Certificate vs Certification
Beware of those who claim to offer Certifications
There are a growing number of questionable training providers claiming to offer “certifications” within the trade compliance arena. Be careful. Several claim their certifications are recognized, but by whom? Many claim to provide “certified” training seminars and some provide “accredited certifications” if the individual completes a non-proctored test and returns it to the training organization with $100 after the short, two-day seminar. Others claim even more or seek to dissuade interest in real certification programs offered by reputable and respected organizations like IIEI Certification, a program formally recognized by governments around the world. The real validation of any certification program is the value and acceptance industry places on it. Ask any of the many thousands of people worldwide who have participated in this program. But first read this:
What is the difference between a Certificate Program and a Certification Program?
To answer this question specifically for IIEI Certification, several standards (national and international) are needed.
- Dunlap-Stone University’s accrediting body, the Accrediting Commission of the Distance Education and Training Council, has exact standards governing issuance of course completion certificates,
- The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) , Standard 1100 and 17024, defines the requirements of meeting the ANSI standard for being a certifying organization,
- INTERNATIONAL ANSI/ISO/IEC STANDARD 17024 – defines the general requirements for bodies operating certification of persons.
All of these standards have been and continue to be met by IIEI Certification.
What is the distinction between a CERTIFICATE issued by Dunlap-Stone University (DSU) and its business school, the International Import-Export Institute, and CERTIFICATION available through IIEI Certification?
Certificate:
According to the DETC’s standard, a “assessment-based certificate program” offers a course of study that meets three major requirements:
1. Provides an accredited course of instruction with defined learning outcomes
2. Evaluates participants’ achievement toward mastering the learning outcomes
3. Awards a certificate ONLY to those who have taken the course and successfully met the requirements for passing the course.
All accredited college courses taken at Dunlap-Stone University are eligible to receive a certificate, if students meet the learning outcome requirements. From an accredited university you know the value of a course completion certificate. A certificate from a questionable training provider may simply signify that the person attended or at least paid for the training.
The vocational certificate programs offered by Dunlap-Stone University are licensed by the Arizona Board for Private Postsecondary Education under license #V1195.
Certification:
According to ANSI Standard 1100, a professional certifying organization must meet two general requirements:
1. Deliver an assessment based on industry knowledge, independent from training courses or course providers.
2. Grant a time-limited credential to anyone who meets the assessment standards.
IIEI Certification, a separate division of DSU’s parent company, International Export Institute, Inc,, meets these requirements. In addition, IIEI Certification is a member of the American National Standards Institute, thus clearly aligning itself to the ANSI standards. Following its mission statement, it only performs the functions of a certifying authority, publishing the test knowledge requirements for its certifications, independently testing to those standards and awarding certifications to those who qualify. IIEI Certification offers no training courses to help prepare individuals to sit for the various certification exams it offers. It leaves exam preparation training to universities, colleges and training organizations worldwide, one of which is the International Import-Export Institute, the international business school at DSU. The Distance Education & Training Council, the school’s accrediting body, does not accredit IIEI Certification. It does not train or educate those that sit for its exams.
IIEI Certification meets American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and International Standards Organization (ISO) STANDARD 17024.4.2.1a that states:
Conformity assessment — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons
4.2 Organizational structure
“4.2.1 The certification body shall be structured so as to give confidence to interested parties in its competence, impartiality and integrity. In particular, the certification body:
a) shall be independent and impartial in relation to its applicants, candidates and certified persons, including their employers and their customers, and shall take all possible steps to assure ethical operations;”
Operating outside of the international trade regulatory arena for which it certifies persons, IIEI Certification, is independent and impartial in its relationship to its certified persons, including their employers and their customers and takes all possible steps to assure ethical operations.
In strict observance of ANSI Standard 17024.4.2.1a, any membership organization or group that might be formed by individuals directly involved in the area being certified, such as consultants/attorneys to customers in the industry, applicants, candidates and certified persons, including employees or employers within the industry would fail to meet ANSI Standard 17024.4.2.1a for independence and impartiality.
Total Compliance with DETC and ANSI Standards
As is the case with many other reputable certifying organizations across many industries in many nations, IIEI Certification gains support from a university–DSU. Like other schools, to ensure compliance with both university strict accreditation requirements and ANSI standards, DSU and IIEI Certification are organized as separate divisions of International Export Institute, Inc. their parent company.
Fully meeting ANSI Standard 17024, IIEI Certification is the global authority for international trade certification. IIEI Certification delivers an unbiased assessment based on industry knowledge, independent from training courses or course providers. Specifically, it offers a variety of specialized certification examinations to demonstrate knowledge mastery in more than a dozen certification offerings through more than 1500 participating colleges, universities and training centers worldwide. Any individual worldwide is eligible to take any of its certification examinations through any of its affiliated testing centers, with or without taking any examination preparation training courses. (Except in China, which requires completion of the training regimen in China before testing can occur.)
Each Approved Provider provides their own training to prepare individuals to master the knowledge requirements contained in the various proctored examinations offered by IIEI Certification.
All certifications have a limited life and require continuing education or retesting to be maintained as current.
The International Import-Export Institute
As is the case with all approved providers, the International Import-Export Institute offers its own examination preparation training courses to help prepare individuals to sit for their chosen IIEI Certification examination. Every course offered by the school meets DETC accreditation college standards as well as preparing individuals to sit for IIEI Certification’s exams.
The IIEI Certification Program is the Global Trade Standard.
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IIEI Certification meets the American National Standards Institute’s published Standard 17024 for a professional certifying organization that is independent of those who train individuals for examination and DETC’s standard for issuing course completion certificates. IIEI Certification’s programs have not been individually accredited or certified by ANSI.
IIEI Certification meets INTERNATIONAL ANSI/ISO/IEC STANDARD 17024 Conformity Assessment — General requirements for bodies operating certification of persons
