Certification Frequently Asked Questions

Why do we need certification? (Or Why is certification important for our profession?)

The following are just some of the reasons:

• It is important that our profession defines the qualifications and standards of its practitioners. Some outside groups recognize the need to define the professional conservator for their own purposes and are doing so without input from AIC.  Identifying essential competencies for our profession is part of the process for developing a certification program.

• Certification raises the standards in our profession.  Re-certification, a central part of the proposed certification program, creates an incentive for and recognition of continuing education and professional development. 

• Certification can provide conservators with a recognized credential.
• Members of the public are used to seeing licenses and certifications for everyone providing services, from plumbers and hairdressers to doctors, and are surprised to find that conservators have no such credentials.  This can make what the conservator does seem less important or of less value.
• Certification will give conservators standing when working on projects with other professionals with recognized credentials.  Without credentials the conservator is often viewed as a junior player.

• Certification can help eliminate perceived barriers in our profession between program and non-programmed trained conservators since the certification process is not based on the method of training.

Will certification be a requirement for membership in AIC?

No, AIC will continue to welcome all conservators and related professionals as members.

When & how will a fully-articulated proposal for the model (certification) be vetted by & approved by the AIC membership?

Information on the model and development process will be displayed on the certification page of the AIC website as it becomes available. In addition, a final survey is to be emailed mid-July to engage the membership in the process. The plan is for the proposed model to be voted on by the membership in late 2008.

Who will be eligible to vote and how will the vote be handled?

The AIC Board seeks a vote from all Fellows, Professional Associates, and Associates in order to hear from those who will be most affected by certification. So that the AIC Board can better understand and evaluate the results, voters will be asked to identify their current membership category on the ballot.

The vote will be conducted via Survey Monkey, a third party site. Postcard will be mailed to all AIC members reminding them of the vote and with instructions on how to obtain a paper ballot if they do not have internet access. Any paper ballots received will be added to the Survey Monkey totals.

Will the exam be specific to different specialties?

All candidates earn the same certification regardless of specialty, but they can, by question selection, tailor their exam to their strengths.

What will the re-certification process be like?

The details are still being worked out, but certified individuals will need to renew their certification every 3–5 years. This can be done in two ways:

• Re-take and pass the exam
• Earn the number of continuing education credits needed to recertify

The number of continuing education credits will be based on the amount of time needed to recertify. For example, if the recertification period is 3 years, you will not need to earn as many credits as you would if it were 5 years. The number of credits needed will also be based on what the average, well informed conservator would do to keep current with or without certification. In addition, certified conservators will be able to request an extension due to extenuating circumstances.

Will only AIC programs and workshops count towards recertification?

Activities qualifying for recertification credit are still being evaluated, but will not be limited to conferences, courses and workshops or to those sponsored by AIC.  All relevant programs will count toward recertification. This will include some independent types of learning that can be done on the conservator’s schedule.    

Will Professional Associates and Fellows need to take the exam?

Everyone wishing to become certified will need to take the exam.  There will be no “grandfathering” of any AIC members.   

Does the exam test for “hand skills”?

Not directly. To do so would require lab/studio visits, making the exam very expensive to administer. However, since some of the exam’s essay questions will be case studies, a candidate’s approach to treatments will be evaluated. 

Will a certification program help AIC and the profession?

Studies have shown that certification programs raise the awareness and status of the profession in the eyes of related fields and, to some extent, the general public. Parts of the exam development process, like the Job Task Analysis, also provide important information about the profession.

Who will run the certification program?

For at least the first five years, AIC will administer the program by setting up a Certification Commission, independent of the AIC Board, that will be responsible for administering the exam.

How can one general exam be fair to all conservators?

The Specialty Groups have been involved in determining what all conservators should know from each discipline. There will also be study guides, bibliographies and other information on the exam provided to all applicants. No one will need to go into the exam blind. Also, since candidates will have some choice in which questions to answer they can tailor the exam to their strengths.

When and how often will the exam be offered?

The test run exam 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.

Given that AIC has limited marketing funds, should AIC wait to start marketing the exam to end users until there are many certified conservators?

Generally, it is more effective to start the marketing during the development phase, because by involving the end users in the development process you are getting buy-in for the program.

Why not just use the certification development funds to advertise AIC more and to conduct outreach programs? 

Certification adds value to the profession. Also, there is the concern that certification could be imposed by others in the absence of any internal guidelines.

What involvement have the conservation graduate programs had in the exam development?

