April 2010CFP

Roy A. Swift, Ph.D.Senior Director, Personnel Credentialing Accreditation

Programs

Personnel Certification

What is it and

How should it be conducted?

April 2010CFP

Personnel Certification:

PurposeBasic Definitions

Characteristics

April 2010CFP

Purpose of

Personnel Certification

To Protect the Public!

Slide 4April 2010CFP

Definitions – ISO 17000:2004 - Vocabulary

Conformity Assessment Demonstration that specified requirements related to a product,

process, system, person or body are fulfilled. Third party Conformity Assessment Activity

Conformity assessment activity that is performed by a person or body that is independent of the person or organization that provides the object, and of user interests in that object.

Certification – third party conformity assessment activity Third party attestation related to products, processes, systems or

persons

Personnel Certification is a “type” of certification

Slide 5April 2010CFP

Characteristics of a Personnel CertificationIt is NOT an Exam at the “end of training”

Created for high stakes examinations to validate knowledge and skills have been acquired National Security Affecting the health of an individual Safety Financial Protection

Based on a systematic scientific study of the job/practice Creation of an examination that meets psychometric standards for testing Formal study to determine pass/fail Time limited Due process procedures in place to remove the certification

Ethical behavior Incompetence

April 2010CFP

Accreditation

Slide 7April 2010CFP

ANSI Accreditation

Third party attestation related to a conformity assessment body conveying formal demonstration of its competence to carry out specific conformity assessment tasks

ANSI is a third party accreditor that meets ISO/IEC 17011 – General Requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity assessment bodies

In addition to CFP, operates personnel certification accreditation under ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024 – General Requirements for Bodies Operating Certification of Persons

Slide 8April 2010CFP

ANSI Certification Accreditation Programunder ANSI/ISO/IEC 17024

International Standard Nationally Adopted: American National Standard Requirements within the 17024 Standard Related to Training

shall assure that the activities of (certification) bodies related to it do not compromise the confidentiality and impartiality of its certification

…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

Slide 9April 2010CFP

Principles for an Alternative Solution

Public accountability of proctors by publishing who no longer is able to proctor

Much more auditing by the provider of the test administration sites Annual witnessing of two test sites by ANSI in addition to the

regular on-site visits More CFP Standards as to what constitutes an acceptable test site

and the acceptable environmental conditions Establishing a registry of “proctors” who have passed an

acceptable CFP training program provided by the certification agencies

Slide 10April 2010CFP

Headquarters Operations

1819 L Street, NW 25 West 43rd Street

Sixth Floor Fourth FloorWashington, DC 20036 New York, NY 10036

Tel: 202.331.3617 Tel: 212.642.4900 Fax: 202.293.9287 Fax: 212.398.0023

rswift@ansi.org | webstore.ansi.org | www.nssn.org

American National Standards Institute

Point of Contact: Roy A. Swift, Ph.D