Diana S inghavongAmer ican Nat ional Standards Inst i tute

Pat FoxLaure- Jeanne Davignon

In ters ta te Renewable Energy Counc i l

February 14, 2013

ANSI-IREC Accreditation Program

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What is ANSI-IREC?

Why ANSI-IREC?

Growth of clean

energy sector

Proliferation of

training programs

Confusion

The Answer

Align training with jobs

Differentiate quality training

Provide programs with a means to demonstrate market value

Increase consumer confidence and safeguards

How?

ANSI-IREC provides third-party verification that programs meet a national standard (IREC Standard 14732:2013) validated by the renewable energy and energy efficiency industry

Quality training with market value

A Unique Approach

Technical

Content

Educational Processes and

Manageme

nt

Benefits to Programs

Promotes high quality program design and implementation

Distinguishes programs with a national recognition

Provides an edge for enrollment, marketing and funding proposals

Benefits to Programs

Aligned with industry-recognized credentials and standards

Training dollars invested wisely

Students “trained as advertised”—Roy Swift

Value of the Accreditation Process

What did pilot participants have to say about the process?

Value of the Accreditation Process

All pilot organizations agreed/strongly agreed that accreditation process:

Would provide differentiation and a competitive advantage when competing with other certificate awarding entities in the industry

Is a quality check on current operations

“Due to this process, we have implemented a number of great quality control measures.” -Survey respondent

Value of the Accreditation Process

According to the pilot organizations, the most valuable aspects of the accreditation experience include:

Communication/active participation from program staff

Assessors’ expertise

Third-party validation of program

Improvement of organizational structure and curricula

Continued quality improvement

Lessons Learned from an Accredited Organization

Nicole Rice, Midwest Renewable Energy Association

MREA Photovoltaic Site Assessment CertificateMREA Solar Thermal Site Assessment Certificate

Process Overview

1) Demonstrate Initial Eligibility Online Preliminary Application

2) Provide Evidence and Documentation “Demonstrate”

3) Onsite Assessment Role of assessment team Role of onsite

IREC Standard 14732:2013

www.irecusa.org

Market Value

Industry validated Job Task Analysis

Quality training

matched to employer

needs

Linkage to industry

Linkage with Industry

The certificate-awarding entity shall maintain relationships with the subject industry to ensure the continued currency and market value of the certificate

Employers

Associations

Workforce Dev.

Job Task Analysis

10.2 Job Task Analysis Basis for Curriculum or Syllabus: The certificate-awarding entity shall base the certificate program on a current, valid job task analysis (JTA) that has been developed using generally accepted procedures and includes the following:

a) An objective or scope that defines the overall job, including conditions and criteriab) A list of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs) that define the jobc) Criticality ratings for each KSAd) Criteria used for validating the JTA

Systematic Program Plan

Any one of several processes recognized by education and training professionals that documents the creation or revision of educational programs, workshops, or courses using inter-related components of analysis, design, development, implementation, and evaluation.

Systematic Program Plan

Use of criterion-referenced instruction

Analysis, program design, development, implementation, and evaluation integrated

Defined curriculum for each program

Syllabus for each course

Instruction conforms to syllabus and curriculum

Management System

Documentation

Document control

Internal audit

Management review

Communication of internal audit results

The review of an entity’s policies and procedures to determine the entity’s conformance with them.

Assessment of Learners

Written examination required

Assessments must be criterion-referenced

Assessment of Learners

Requirements for development, administration and scoring•Secure•Routinely reviewed•Provisions for learners with special needs•Protocols for those administering•Criterion referenced passing score•Inter-rater reliability

Other Requirements

Policies and Procedures

PersonnelFacilities, Tools and

Equipment

Online Delivery

Safety

Legal Entity, Financial Viability

Meeting the Requirements

Documented compliance

Evidence of implementation

Verified on paper and during onsite

Want to Learn More?

Workshop May 7-8Washington, DCEmail Diana to Registerdsinghavong@ansi.org

Heading: Verdana 24

Text: Verdana 18

www.ansi.org/ansi-irec

dsinghavong@ansi.orgpatfox@irecusa.org

Questions?

Program Fees

Application fee $3,000.00 On-site assessment and document review $1,250.00 per assessor per day, plus travel expenses. Fees include: Cost per assessor per number of days required; assessor review of application and all supporting documents; assessor preparation of draft and final assessor report; onsite assessment; ANSI staff coordination of assessment process.  Travel expenses include: transportation, meals, and accommodations during days of the assessment. Fees associated with any corrective actions are $1,250 per assessor per day and include: Assessor review of corrective actions, assessor clearance of corrective actions, ANSI staff coordination of corrective action process. If additional subject matter experts (SMEs) are required, the applicant organization will be assessed an additional fee of $1,250 per day per SME, plus travel expenses.