Thanks Jesse.
As a little dab of additional info for the RIM listserv folks about the
Institute of Certified Records Managers (ICRM), the ICRM is certified by
the National Certification Commission. I was not familiar with ISO
17024, but it looks like the ICRM does those things..., and does not do
training. Many, many individual CRMs do provide training and education,
which the ICRM Board encourages, but does not sponsor.
Best regards, Steve
Steven D. Whitaker, CRM
Records Systems Manager; City of Reno
>>> Jesse Wilkins <[log in to unmask]> 10/05 5:29 PM >>>
As has previously been indicated by Nolene, Lisa, Arthur, John,
Patrick,
Steve, and I'm sure others I have missed, there is a distinction
between
certificates and certifications.
I apologize for this extensive post, but this has been on my mind for
some
time. If you don't want to read any further you don't need to. I am
enclosing much background between the lines so you can choose to
delete
that or cut it out of any rebuttal. :)
And because you gotta know where I sit so you know where I stand, my
"alphabet soup" includes the following:
AIIM Master of Information Technologies
AIIM Laureate of Information Technologies in Electronic Document and
Image
Management
AIIM Laureate of Information Technologies in Enterprise Content
Management
AIIM Laureate of Information Technologies in Electronic Records
Management
AIIM ECM Practitioner
AIIM ECM Specialist
AIIM ERM Practitioner
AIIM ERM Specialist
AIIM ERM Master
CompTIA CDIA+
CompTIA e-Biz+
CompTIA i-Net+
TAWPI ICP
Xplor edp
Expired: American Society for Quality Certified Software Quality
Engineer
And my background includes membership in AIIM since 2001, ARMA since
2001,
TAWPI since 2002, Xplor off & on since 2001, National Speakers
Association
since 2005, ASTD since 2005, American Society for Quality 2000-2004,
CompTIA
2001-2005; writing/reviewing exam questions for the CDIA+, the TAWPI
ICP,
IMR's (now Captaris) certifications for Alchemy 2001-2004; and taking
more
exams than I really care to admit.
I use several different sources in my thinking and work on
certifications,
including ISO 17024, Conformity assessment - General requirements for
bodies operating certification of persons; the NCCA guidelines; the
International Accreditation Foundation; and a number of interesting(!)
articles on Angoff scoring and other psychometric validation
techniques.
As many of you have noted, there is a distinction between certs and
certs.
A certificate program can be anything the provider says it is. For
example,
Chippewa Valley Technical College offers a "Records and Information
Management Specialist" technical certificate program. It requires
students
to successfully complete five courses, which can all be completed
online.
AIIM offers the ERM and ECM Certificate programs, with online and
onsite
workshops covering ERM and ECM basics and implementation as defined by
the
AIIM Education Advisory Group.
Certifications, in contrast, are considered to be more formal and
involve a
more rigorous process. ISO defines certification as a process of
assessment, surveillance, and reassessment. Most certifications
require the
candidate to complete a proctored examination and may also include
both
demonstration of knowledge, such as through completion of a formal
case
study, and an experiential requirement to even become a candidate.
According to the International Board of Standards for Training,
Performance,
and Instruction, certification is valued "for its ability to
distinguish
between those who have demonstrated competency, in an agreed-upon
manner,
and those who have not".
If you look at ISO 17024 or NCCA's guidelines, there are a number of
elements in common for a valid certification program.
- There must be a defined set of competencies, based on a regular job
task
analysis, that must be reviewed periodically for continued relevance.
- Training can be required, but a specific vendor's training can't and
the
certification body cannot be the training provider as well.
- There must be a testing mechanism that is based on the defined
competencies and which is operated by an independent body from the
sponsoring organization. That testing mechanism must be unbiased and
psychometrically valid (and validated).
- The exam has to be reviewed and updated regularly both to account
for
changes in technology or accepted practices as well as to correct
incorrect
or poorly-performing questions.
- There must be a recertification regime, which could include
retesting
and/or continuing education.
- There should not be a requirement of membership as a condition of
certification or recertification
A certification program that doesn't do all these things can still be
a
pretty good certification: The PMP will be validated as conforming to
ISO
17024 sometime in 2007; so will all of the CompTIA certifications. And
note
that they are looking for that independent validation of their program
development and practices - just as the CRM is an independent
validation of
RM expertise and practices. If you're looking for best practices in
RM, you
go with ISO 15489; best practices for certification, ISO 17024.
