How do i create a certification program

Existing stakeholders will naturally gravitate towards your course if you can show that it will help them solve their problem while simultaneously increasing their clout within his or her industry. One of the ultimate goals of any business is to build a community of loyal followers. Loyal fans believe in your business, will continue to invest in your business, and will tell others about your business.

Most organizations rely on blogging, social media, and email marketing to engage their audience. Creating a certification program is another opportunity for ongoing engagement. Monetizing your certification course if you choose to do so will open up another stream of revenue for your business. Keep in mind, the amount you charge should be proportional to the value your students get out of the certification.

The higher the stakes, the more you can charge. Use your certification course to become a respected voice and thought leader in your industry. Building authority through developing and teaching a course will help you grow other parts of your organization. Not all certification courses need to be done with the intention of developing another stream of revenue. Formally educating your employees on company standards and procedures will improve your workforce and their output.

This means that your employees are more confident at work and more adept at handling your customers. Of note is the large mean differences between ratings provided for each purpose, indicating that SMEs tend to place greater emphasis on the work tasks and competencies taught in certification programs than those taught in more general training programs.

SMEs tend to provide more consistent work information when it will be used for the development of certification programs. Agreement levels were higher and standard deviations were comparable for certification programs.

This may reflect a tendency to identify professionals with similar perspectives when developing certification programs, whereas, programs developed for other more general training purposes may rely on more diverse perspectives. The approach to developing certification programs should and does differ from that of more general training programs.

At a minimum, forethought must be used in identifying all of the KSAs that are critical to a profession and determining methods for assessing their presence in individuals seeking to become certified in that profession. Certification needs analysis subject matter expert. Amy DuVernet, Ph. The strategic planning session was great and gave us concrete strategic areas to work on going forward.

During the first year…we were able to establish a solid relationship that truly has been fruitful…We look forward to continuing our important work in partnership with the SBI team.

Working with SBI has provided increased capacity for the Board to focus on setting direction because now our leadership has the time to strategize on the future of a fast-changing profession. We have loved our collaboration with SBI with their insights and strengths in marketing, financial planning and event management that have complemented our Academy committee structure and allowed us to grow in our vision and celebrate our accomplishments as we enter our 75th year and plan for growth in the next quarter-century.

SBI took the management reins for our organization well into our annual conference planning cycle when our predecessor provider terminated relations unexpectedly. The SBI team hit the ground running and demonstrated superior flexibility and support to make the conference a success… and they have only built upon that success since. So, before you jump into the certification pool feet-first without a life jacket, follow these eight steps: 1.

Know Your Why Your members are already professionals in their field, right? Look For Successful Models Identify certification programs that you and your membership admire and study why they are so successful or widely adopted. Survey Members Is there only a small cohort pushing for certification? Get Buy-In This begins with the member survey, but it should also incorporate affiliated organizations and industry employers.

Do the Math Understand the obvious costs and the hidden costs of developing a certification program. Develop A Business Plan New initiatives must come from new revenue. Develop a Timeline Building a certification program with no launch date in mind or on a fast-track is ill-advised. Bottom line: You, your board and your staff need to have the wherewithal, the financial resources, the commitment of volunteers, and the support of members to drive a new certification program from concept to launch.

Sign up to receive updates from SBI. Select the teaching system. Possible methods are online instruction, audio or video courses, correspondence courses, classroom instruction, group study, webinars, workshops or a hybrid of more than one.

Set standards. Determine whether participants should meet prerequisites to be accepted into the program. Establish what those entry requirements will be.

On course completion, use an assessment to prove proficiency before moving on.