I.C.E. > Resources > Defense of Certification Toolkit

Resources

The explosion of new, non-degree credentials has made it difficult to determine program quality and value. Accreditation enables credentialing organizations to demonstrate to the profession it represents, and to the general public its certificants serve, that their program has met the stringent standards set by the credentialing community. Accreditation provides credibility and legitimacy to a program because it proves that the program has been evaluated by third party oversite. The below tools share case studies and resources showing how accreditation leads to quality assurance and why it is important for your program.

Return to Toolkit Home

Legal Case

Marjorie Webster v. Middle States Ass'n

In Marjorie Webster vs. Middle States Association, the privately owned for-profit junior college complained that the accrediting body was unjustified in refusing to consider the college for accreditation. The association stated that the refusal was because the college was not a non-profit with a governing board representing the public interest. The court initially found that the refusal was a violation of the Sherman Act and the 5th Amendment. Upon appeal, the court held that the Sherman Act did not apply to an allegedly exclusionary accreditation policy because it found the policy "distinct from the sphere of commerce."

Professional Massage Training Center, Inc. v. Accreditation Alliance of Career Schools and Colleges. 781 F.3d 161 (2015)

Brief description of the resource here. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce interdum felis lectus, eu consequat massa bibendum eget.

Research

WP08 Interfaces Between Professional Certification and Academic Accreditation

The objective of this white paper is twofold: The presentation and discussion of legal issues that should be taken into consideration by: (1) professional certifying bodies when determining eligibility pathways for their examinations; and (2) academic accrediting bodies when determining which certification examinations are acceptable for measuring graduate achievement from the programs they accredit. This paper presents a non-technical, layperson’s treatment of the legal issues, and does not discuss the technicalities of antitrust and other applicable areas of law.

Standards

Accreditation Standards | The Primary Source of Quality Assurance for Certifications

Quality assurance is particularly important for certification, which are highly diverse in the industries they represent and the organizations that award them. The research underlying this paper, which included interviews with individuals at certification bodies, indicates broad consensus by the certification community that quality certifications are those that align with conformity standards for personnel certifications and are developed specifically for certifications by members of the certification community.