Proposed AIC Certification Program
23 May 2008

Brief History
Following the work of a certification task force formed in 1997, a November 2002 AIC member vote provided a mandate to proceed with developing a proposal for a certification program.  Early in 2003, the AIC board of directors created a Certification Development Committee (CDC), chaired by Terry Drayman-Weisser and charged with recommending a plan for a certification program for conservators, including a mechanism for recertification or renewal.  The CDC was structured to make use of the expertise of the Membership, Bylaws, and Education & Training Committees and to include working groups from each AIC Specialty Group.  For over four years, the committee and its working groups explored all aspects of certification, gathered member input, anddeveloped recommendations for a program for conservators.  See AIC News, March 2006, for a complete summary of the CDC and its activities at http://aic.stanford.edu/library/documents/06_mar_aicnews.pdf or .html.

The final steps in the planning process were to incorporate a management and financial structure into the program recommendations.  In 2005, Ruth Seyler was hired as membership director and brought with her years of experience in certification programs.  A staff team including Ruth Seyler, Eryl Wentworth, and Eric Pourchot began working with committee members, and two certification consultants were brought into the process in 2006.  The goals were to:

• Review the proposed program in light of more recent changes in AIC, its membership, and the field
• Test its recommendations through electronic surveys reaching up to 87% of the membership
• Develop a management structure
• Examine the economic feasibility of pursuing the proposed exam model

In April 2007, the AIC Board of Directors determined that the CDC had completed its charge and work should continue through a Certification Implementation Task Force (CITF), which was charged to:

• Complete the steps necessary to further define what would be a creditable and sustainable certification program for AIC
• Develop a timeline for certification implementation that includes the member vote
• Provide forums for continuing member education and information dissemination to involve members in the process and increase member commitment to certification
• Pursue funding for program development
• Manage the process through the initial testing phase

The CITF incorporates board, member, staff, and consultant expertise, in addition to advisors representing such stakeholders as training programs and end users of conservation services.  The task force members have continued to explore the issues of the best type of exam for practicing conservators and concerns regarding the cost for both the applicants and AIC itself.  An exam model was developed to address both issues. 

The overall proposed program incorporates most of the recommendations made by the Certification Development Committee; however, it proposes an exam comprised of short essays rather than a multiple-choice exam.  Multiple-choice exams were found to be expensive to create and maintain because of the number of questions that need to be developed each year and the necessity of contracting witheducation specialists and psychometricians required to constantly review and evaluate exam questions.  Furthermore, the spring 2008 survey results demonstrated that, while the majority of members thought either type of exam would be acceptable, they prefer the short essay model.  Please Note: When cost was introduced, the preference for the short essay model increased. See the October 2007 and March 2008 certification survey results below.  

AIC Certification Program
Please Note:  The following reflects the proposed Certification Program as of May 2008.  Some portions are still being developed and refined and will be continuously reviewed by appropriate experts.  In order to provide a credible certification process, the AIC Certification Program should have the ability to adapt and evolve as experience is gained and as the profession and technology changes.

A Certification Commission will be created to oversee the program.  It will be independent from the AIC Board and have its own budget structure.  The details of how the Commission will work will be developed during the grant period.  AIC staff will administer the program and manage the process of developing questions, grading exams, and tracking the program.  Volunteers trained by education specialists will develop questions and grade exams.  Both staff and volunteers will market the program to the end users of conservation services.  Funds will also be budgeted annually for administration,outreach, and marketing.

Based on the recommendations of the CITF and survey results, the AIC Board of Directors determined that a short essay format is the type of certification exam that will best meet the needs of our members by:

• Allowing for more originality and diversity of conservation approaches than a multiple-choice exam
• Tailoring more questions to particular specialty areas, but allowing candidates some flexibility in choosing which questions from a group of questions to answer
• Costing less for AIC and its members than a multiple-choice exam
• Containing the flexibility to adjust the requirements based on demand or new issues facing the field of conservation

Exam Structure
The exam will consist of:

• Eight short essay (100 to 250 words) questions on general conservation. Candidates will be able to select their 8 questions from approximately 11-20 choices.
• Two case studies that would require slightly longer answers (500-800 words). Candidates would be able to choose from a number of case studies in each of the specialties represented by AIC Specialty Groups.
• All candidates earn the same certification regardless of specialty, but they can, by question selection, tailor their exam to their strengths.
• Initially, essay questions would be based on topics identified by the AIC Specialty Group Working Groups from the CDC.
• The test run exam (see below) will be proctored.  Following the test run, proctored versus un-proctored exams will be evaluated.  Either way, it is proposed that three exam dates be offered annually.  If un-proctored, completed exams could be sent to AIC in paper-based or electronic formats.

Test Run

• Grant funds will be secured to develop the pilot project, part of which is the test run.
• The first 75 Professional Associates and Fellows, each with a minimum of ten years of experience, will be allowed to apply to take the first exam, which will be proctored.   
• This group will be trained to serve as reviewers.
• During the test run, candidates will also serve as reviewers of other candidate’s exams.   

Exam Requirements

• A cumulative total of 7 years full-time experience in a combination of conservation education, training, and work experience (including pre-program and apprenticeships).  At least 4 of these years spent working and/or studying in a specialty area (as defined within a material specialty).

