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FW: Certification Discussion, Fact vs Opinion
> Lucinda and the list. I seem to recall a saying that applies here,
> something like "everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their
> own set of facts".
>
> I think certification is much more basic and straightforward undertaking
> than is being portrayed, and I think that is where the controversy comes
> from. I would like to know where the ACA claims that certification is the
> be-all-end-all for archivists? It is a minimum requirement, a component
> of something larger. As long as we keep hunting for a single silver
> bullet for the profession we will fight old fights over and over. The
> distinction of certification is that it is universal...those certified
> showed by exam the have certain knowledge common to the profession. This
> would seem to be a weakness of competing visions of graduate education
> programs Lucinda highlights and which are not controlled by archivists.
>
> Lucinda wrote:
> archival certification debate goes to the heart of our profession--our
> concerns with professional image, status, and salaries, etc.-- Who is a
> well-trained archivist and how can we determine that?
> the debate may address that question but my reading of ACA materials leads
> me to believe that certification itself answers the question "can the
> applicants with the education and work experience called for demonstrate
> their mastery of the basic knowledge of archival theory and practice on
> the exam"
>
> The point is: if you are a "well trained archivist" then you should be
> able to demonstrate that on the exam, not the converse - that if you pass
> the exam you are then a great archivist. There is a difference.
>
> Lucinda further wrote that the problem was linked to differences over
> graduate education:
> departments can't agree on a standard archival education curriculum
> nationwide
>
> and that certification was offered as an alternative. but the current
> requirements actually favor candidates from graduate programs...requiring
> those without degrees to petition for acceptance, and having a special
> provisional category for recent grads with less work experience
>
> Finally, Lucinda wrote: Other "serious" professions would never
> substitute an exam for educational credentials and suggest that the exam
> is equivalent to academic study.
>
> No, other professions support educational credentials AND
> certification/examination, just like our profession does. In fact, my
> employer recognizes 139 different professional designations among its
> thousands of employees, which along with education, experience etc...
> demostrate qualifications for different positions.
>
>
> Tom Heard
> Tom Heard, CA
> AIG Archives-Executive Records
> American International Group, Inc.
> Suite 4301
> 70 Pine Street
> New York, NY 10270
>
> Phone: 212-770-7258
> Fax: 212-770-8060
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: UFTARCH1@AOL.COM [SMTP:UFTARCH1@AOL.COM]
> Sent: Friday, October 19, 2001 11:13 AM
> To: ARCHIVES@LISTSERV.MUOHIO.EDU
> Subject: Re: Certification Discussion
>
> 10/19/01
>
> Listers--
>
> Today, I stopped to read the certification-related emails that arose
> out of Suzanne Durham's query about the need or importance of the CA
> designation for archivists. From the very beginning, it has been a
> critical issue for archivists because the archival certification debate
> goes to the heart of our profession--our concerns with professional image,
> status, and salaries, etc.-- Who is a well-trained archivist and how can
> we determine that?
>
> For many reasons, certification was presented as a panacea to this
> dilemma, mostly for the reasons Charles Schultz mentioned, primarily the
> difficulty of accrediting archival education programs, because the
> archival profession and library/history departments can't agree on a
> standard archival education curriculum nationwide. Therefore, rather than
> struggling with that problem, which is the key concern that doesn't every
> go away, it was determined that accrediting individual archivists would
> solve the competency question. But, does the exam solve the problem?
>
> Not to be too blunt about this, but-- over the past 15+ years of
> discussion over the pros and cons about the need for test, how to
> re-credential certified archivists, what fees should be charged for the CA
> designation, etc. etc. I have never changed my opinion that the certified
> archivists exam is basically worthless and a waste of money. Other
> "serious" professions would never substitute an exam for educational
> credentials and suggest that the exam is equivalent to academic study.
> Rather the exam would be tied to the completion of the graduate
> professional degree in archival studies and would validate the knowledge,
> skills and training acquired in an archival program of study.
>
> I am in complete agreement with Susan Hamson's comments regarding
> the certification process as a money-raising scheme with little verifiable
> benefits. She wrote:
>
> "And the question of money always makes me skeptical. I pay $50.00
> to apply to the exam. If I pass I pay $150.00 and then I pay $50.00 every
> year thereafter. In five years I pay $50.00 to take the exam again and so
> on and so on. So I'm paying a lot of money out of pocket to have the
> privilege of adding two letters after my name and announcing that I belong
> to an elite group of successful test takers."
>
> Touche, Susan.
> (p.s. I have hired many archivists over the years and, not surprisingly,
> I would never request or prefer the CA designation as a serious job
> qualification.)
>
> Sincerely ,
>
> Lucinda
>
> Lucinda Manning
> UFT Archives & Records Center
> United Federation of Teachers
> 260 Park Ave. South
> Ny, NY 10010
> 212-598-9213
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