A representative from a program was a member of the first certification task force.  The programs have been providing bibliographies for exam preparation, and a representative of the programs is an advisor to the current Certification Implementation Task Force.

Has the passing mark for the exam been set?

No, that cannot be set until an exam is developed.

Will a certification program increase AIC’s liability?

For more information on certification and liability please click on the link below to be taken to the AIC News article featuring Sam Harris.
http://aic.stanford.edu/certification/aicnewscert.html#july2002

In order to make the exam more accessible, could the regional conservation membership organizations administer the exam? 

That is a possibility.

How accurate are the numbers in the certification budget both on the expense and income sides of the numbers? 

The numbers are estimates based on what is normal for organizations of AIC’s size that have certification programs. Running a certification program for a small association can be challenging because many of the exam development costs are the same whether the exam is given to 100 or 1,000 people.  Income estimates are based in part on results of surveys of the AIC membership.

Where does the work of the implementation team come into this process? 

The charge of the Certification Implementation Task Force is as follows:

The members of the Certification Implementation Task Force agree 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

If certification is adopted, how will AIC make those who contract our services aware of why they should choose a certified conservator over an uncertified practitioner?

AIC will conduct a marketing campaign aimed at users of conservation services and related organizations to highlight the benefits of using a certified conservator. In addition, AIC is redesigning its website to have a more engaging and effective public face. The redesigned website will be an important marketing tool for certification.

Will there be a separate certification procedure for “conservation scientists”?

Currently, AIC is only developing one certification program for conservators. After that program has been in place for a while, AIC will be able to evaluate the possibility of branching out into developing other programs. However, those who are serving as conservation administrators, educators, and scientists, but who were trained as conservators, will be welcome to sit for the exam. 

Who would write the exams?

Subject matter experts, conservators recommended by the Specialty Groups, will undergo training by educational consultants in exam question writing. In addition educational consultants will review the questions and assist conservator/writers to create grading rubrics for each question.

Who would be grading these certification tests?  Conservators?  Consultants?

• 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.

We have heard a lot about the benefits of certification . . . what are the downsides of this process? 

Certification is a powerful tool to boost the image of a profession and can be an important way to distinguish between qualified and untested professionals within a field. However, any profession considering certification needs to be unified and have an agreed upon set of guidelines that all professional practitioners have agreed to follow. In addition the association MUST be sure that either the proposed certification program will break even or the association has the resources to run the program at a financial loss. Certification is not a quick fix, but rather a long-term process of a profession further defining itself. 

Conservators who help write exams – are they then expected to sit their own exam?

• 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, who volunteer, will be allowed to apply to take the test run 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.  
• Those who help to write the exam will also need to sit for the exam. However, they will not be able to use questions they had a part in writing

How much will this cost the individual conservator? -- Not just the exams but the continuing education workshops, travel to testing sites, workshops etc.

These costs are not set yet and will vary by individual. For example it will cost less if you decide to study on your own to prepare for the exam vs. taking a workshop.  AIC is attempting to keep the cost reasonable.

What will happen if I fail the exam?

First of all, AIC will not publish the list of those taking the exam, only those who pass. Naturally, no list of those who fail will ever be released. Anyone who fails the exam will have the opportunity to retake the exam in the future and will be provided with a list of what they can do to improve. Also, candidates may appeal their grade to the Certification Commission. .

Who can sit for the exam?

Conservators with a cumulative total of 7 years full-time experience in a combination of conservation education, training, and work experience (including pre-program and apprenticeships) can sit for the exam.  At least 4 of these years need to have been spent working and/or studying in a specialty area (as defined within a material specialty). Also, related professionals, conservation administrators, educators, and assessors with the conservation experience listed above can sit for the exam.

Also, you will need to be a member of AIC to sit for the exam and to recertify. However, since AIC membership is open to everyone there is no conflict with restraint of trade.

What will happen to my PA status when AIC starts a certification program?

Your PA or Fellow status will remain unchanged. If you are a current PA or Fellow and are listed on the AIC Guide to Conservation Services, you will continue to be eligible to be listed even if you choose not to become certified.  Members who are not a PA or Fellow who become certified will also be listed.

• A member who becomes certified will be known as a Certified Member.
• A PA who becomes certified will be known as a Certified Professional Member
• A Fellow who becomes certified will be known as a Certified Fellow.
• AIC will stress in marketing campaigns and on the website that Certified PAs and Certified Fellows have achieved the highest designations.