Eligibility Requirements Comparison

We recently reviewed the eligibility requirements of NCCA accredited certification programs. As you might expect, we found a wide range of criteria. Some programs had no requirements while others required extensive education (doctoral degrees in some cases) and experience. The common element was that the candidate had to meet all of the criteria before taking the exam for most programs.

We thought it would be helpful to share some of the general information we found.

• 36 of the programs had formalized alternate pathways to eligibility (all alternate pathways are reflected in the numbers below).
• 10 programs had minimal or no requirements.
• 47 programs required no formal education (but had some experience, training, or other requirements).
• 48 programs required a Bachelors or Associates degree (often in addition to other training and/or experience).
• 24 programs required a Masters or Doctorate degree (often in addition to other training and/or experience).
• 57 programs required another credential or licensure (often in addition to some of the requirements above).
• 4 programs required a sponsor or reference letters in addition to other requirements.

Other more specific findings include:

• 15 programs required some job related experience.
• 16 programs required a combination of training and experience.
• 15 programs required completion of a training program.
• 1 program required a portfolio and experience.
• 13 programs required a Bachelors degree or Associates degree.
• 6 programs required a Bachelors or Associates degree and additional training.
• 11 programs required a Bachelors or Associates degree and experience.
• 6 programs required a Bachelors or Associates degree and experience and additional training.
• 11 programs required a Bachelors or Associates degree and experience and another credential or license.
• 1 program required a Bachelors or Associates degree and additional training and another credential or license.
• 2 programs required a Masters or Doctorate degree.
• 6 programs required a Masters or Doctorate degree and another credential or license.
• 4 programs required a Masters or Doctorate degree and experience.
• 12 programs required a Masters or Doctorate degree and experience or training and another credential or license.
• 8 programs required another credential or license.
• 16 programs required another credential or license and experience.
• 7 programs required another credential or license and training.
• 2 programs required another credential or license and experience and training.

Our review included programs that were accredited after the NCCA implemented its revised standards in 2003 and those that publish their eligibility requirements on their Web sites. Included in the review were 147 certification programs from 70 sponsoring organizations. How do you compare?