"True" Competency-Based Certifications
Professional Standards Institute (PSI) takes a "real world" approach to professional certifications. A professional certification is a credential that certifies the skills and abilities (expertise) of an individual within a specific job role or skill. Our certifications measure what you can actually do - as a result of your real world hands-on experience and education, not book memorization.
There are two basic methods used to assess the knowledge and skills of an individual:
(1) Written Test (usually multiple choice)
(2) Competency-Based Assessment (our method)
The drawback of most certification programs is that a written multiple-choice test is all that is required for you to get certified. A written test does not measure your competency or skills. It measures memorization and book knowledge. It simply means that you can pass a written test. And to add to the audacity of this model, many certification organizations will provide sample practice tests, sell you books and courses, teach you the certification test, and then test you. The resulting certification simply means that you have passed an end-of-course exam, and not that you have any real-world expertise. With the written test assessment model, you can read and study a book, take and pass the certification test, and become certified in an area and may have never actually worked in that area. This brings to question the value of those certification programs.
Many certification organizations claim to offer competency-based certifications, but they are not "true" competency-based certifications. You are still required to pass a written test to earn your certification. Again, written tests do not measure your skills or abilities. Some of these organizations claim that they use "psychometric testing". Psychometrics is simply the theory of "psychological" measurement. Psychometric tests are not competency-based, but simply measure your mental or cognitive capabilities, not actual skills or competencies. They measure book knowledge and memorization. Would you want your doctor or surgeon to only have taken written tests in their education?
Our competency-based certifications prove that you can actually do the job and not just pass a written multiple-choice test. We take the "whole person" approach to certification. You are assessed on what you have accomplished in your career to-date and what you can do today.
Our competency-based "hands on" assessments are designed to measure your skills and capabilities. This, along with a detailed evaluation your experience and education during the eligibility phase provides a good picture of what you can actually do.
Home-Based Assessment
You take the Competency-Based Assessment in the comfort of your home. You do not need to go to a test center.
Peer Evaluation
All evaluations are accomplished by our staff. There is no automated processing accomplished. Our peer evaluators use the same tools and methods to assess your work that college and university professors use . This includes peer evaluation of your Competency-Based Assessment and other submitted work.
A Peer Evaluation is not the same as a Peer Review for articles. Our Peer Evaluators are Subject Matter Experts in your field and use rubrics to assess your submissions. In addition, evaluators use the same tools and methods used by university faculty to check for plagiarism. All evaluation decisions are reviewed by a senior staff member.
Constructive Feedback
Certification applicants do not receive a computer-scored pass or fail. You are provided constructive feedback on your Competency-Based Assessment.
Difficulty
The difficulty level of the Competency-Based Assessment depends on the level of the certification (professional, senior, master). If you meet the eligibility requirements in phase 1, you should have no problem completing and passing the Competency-Based Assessment.
We ONLY certify experts! Unlike many other certification organizations, we do not offer an "associate" or "apprentice" level certification. These levels are entry-level certifications. The purpose of a certification is to certify "expertise" in a field. We believe that certification organizations that offer entry-level certifications do so only for the purpose of bringing in additional revenue and "tying" entry-level certification holders to their organization before they even have industry skills and experience.
We believe that if you have several years of experience and an advanced education, your certification should reflect your skill level. PSI offers three levels of certification that reflects your level of expertise.
Your initial certification period is for a full five (5) years. Most other certification programs are 3 years. This is the difference between test-based and competency-based certification programs. You have proven that you can do the job. Plus, your Professional Career Portfolio provides you a way to show that you are maintaining your skills.
The master-level certifications do not expire and do not require re-certification. As a master-level certification holder, you will have 9 to 12 years experience, to include 2 years of supervisory or project lead experience and 2 years of managerial experience, and a higher level education. You will have reached a mastery of the field.
Emphasis on Skills and Experience
If you are working in the field, you are earning re-certification points. Many other programs do not give you re-certification credit for working in your career. You receive re-certification points for verified relevant experience in your field. You can earn your re-certification by simply working at your job.
There are six different methods to earn the points you need to re-certify. Again, the emphasis is on experience. A majority of the required re-certification points come from work experience. Other ways to earn re-certification points include industry projects, college courses, technical courses, publishing an article or research paper, or earning a professional career award. Detailed information can be found on the Re-Certification Page.
How do you show that you are maintaining your skills?
When you earn a PSI certification, you receive a Professional Career Portfolio that documents your certification. In addition, you can document future experience, education, projects, awards, and publications during re-certification to show employers that you are continuing to keep your skills sharp! With other certification organizations, employers do not know what you are doing to maintain your skills and certification, other than self-reported education.
Each of our certifications has a certification objective. Unlike many other certification organizations that claims that their certification holders "know how" to do the job, our certification holders "can" do the job.
That is a characteristic of a competency-based certification program.
We believe that our "real world" approach to professional certification sets us apart from other certification organizations. Our certifications are role-based, vendor-neutral, and realistic. We believe that quality trumps quantity when it comes to our certifications. Many certification organizations certify large numbers of individuals and even brag about it. Just because they have certified a lot of people does not make them a quality program. In most cases it just means a lot of people have passed a written test.
We back our certification programs with decades invested in research and development, combined with continuous growth, enhancements, and improvements. Prior to the launch of our programs, the business world and industry only had written test-based certification programs available to them.
Everything we do at PSI is geared toward ensuring that our professional certifications deliver the value that industry expects and demands, giving our certification holders an advantage in the workforce. Our assessments are evaluated by peers in your field - not graded by computers. You are provided constructive feedback on your assessments. Potential employers will be able to see what you accomplished to earn your certification though PSI on your Professional Career Portfolio.
"Nothing worth having comes easy!" - Theodore Roosevelt