations
The Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) just released its Guidelines for Performance Evaluations. The report is $35 for members and $85 for non members, according to ICE's publication order form. Click here for more information.
ICE Assessment-Based Certificate Accreditation Program Update Both ANSI and ICE have recently launched standards and an accreditation process for assessment-based certificate programs. Our January blog provided an update on the ANSI process.
ICE accepted several certificate programs into its Pilot Program for Accreditation of Assessment Based Certificate Programs in June of this year. In addition to completing the accreditation application, pilot programs are expected to also participate in a virtual audit. Reviews of the pilot applications are currently underway and are expected to be completed by the end of this year.
The ICE Assessment-Based Certificate Committee consists of 13 volunteer industry representatives. Reviewers for the pilot program are a combination of committee members and external reviewers.
The official launch of the certificate program accreditation process should take place in early 2011. ICE will present an update on the pilot program during a webinar on December 8th.
Five Myths of Accreditation Busted Check out our latest article in the October 2010 issue of Associations Now, Five Myths to Bust Before Accrediting Your Certification.
Learn more about give common myths we have encountered with more than 20 certifying bodies working toward accreditation including incorporation status, governance, educational courses and certification, and policies and procedures.
Stephen Colbert takes on Certification
The Colbert Report recently covered Rand Paul's certification scandal with a humorous look at what we often refer to as "rogue" certification programs. Take a look at this video where Stephen becomes a certified ophthalmologist:
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/313483/june-22-2010/usa-board-of-ophthalmological-freedom?xrs=share_copy
In Time TV Discusses Certification vs. Certificates
A member of the Professional Certification Discussion Group on Linked In posted this video from In Time TV's show, Association Executive Today. Judith Hale serves as one of the panelists discussing certification and certificate programs. |