• If an un-proctored exam is offered, two documentation reports would need to be submitted with the application.   
• Whether proctored or un-proctored, Associate members will be required to submit two sets of documentation reports with their application to take the exam as examples of conformance to the Guidelines for Practice.
• AIC membership is required to take the exam. However, a membership application and two sets of documentation reports can be submitted for approval along with the certification application.  Please Note:  It is acceptable to require membership for participation in a certification program as long as membership is open to anyone.  It is not considered restraint of trade.
• While final budgets are still to be confirmed, AIC is predicting an exam fee of no more than $350. AIC is committed to keep the exam cost as low as possible for our members.

Exam Grading

• A blind review process* will be implemented.  Grading will be done by trained reviewers in the candidate’s specialty. If the grades are too far apart, then the application will be sent to additional reviewers.
• The reviewers will be drawn from the ranks of current PAs and Fellows.
• The reviewers will be trained by education specialists and will use specially designed rubrics for each question, which will outline how to award and subtract points based on the answers given.
• Reviewers will be trained to view all established acceptable forms of conservation approaches as appropriate, regardless of whether it is what “they would do.”
• Reviewers will be trained to evaluate new or different conservation approaches on their own merits.
• Reviewers will be instructed on how to discount minor flaws in writing such as grammar and sentence structure errors, which are frequent in examinations of this type, so that they do not influence the grading.
• The AIC Certification Commission, an independent body, will review all failing exams and will have the right to change the score if it is appropriate.   
• AIC will investigate how to offer an oral version of the exam for those with writing disabilities.

* In a blind review process, only the AIC office would know the name of the candidates. Candidates will be instructed on how to depersonalize their applications. An application number will be assigned to each application, which will be the only identifying mark on the application when it is sent to the reviewers. If at any time a reviewer thinks they know the identity of a candidate, they will be required to inform the AIC office. Because all failing applications will be reviewed (also in a blind review process) by the Certification Commission, there is an additional check against bias in the review process.

Recertification

• Certified individuals will need to recertify every three years.  The initial recommendation from the Recertification Working Group was for five years; however, it is extremely difficult to successfully track both conservators and recertification credits over that amount of time.
• The cost to recertify will be about $75.
• To recertify, a yet-to-be determined number of Recertification Credits will need to be earned.  The Recertification Working Group has made suggestions about how this may be done and have suggested a wide range of educational activities that might quality for Recertification Credits, including taking a work-related workshop, giving a professional presentation, publishing an article in a conservation journal, or attending the AIC annual meeting, among others.
• As an alternative to Recertification Credits, a previously certified member may take the exam at the current fee structure.

Certification and AIC Membership Categories
The key difference between certification and the AIC membership categories is that certification should measure competence in conservation practice, while PA and Fellow designations are a measurement of professional conduct and service and contributions to the profession.  

In the needs assessment surveys, AIC members have expressed concern over what would happen to the Professional Associate and Fellow membership categories once a certification program has been developed. The PA and Fellow designations, which demonstrate service to the profession, are too important to lose sight of with the start of a certification program.

AIC intends to continue to recognize the importance of the PA and Fellow categories as well as the demonstration of competence in conservation practice that passing a certification exam shows.  In order to achieve this, AIC Membership Committee has proposed and the AIC Board of Directors supports the following revisions:

• The name of the Associate category would be changed to Member.
• The name of the Professional Associate category would be changed to Professional Member.
• AIC members who have passed the certification exam would become Certified Members.
• Professional Members who have passed the certification exam would become Certified Professional Members.
• Fellows who have passed the exam would become Certified Fellows.
• Certified Members, Professional Members, Fellows, Certified Professional Members, and Certified Fellows would all be listed in the Guide to Conservation Services. However, Certified Professional Members and Certified Fellows would be marketed as having achieved the greatest esteem among their peers.

By structuring the certification program to strengthen the peer-reviewed membership categories—rather than compete with or weaken them—AIC will be building on the work that has been done over many years to develop recognition for the PA and Fellow designations.      

Next Steps to Implement the Proposed Program
Over the summer of 2008, task force members will be contacting by phone each specialty group, through their officers, and working with our advisors to answer questions and refine the proposal.  Information will be added to the certification page of the AIC website and an article will be included in an upcoming newsletter.  A short survey to members will include a straw vote that will let AIC leadership know if we are ready for the member vote.

Currently, a September 2008 member vote is being scheduled to provide approval to AIC to implement the proposed program.  Following approval, a grant proposal will be written and submitted to several granting agencies to assist in completing such tasks as developing a job task analysis and hiring an education specialist to assist in developing test questions.  The proposal will also incorporate the test run and will cover the first two years of certification implementation.

Third Year and Onward
AIC will continue to refine the program to meet the needs of our members and its end users.  Marketing funds, budgeted annually, will be used to promote the program and educate end users to its value.

Links to other information related to Certification:

Position Statement on Certification and Membership Categories by the Membership Committee

Certification Needs Assessment Survey 2006 results

Certification Needs Assessment Survey 2007 results

Certification Needs Assessment Survey 2008 results

AIC Issues Session Minutes 2007 (pdf)

AIC News Certification Articles

Frequently Asked Questions