I think certificates can be very educational and useful - and in many
cases
those programs can be more agile than a certification. We see the
same
thing in the standards world - it's not uncommon for standards to take
several years to develop, while market-based, ad hoc/informal standards
are
much faster to create - and perhaps be lapped by the next generation,
or
simply never catch on. DjVu, anyone?
So to echo Steve and Patrick (and many other folks') points, they are
apples and oranges. The one thing I would encourage any of you
interested in
the "alphabet soup" to do is to check with the certification program
and its
administrative organ to determine to what extent it follows the best
practices espoused by NCCA and/or ISO 17024, whether there are any
plans to
get accredited under one or both, and if not, why not.
Respectfully - and lengthily - submitted,
Jesse Wilkins
CDIA+, LIT, ICP, edp, ermm, ecms
IMERGE Consulting
[log in to unmask]
(303) 574-1455 office
(303) 484-4142 fax
YIM: jessewilkins8511
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ISO 17024
From the Introduction:
"This International Standard has been drawn up with the objective of
achieving and promoting a globally accepted benchmark for
organizations
operating certification of persons. Certification of persons is one
means
of providing assurance that the certified person meets the requirements
of
the certification scheme. Confidence in the respective certification
schemes is achieved by means of a globally accepted process of
assessment,
subsequent surveillance and periodic re-assessments of the competence
of
certified persons....
This International Standard specifies requirements which ensure that
certification bodies operating certification schemes for persons
operate in
a consistent, comparable and reliable manner. The requirements in
this
International Standard are to be considered as general requirements
for
bodies operating certification schemes for persons and therefore may
have
to be supplemented in response to additional demonstrated market
need/desire (i.e. improvement of the profession) or specific
government
requirements (i.e. protection of the public)."
Key points within ISO:
4.2.5 The certification body shall not offer or provide training, or
aid
others in the preparation of such services, unless it demonstrates
how
training is independent of the evaluation and certification of persons
to
ensure that confidentiality and impartiality are not compromised.
4.3.5 Certification shall not be restricted on the grounds of undue
financial or other limiting conditions, such as membership of an
association or group. Successful completion of an approved training
course
may be a requirement of a certification scheme, but
recognition/approval of
training courses by the certification body shall not compromise
impartiality, or reduce the demands of the evaluation and
certification
requirements.
6.5.1 The certification body shall define recertification requirements
according to the competence standard and other relevant documents, to
ensure that the certified person continues to comply with the current
certification requirements.
A.3 A job/practice analysis should be conducted periodically (at least
every
5 years) to produce or confirm the following:
a) a description of the target candidate population and a statement of
purpose or intended outcome for certification;
b) a list of the important and critical tasks performed by competent
people
working in the profession;
c) a list of the certification requirements, including the rationale
and the
evaluation mechanism(s) selected for each requirement;
d) a specification for the construction of the examination(s), where a
formal oral or written examination forms part of the evaluation
process,
including content outline, type(s) of questions being posed, cognitive
level(s) of the questions, number of questions for each subject, time
length
of the examination, method for establishing the acceptance level of
the
mark, and method(s) for marking;
e) comments on how the proposed scheme should achieve market
transparency.
ANSI is the accreditation body that would conduct a conformity
assessment of
a certification. The list of ISO 17024-accredited certifications is
very
short, including ISACA's Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
and
Certified Info Systems Manager (CISM) and ISC(2)'s CISSP, SSCP, and
ISSEP,
and the National Fire Protection Association's Certified Fire
Protection
Specialist (CFPS); among the list of those in the process you'd find
The
Project Management Institute's PMP and CAPM certifications, CompTIA's
certifications, and Cisco's certifications.
http://www.ansi.org/conformity_assessment/personnel_certification/accredited
_programs17024.aspx?menuid=4
http://www.ansi.org/conformity_assessment/personnel_certification/applicants
17024.aspx?menuid=4
An overview of the conformity assessment process can be found at
http://www.ansi.org/conformity_assessment/personnel_certification/overview.a
spx?menuid=4.
IAF
The International Accreditation Forum is an association of conformity
assessment bodies. IAF members accredit certification or registration
bodies that issue certificates attesting that an organisation's
management,
products or personnel comply with a specified standard (called
conformity
assessment).
The primary purpose of IAF is two-fold. Firstly, to ensure that its
accreditation body members only accredit bodies that are competent to
do
the work they undertake and are not subject to conflicts of interest.
