A New Look and Approach Promises Improved Services for Professional Certification Registrants
On April 1, 2008, the name of CPESC Inc. was officially changed to EnviroCert International Inc. It’s all part of a revamping of the certification organization to better serve registrants around the world.
Before this change, the CPESC Council governed the Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) program, the Certified Professional in Storm Water Quality (CPSWQ) program, and the Certified Erosion, Sediment, and Storm Water Inspector (CESSWI) program.
“The need for reorganization and name change was identified through an efficiency study completed about one year ago,” reports John Brown, CPESC program manager and staff liaison. “With three programs to run, it was becoming obvious that we needed a different way to manage them to provide the necessary time and attention that each requires to be successful. With the reorganization, each certification program now has its own dedicated group of people to guide it.”
EnviroCert International Inc. includes three separate entities-CPESC Inc., CPSWQ Inc., and CESSWI Inc.
The New Structure
The EnviroCert Board of Directors is responsible for overall direction, oversight, and management of the organization, including policies, procedures, training courses, exams, and finances. The Board of Directors is composed of the Council Chair from each of the certification programs.
The job of running each program belongs to the individual Council serving each program. This Council, which reports to the EnviroCert Board of Directors through its Chair, includes a chair, an administrative vice chair, a financial vice chair, a technical vice chair, and a past chair-and an elected representative (Regional Representative) from each region.
“Their job is to manage their respective certification programs in a way that best serves their own registrants,” Brown says.
In addition to establishing a separate administration for each certification program, the reorganization plan calls for creating a new educational arm for EnviroCert International Inc.
“It’s still in the development stage,” Brown says. “However, this department’s responsibilities will include managing the preparation of review courses and exams for each certification program.”
Each Council will also have an EnviroCert International administrative staff member. Besides Brown, they include EnviroCert executive director, David Ward, who will be the program manager for CPSWQ Inc., and Glenda Carmney, interim program manager for CESSWI Inc.
The Payoff
The end result of this reorganization should enable EnviroCert International to better reflect the needs and desires of the various types of certification registrants. “Registrants in the different regions around the world will have more direct access to the governing body for their individual program,” Brown says. “Instead of providing input to the main organization, registrants will be able to working directly with their own certification group.”
“Now, each certification program will operate independently to some degree, under the oversight of EnviroCert International, which will coordinate the work of the three certification programs,” notes Jeff Econom, P.E., CPESC, CPSWQ, chair of the CPESC Council. “This should enable each program to grow based on its own merits.”
Eric Scherer, CPESC, CPSWQ, CESSWI, chairs the CESSWI Council. “The reorganization provides more transparency for EnviroCert International by establishing very clear lines of structural organization and communications that are clear to both registrants and those outside of the organization.”
That, in turn, should help clear up some confusion that had existed previously. “When CPESC Inc. was the umbrella group for all three certification programs, prospective registrants were often confused about how the organization worked and who represented their individual professional interests,” Scherer says. “I’m really pleased with how smooth the transition has been to EnviroCert International. In just the first few months, this reorganization has helped generate a huge response to the CESSWI program.”
The reorganization should also mean a more effective use of time and resources in meeting the unique needs of the various types of registrants, adds Jonathan Smith, CPSWQ, who chairs the CPSWQ Council.
“Before, the CPESC Council managed all three certification programs concurrently with no focus on any one type of certification,” he says. “With the reorganization, the Councils will be able to concentrate fully on their one certification program.”
Among the early actions of the CPSWQ Council, for example, are improving service to registrants, updating the CPSWQ exam review course and exam, and revising policies and procedures to reflect the latest certification needs in the field of stormwater management.
“Our committee wants to be a source of information and assistance for CPSWQ registrants and to identify areas of growth for the certification program,” Smith says.
