Our Certification Program Philosophy

Professional Standards Institute (PSI) takes a "real world" approach to professional certifications. We believe that a professional certification is a credential that certifies the level of knowledge and capability of an individual with a specific skill or role. We measure what you know from a combination of real world experience and education, not book knowledge.

The drawback of most certification programs is that they provide you with a course and/or books, teach you the certification test, and then test you. The resulting certification means only that you have passed an end-of-course exam, not that you have any real-world expertise. In other words, you can get certified in an area, having never actually worked in that area.

We believe that a certification should reflect the level of knowledge and capability an individual has attained; therefore, we offer three levels of certification:

• The Associate level reflects that an individual has an entry-level knowledge and capability in a specific area.
• The Senior level reflects an advanced level of knowledge and capability in a specific area.
• The Master level reflects an expert level of knowledge and capability in a specific area.

Our certification exams, based on Blooms Taxonomy, are constructed to measure the knowledge and capability commensurate with these certification levels.

We believe that this "real world" approach to professional certifications sets us apart from other certification organizations. Our certifications are role or skill based, and vendor-neutral. We believe that quality trumps quantity when it comes to our certifications. We back our certification programs with more than fourteen years invested in research and development, combined with continuous growth, enhancements, and improvements.

We believe that the value of a credential is measured by how well it is accepted and sought for by the business world. Everything we do at PSI is geared toward ensuring that our professional certifications deliver the value that the industry expects and demands, giving our certification holders an advantage in the workforce.