Julie Coffman Alabama Fire College Member of the ProBoard Committee on Accreditation Alan Joos LSU Fire and Emergency Training Center Member of the ProBoard Committee on Accreditation Kevin J. O

1
Julie Coffman Alabama Fire College Member of
the ProBoard Committee on Accreditation Alan
JoosLSU Fire and Emergency Training
CenterMember of the ProBoard Committee on
Accreditation Kevin J. OConnellAssistant
Chief, Louisville Fire Department
(retired)Member of the ProBoard Committee on
Accreditation
2
ProBoard Overview

• Historical Perspective
• Organizational Structure
• Certification vs. Accreditation
• Accreditation Process
• Documents Forms

3
Historical Perspective

• Joint Council - 1972
• First NFPA 1001 - 1974
• Incorporation 1990
• Significant Growth Period
• Late 1990s to present
• Future

4
ProBoard Organizational Structure

• Board of Directors
• 5 members representing the fire service
  organizations
• 1 at-large member
• Chair of Advisory Committee
• Chair of Committee on Accreditation ex officio

5
ProBoard Organizational Structure

• Board of Directors has representation from these
  fire service organizations
• International Association of Fire Chiefs
• International Association of Arson Investigators
• National Fire Protection Association
• North American Fire Training Directors
• National Association of State Fire Marshals

6
ProBoard Organizational Structure

• Committee on Accreditation
• 16 member committee that does the majority of the
  work of the accreditation system including

• Reviews application documents
• Performs site visits of new applicants and
  renewals
• Approves accreditations when the criteria is met
• Supports accredited agencies
• Keeps documents up to date
• Makes suggestions for improvements to the Board
  of Directors

7
ProBoard Organizational Structure

• Advisory Committee
• Comprised of one representative from each
  accredited agency
• Chair of Advisory Committee sits on the Board of
  Directors
• Elects 6 members plus Chair of Advisory Committee
  to COA
• Meet in person annually to handle matters
  pertinent to the accredited agencies and make
  recommendations to the Board of Directors

8

• Today the ProBoard Accredits
• 50 agencies that offer certifications
• 74 levels of 16 NFPA ProQual standards
• 56,184 certifications issued by accredited
  agencies in 2007
• The ProBoard continues to grow each year
• new agencies being accredited
• accredited agencies extending their accreditation
  to offer more levels
• accredited agencies delegating their authority to
  other agencies in their jurisdiction
• new standards offering the opportunity for new
  levels of certification

9
What is Certification in this context?

• Certification is the verification that a
  candidate has successfully completed an
  evaluation of his/her knowledge, skills and
  abilities against a consensus standard. 

10
C E R T I F I C A T I O N
11
What is Accreditation in this Context?

• Accreditation is the affirmation that an agency
  that offers certification is in compliance with
  certain criteria from a third party review of
  that agencys certification system. 

12
A C C R E D I T A T I O N

• THE ORGANIZATION
• GETS
• ACCREDITED

13
What is ProBoard Certification?

• The ProBoard does not actually certify anyone
• ProBoard Certification is certification granted
  to an individual by a ProBoard accredited agency

14
Accreditation Process

• Application by Agency
• Self Study Review and documentation by Agency
• Review by COA of Application and Self Study
  Document
• Identification of concerns by COA to site team
• Site Visit team of two COA members
• Exit Interview
• Report Back to COA
• COA vote on Accreditation

15
Forms Documents

• www.theproboard.org/documents.htm