The
second purpose of the IAF is to establish mutual recognition
arrangements,
known as Multilateral Recognition Arrangements (MLA), between its
accreditation body members which reduces risk to business and its
customers
by ensuring that an accredited certificate may be relied upon anywhere
in
the world.
They are primarily focused on quality management systems; they include
personnel competency standards (such as ISO 17024) within their scope
and
have published a guidance document on ISO 17024 at
http://www.compad.com.au/cms/iaf/workstation/upFiles/228543.IAF-GD24-2004_Gu
idance_on_ISO_17024_Pub.pdf.
Some of the guidance provided in that document:
G.4.2.19 The requirements of clause 4.2.5 and clause 5.1.2 of ISO/IEC
17024
mean that personnel should not be allowed to conduct an evaluation as
part
of the certification process if they have been involved in related
training
activities associated with the evaluation of the candidate in
question,
within the last two years.
G.4.2.26 Where the certification body provides certification and
education/training services, it shall ensure that no impression is
given
that the use of both services would bring any advantage to the
applicant,
so that the certification process remains, and is seen to remain,
impartial.
G.4.2.27 The certification body is allowed to explain its findings
and/or
clarify the requirements of the normative documents but shall not
give
prescriptive advice or training as part of an evaluation. This does
not
preclude normal exchange of information with the applicant or candidate
and
other interested parties.
G.4.2.29 Personnel, including those acting in a managerial capacity,
should
not be allowed to decide on any appeal or complaint if they have been
involved in the certification process for that applicant or candidate,
or
in training or education activities towards the applicant or candidate
within the last two years, or had any previous involvement in any
activities leading to the appeal or complaint in question.
G.6.5.1 Re-certification is a process of confirming conformity with
current
certification requirements. The scheme committee of the certification
body
should establish the rationale for the re-certification period.
NOCA/NCCA
The National Organization for Competency Assurance (NOCA) is a
standard-setting organization for credentialing organizations. It has
an
accreditation body, the National Commission for Certifying Agencies,
that
publishes "Standards for the Accreditation of Certification Programs",
which
can be found at http://www.noca.org/ncca/docs/STANDARDS904.pdf.
From the preamble of the Standards:
"The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) accredits
certification organizations complying with its Standards. The mission
of
NCCA is to help ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the public
through
the accreditation of certification programs/organizations that assess
professional competence. The NCCA uses a peer review process to
establish
accreditation standards, to evaluate compliance with these standards,
to
recognize organizations/programs which demonstrate compliance, and to
serve
as a resource on quality certification. The purpose of NCCA
accreditation
is to provide the public and other stakeholders the means by which to
identify certification programs that serve their competency assurance
needs.
NCCA Standards address the structure and governance of the certifying
agency, the characteristics of the certification program, the
information
required to be available to applicants, certificants, and the public,
and
the recertification initiatives of the certifying agency. NCCA is a
separately governed accreditation arm of the National Organization
for
Competency Assurance (NOCA), a membership association of certification
organizations providing technical and educational information
concerning
certification practices."
The list of NCCA-accredited organizations can be found at
http://www.noca.org/ncca/accredorg.htm; while many of them are
healthcare-related, the list also includes the Certified Financial
Planner,
Certified Mine Safety Professional, Certified Crane Operator, and the
North
American Registry of Midwives.
NCCA does not require recertification, but notes in the preamble,
"Recertification is valuable for all certification programs.
Demonstrating
continuing competence through a variety of recertification mechanisms
is in
the best interests of both the public and the discipline certified."
Here are some of the key points from the Standard:
- Standard 2
To avoid conflicts of interest between certification and education
functions, the certification agency must not also be responsible for
accreditation of educational or training programs or courses of study
leading to the certification.
- Standard 3
The certification board or governing committee of the certification
program
must include individuals from the certified population, as well as
voting
representation from at least one consumer or public member.
- Standard 7
The certification program must publish a description of the assessment
instruments used to make certification decisions as well as the
research
methods used to ensure that the assessment instruments are valid.
- Standard 9:
The certification program must maintain a list of and provide
verification
of certified individuals.
- Standard 10
The certification program must analyze, define, and publish
performance
domains and tasks related to the purpose of the credential, and the
knowledge and/or skill associated with the performance domains and
tasks,
and use them to develop specifications for the assessment instruments.
Standard 11
The certification program must employ assessment instruments that are
derived from the job/practice analysis and that are consistent with
generally accepted psychometric principles.
Standard 19
The certification program must require periodic recertification and
establish, publish, apply, and periodically review policies and
procedures
for recertification.
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