Professional Certification vs. Certificate Program
Issues to consider when developing a certificate program
Certificate programs are a growing segment of the continuing
education marketplace. These programs generally recognize a
relatively narrow scope of specialized knowledge used in
performing duties or tasks required by a certain profession or
occupation. Before developing and marketing a training program
that offers a certificate or a certification in a particular
technique or procedure, examine the following:
- Is there an educational need for the program?
- How will the program content be validated by experts?
- What will be used as the learning assessment to award the
certificate?
- What organizations recognize the certificate?
- How will the value and acceptance of the certificate
program be accurately communicated?
What is the difference between professional
certification and a certificate program?
Professional certification
is the voluntary process by which a
non-governmental entity grants a time-limited recognition and
use of a credential to an individual after verifying that he or
she has met predetermined and standardized criteria.*
ASHA's Certificate of Clinical Competence is a professional
certification.
A
certificate program
is a training program on a specialized topic for which
participants receive certification after completing the course
and passing an assessment instrument.
Note
: This is not to be confused with the commonly
used "certificate of attendance" given at the
completion of many continuing education courses to validate
attendance.
If you offer a certificate program and register
it for ASHA CEUs, all promotional materials should clearly
communicate that, although ASHA CEUs may be offered,
ASHA
does not
endorse
any
course content, specific products, certificate
programs or clinical procedures.
*Reprinted by permission of the National Organization for
Competency Assurance