The American National Standards Institute (ANSI), a private non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system, has announced that the National Apartment Association Education Institute is one of eleven organizations to be chosen for the Institute’s pilot Certificate Accreditation Program (ANSI-CAP).

ANSI-CAP will provide neutral, third-party accreditation that a given certificate program meets ASTM E2659-09, Standard Practice for Certificate Programs. This American National Standard developed by ASTM International was selected by the ANSI-CAP Accreditation Committee, a group of volunteer leaders who were chosen for their expertise in the field. By demonstrating compliance to this standard, certificate programs will further the development of a well-educated and qualified workforce. The accreditation program is also expected to provide quality benchmarks for the design of future certificate programs. With these evaluations and benchmarks in place, workers and employers will be better able to determine the value and meaning of training and educational certificates.

The following organizations that issue education and/or training certificates to U.S. workers have been accepted to participate in the pilot program:

• EdTrek, Inc.

• Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Behavioral Science Unit (BSU)

• Federal Employee Benefits Specialist, Inc. (FEBSI)

• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Regulatory Affairs (ORA), Division of Human Resources (DHRD)

• HVACReducation.net

• National Apartment Association Education Institute (NAAEI)

• National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA)

• National Graduate School & University of Quality Systems Management (NGS)

• SCIPP International

• Sullivan University

• U.S. Army Combat Readiness/Safety Center (USACRSC)

“ANSI is pleased to welcome these eleven certificate-issuing organizations into the ANSI-CAP pilot – truly a diverse mix of certificate programs across a broad array of industries,” said Lane Hallenbeck, vice president of accreditation services at ANSI. “Through their participation in the pilot, these organizations are demonstrating their commitment to the continual improvement of their certificate programs, helping to boost the confidence of consumers and employers who rely on education and training certificates nationwide.”

The first round of ANSI-CAP accreditation decisions are expected to be made in early 2010. ANSI will host a follow-up meeting in January 2010 for the purpose of further validating the standard and determining areas of improvement for the accreditation process.