We enjoyed meeting the many NOCA (now ICE) conference attendees who stopped by our booth in the exhibit hall at last week's meeting in Phoenix to say hello. We work in a virtual environment, so we always look forward to the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our current and potential clients.

This year was no exception! We appreciate all of your support.

ATP Releases Exam Security Survey

The Association of Test Publishers (ATP) Security Committee is conducting an industry-wide survey on exam security. This survey in intended for all testing programs and will evaluate the scope and depth to which test security issues affect test owners/sponsors. It will also identify the mitigating measures that testing organizations use to prevent and detect such challenges.

The survey will be available from November 10th through November 30th. To access and respond to the Exam Security Survey, please visit:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=Cu7I3J7MkSnOBRKlXEeMaw_3d_3d

This survey is intended for program managers and security managers of organizations that own and sponsor different assessments. Conversely, this survey is not intended for test development, test delivery or security vendors/ consultants. Instead, please encourage your clients to participate.

We request that one individual from your organization who is knowledgeable about test security for your program respond to the survey. Please forward to the appropriate individual within your organization.

Please take 20-25 minutes to participate in this survey. It is our hope that the results of this survey will help inform the industry about the current status of exam security and provide a basis for future collaboration to address the issues on security.

Individual and organizational responses will be kept strictly confidential. Only aggregated results of the survey will be shared with ATP's membership, Security Committee members, NOCA as well as other testing associations and organizations participating in the survey.

For more information on the ATP Security Committee, please contact Lauren Scheib at: lauren@testpublishers.org.

Industry Survey finds Certifying Agencies Missing Marketing Opportunities

In May 2009, Seacrest Company distributed an industry survey that was completed by 124 representatives from certifying agencies. The goals of the survey were to gather information, set benchmarks and identify strategic questions to assist in planning. The survey found that while more than 70% of certifying agencies have developed a marketing plan, only nearly 60% use it. The survey also found that 37% of certifying agencies do not have staff members who are dedicated to marketing, and that 42% said their marketing budget has decreased because of the economy.

While it seems as though social networking tools are everywhere we look these days, 83% of agencies said they do not currently have a blog, while 60% said they don’t use any social networking tools at all. The survey found that the top goals of certifying agencies are to increase the number of certificates and raise awareness of the certification, however they are facing the challenge of not having enough money and staff when it comes to meeting these goals. Lastly, the survey found that the tactics that get the best results are; word of mouth, website and email, but that 80% of agencies surveyed said their organization is missing marketing opportunities. The results of this survey are important to the industry because they identify common challenges and share successful strategies.

Visit the SeaCrest Booth at NOCA

Seacrest is exhibiting at the 2009 NOCA conference, “Shine On: Exploring the Spectrum of Credentialing,” November 18-21 at the Arizona Grand Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. If you are attending the conference, make sure to stop by the SeaCrest table to learn more about who we are and how we can help strengthen you organization’s certification program and achieve accreditation! To register for NOCA 2009, click here.