“As an organization that strives for the gold standard in professional development, Business U has taken notice of how vendors market their professional development training programs, which has prompted us to provide our eNews subscribers with information to fact check training vendors,” said Business U CEO & Co-founder, Dr. Christine Bosworth.
Public sector workforce and education organizations require a high level of standards when investing in training for their job seekers and students, yet sometimes these standards are not always adhered to when these same organizations seek out training providers for their own staff.
Here’s a quick guide to help you differentiate key professional development industry terms, followed by 5 powerful interview questions to ask any vendor before hiring them to train your staff and invest in their programs:
Professional Certification (not accredited by a third-party) is the culmination of a training program that states the participate who completed the program now has the knowledge and skills to perform a specific job and/or a combination of job duties.
Certificate Program is a training program about a topic for which participants receive a certificate after completing the course and passing an assessment instrument. This is not to be confused with the commonly used "certificate of attendance" or “certificate” given at the completion of many continuing education courses to validate attendance.
Accreditation is third-party validation awarded to an organization that has achieved a particular status by meeting standards set by external regulators. The participant receiving a certification that is accredited has demonstrated that she or he have achieved the learning outcomes by mastering the knowledge and skills outlined in the program. The certification has been vetted by an impartial third-party to provide assurance that the awarding of a “certification” is only granted to the training organization by passing a rigorous peer review process. It is also proof that the learning outcomes have been developed using a proven instructional design methodology and bench-marked against industry best practices.
Interview Questions
Here are 5 questions to vet training vendors you are considering for your professional development program:
- If the vendor offers a certificate program, ask how the program is certified and by whom? Use the “Accreditation” definition above to help you phrase your question as well as decide if the program is worth your investment not only in money spent, but also in staff time for attending.
- Ask what standards were used to certify the program and the process for certification?
- To verify the quality of the certifying body, ask if the certificate is attached to continuing education units? Not all CEUs are the same; this article explains why.
- Ask how participant skills are tested and validated to receive a certificate or certification.
- Have there been any program participants who have not passed, but eventually received the certificate or certification? If so, what have been those instances and what type of additional services were provided by the vendor to the participant to test that the learning outcomes were achieved?
These questions provide you with a head-start to dig a little deeper into the actual credentials of the training organization and/or trainer and help you become better informed when investing in professional development.
Additionally, we’ve noticed that the terms "accreditation" and "certification" are sometimes used interchangeably when marketing professional development programs; however, they are not synonymous and there is a major difference between the two.
Accreditation: The Gold Standard
As mentioned above, accreditation is third-party validation. It is a time intensive process that requires ongoing dedication of the organization to maintain its accreditation status. There is an application process, documentation of evidence in meeting standards and continuous process improvement that must be adhered to. Organizations seeking accreditation require a site visit to validate that all standards are being met.
Additionally, an accreditation may apply to a single course or a series of courses, while institutional accreditation means that every product, program and service developed and deployed by the organization adheres to the same level of standards set forth by the regulators—Business U has achieved this accreditation status.
Business U earned its institutionally accredited status in 2015 through the International Association for Continuing Education and Training, the pioneers of the continuing education unit (CEU). IACET uses the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is a universal model for learning process excellence across ten nationally recognized categories.
In 2017, Business U earned the IACET Innovation of the Year Award for Learner Engagement keeping company with previous winners such as NASA, Westinghouse and SAE International.
For more information, this IACET article explains to “Beware of Copycat Accreditations That Lack Integrity.”
Certified Business Engagement Professional™
When you earn Business U’s Certified Business Engagement Professional™ CBEP designation, you can feel confident that it means something to your organization and to your business customers and partners, and feel equally proud that you earned it. Our CBEP graduates walk away with knowledge and skills that can immediately be applied on the job to maximize opportunities for job seekers. Graduates expand their reach and engagement of employers by as high as five times their baseline in the first year of executing Business U’s recommended strategies to master the learning outcomes.
Click here to learn how to get accepted into our next Certified Business Engagement Professional cohort of 15 participants. Business U will only offer three cohorts in 2020, with the first one starting February 4th. And make sure to tune in next week when we announce our 2019 scholarship opportunity to attend the program!
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