Re: Seeking feedback on IAAP certification roadmap

Charles,

I don't mean to sound as if I'm minimizing the role that universities can
play. I was trying to draw a distinction for the purposes of clarity, and
perhaps that came across as an overstatement.

I've worked in higher education for a very long time, and only recently
joined a private company for the first time in my life, so I'm very aware
of what higher education has to offer, and indeed it has much to offer.


Paul Bohman, PhD
Director of Training
Deque Systems, Inc
www.deque.com
703-225-0380, ext.121


On Thu, Apr 10, 2014 at 3:33 AM, Charles McCathie Nevile <
chaals@yandex-team.ru> wrote:

> On Thu, 10 Apr 2014 01:21:23 +0200, Paul Bohman <paul.bohman@deque.com>
> wrote:
>
>  Laura,
>>
>> Partnerships with universities will definitely be a good thing, but I do
>> need to emphasize that the IAAP is not the same category of entity as
>> universities, so it's not even appropriate to talk about accrediting the
>> IAAP in the same way that you would accredit a university.
>>
>
> Yes and no.
>
>
>  Professional associations -- such as the IAAP, or the American Medical
>> Association, or the American Bar Association, or the International
>> Association of Culinary Professionals, etc -- serve working professionals
>> in their respective fields. Professional associations don't grant
>> degrees, and are not academic institutions.
>>
>
> While that is all true, many professional organisations recognise
> particular educational accreditation from the "university" sector as
> meeting the requirements for some certification of their own.
>
> I believe that if IAAP certification can follow that model it will help
> bootstrap both their base of certified experts and recognition of the
> certification. And that the process of doing so will help improve the
> certification and assessment process itself.
>
> E.g. "IAAP certification 'advanced certificate in advertising
> accessibility' will be automatically ratified for people who have achieved
> a grade of H2B or better in the course 'Accessibility, Information
> Management and Shopping Lists' at the University of Tallygooroopna, or who
> have …"
>
>
>  Universities and professional organizations are both
>> important for what they do, but what they do is different.
>>
>> So, while it is true that the IAAP can benefit from partnerships with
>> universities, it is not true that the benefit comes by virtue of the
>> university's accreditation. The benefits come in other forms, such as the
>> ability to work together to infuse accessibility into the college
>> curriculum, or the ability to benefit from the expertise of university
>> professors, and so on.
>>
>
> While those are *also* benefits of industry partnering with academia, I
> think you are unfairly minimising the benefits that academia can offer
> industry.
>
> cheers
>
> chaals
>
>
>  And yes, we are planning to create a CEU program in accordance with IACET
>> guidelines, as explained previously.
>>
>>
>> Paul Bohman, PhD
>> Director of Training
>> Deque Systems, Inc
>> www.deque.com
>> 703-225-0380, ext.121
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Apr 9, 2014 at 5:05 PM, Laura Carlson <lcarlson@d.umn.edu> wrote:
>>
>>  Hi Paul,
>>>
>>> Food for thought...
>>>
>>> As Richard already pointed out if IAAP partnered with higher education
>>> institutions  it would make IAAP certification much stronger.
>>> Partnerships with universities that have good accessibility
>>> departments would command a high level of respect as they do have
>>> accreditation, something that IAAP will lack.
>>>
>>> If that is not possible, I would suggest looking into IACET
>>> accreditation.
>>>
>>> http://www.iacet.org/accreditation/benefits-of-authorized-provider-
>>> accreditation
>>>
>>> Best Regards,
>>> Laura
>>>
>>> On 4/9/14, Paul Bohman <paul.bohman@deque.com> wrote:
>>> > Good questions.
>>> >
>>> > *Accreditation vs "authorized provider" of CEUs: *
>>> >
>>> > Accreditation is a term usually reserved for educational bodies like
>>> > colleges and universities. The IAAP would not fall under the
>>> jurisdiction
>>> > of higher education accrediting bodies, and in fact would not be
>>> eligible
>>> > for accreditation from most accrediting bodies, because the IAAP is an
>>> > industry association, not a college or university.
>>> >
>>> > But the classes can still meet standards for continuing education
>>> units,
>>> as
>>> > defined by the International Association for Continuing Education and
>>> > Training (IACET) (http://www.iacet.org/). In fact, the certification
>>> > document references the IACET in the section near the bottom that
>>> addresses
>>> > CEUs. The IAAP won't be "accredited" by the IACET, but it could be
>>> > designated as an "authorized provider" of CEUs, according to IACET.
>>> >
>>> > *Certificate vs. Certification:*
>>> >
>>> > In terms of the program in Australia, they offer a certificate, meaning
>>> an
>>> > educational credential granted by a university after completing a
>>> > curriculum. This is different from industry certification, which is
>>> what
>>> > the IAAP will offer. IAAP certification is essentially an assessment
>>> that
>>> > people will take to evaluate their skills. If a person receives an
>>> > acceptable score on the IAAP assessment, that person will be
>>> > IAAP-certified. Unlike a university program, there are no required
>>> courses
>>> > for IAAP certification, and in fact no set curriculum. If you learn
>>> about
>>> > accessibility at home or on the job, or in a university, or through the
>>> > IAAP, you can take the assessment and be certified, as long as you pass
>>> the
>>> > test. The University of South Australia can continue to offer its
>>> program
>>> > with no interference and essentially no impact from IAAP. In fact,
>>> students
>>> > can use the program in the University of South Australia to prepare for
>>> > IAAP certification. If successful, students will have a certificate of
>>> > completion of the university course AND certification from IAAP.
>>> >
>>> > A university certificate and an industry certification represent two
>>> > different kinds of credentials.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > Paul Bohman, PhD
>>> > Director of Training
>>> > Deque Systems, Inc
>>> > www.deque.com
>>> > 703-225-0380, ext.121
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > On Wed, Apr 9, 2014 at 2:29 PM, Laura Carlson <lcarlson@d.umn.edu>
>>> wrote:
>>> >
>>> >> Hi Paul,
>>> >>
>>> >> Just a couple of questions.
>>> >>
>>> >> Will the IAAP's educational program seek recognized accreditation from
>>> >> an authority for example CHEA [1]? Something like that would
>>> >> strengthen any certification.
>>> >>
>>> >> How does IAAP certification fit in with certification programs already
>>> >> in place such as the one at the University of South Australia [2]?
>>> >>
>>> >> Thanks.
>>> >>
>>> >> Best Regards,
>>> >> Laura
>>> >> [1] http://www.chea.org/
>>> >> [2]
>>> >>
>>> http://www.unisa.edu.au/Education-Arts-and-Social-
>>> Sciences/Communication-International-Studies-and-Languages/pcwa/
>>> >>
>>> >> --
>>> >> Laura L. Carlson
>>> >> Information Technology Systems and Services
>>> >> University of Minnesota Duluth
>>> >> Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009
>>> >> http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/
>>> >>
>>> >>
>>> >
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Laura L. Carlson
>>> Information Technology Systems and Services
>>> University of Minnesota Duluth
>>> Duluth, MN U.S.A. 55812-3009
>>> http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/training/online/webdesign/
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
> --
> Charles McCathie Nevile - Consultant (web standards) CTO Office, Yandex
>       chaals@yandex-team.ru         Find more at http://yandex.com
>