When an organization is created, decisions are made regarding the business model under which it will function. New leadership creates the opportunity to review current processes and make educated decisions about each of these processes. It is not an easy or quick decision to change how things have been, and replace them with new; it is a serious and arduous project. There must be a good reason for the changes and a smooth transition to make them true improvements. It is also important to take current members’ needs into consideration. All of this has happened, slowly and methodically, over the past year.

Implementing a Board of Directors, as announced in a previous post, was a major step in reorganizing the format under which the National Inventory Certification Association functions.  We know this is the right choice. Decisions and changes will not be made by just the Directors of NICA, but will be required to be approved by this Board of Directors.

Meeting higher standards

In our continued effort to conform to the standards of the association industry, thus providing NICA members and non-members with a nationally respected and recognized certification, we are implementing improvements towards this goal. (See the press release here.) After a great number of hours researching and discussing association industry standards with leaders in their respective associations, we found that our current membership and certification as an immediate, combined process, does not meet these higher standards.

New process unanimously approved

Therefore, we have presented the proposed revisions to the management of membership and certification to our Board of Directors who have unanimously approved the efforts we have given to this improvement initiative. Prior to being able to apply to take the certification exam, the inventory professional will be required to achieve 10 CEUs earned through life experiences, professional education, and courses offered through NICA. Two required courses are Code of Ethics (1 CEU) and Inventory 101 (2 CEUs). Additionally, an elective course offered through NICA is also required. This is to ensure that a solid foundation of industry knowledge is achieved prior to seeking certification. These new implementations were effective October 1, 2014.