Is this recognized accreditation body ?

http://www.cesb.org/

The recognized accreditation body for engineering and scientific certification and specialty certification programs


The Council of Engineering and Scientific Specialty Boards (CESB) is an independent, voluntary membership body created for its member organizations who recognize, through specialty certification, the expertise of individuals practicing in engineering and related fields. Its creation on April 24, 1990 was the culmination of organizing work by volunteers from among the 130 attendees (23 organizations represented) who participated in the April 1988 National Conference on Engineering Specialty Certification.

Objectives

CESB, as an accrediting body, provides:

basic criteria and guidelines for the establishment and operation of specialty certification programs for engineers, technologists, technicians, and related scientific
it serves as a recognizing body for organizations that certify individuals
it represents its members in communications and, when appropriate, in negotiations with public and private agencies, groups, and individuals with respect to matters of common interest
and it informs employers, specifiers, public officials, the public, and engineering and related practitioners of the benefits of specialty certification.

Learner

 

Yes, but not for academic degrees

CESB is definitely a respected accreditation body, but they don't handle academic degrees. CESB accredits certification programs offered by professional scientific/engineering societies.

The certifications accredited by CESB are more comparable to state-issued licenses, like the Professional Engineer license. But in this case the credential is issued by a professional society, rather than by state government. A society certification, unlike a state license, typically provides no legal power, but it may provide a similar degree of prestige.

There are many questionable "certifications" out there, just as there are questionable academic degrees. Anyone can start up a "professional society" and establish a program for "Certified Widget Experts"; then they can review applications and issue certificates for a suitable fee. In some cases, long-established professional societies have rigorous, respected certification programs. In other cases, fly-by-night operators set up lenient programs that will issue impressive-sounding certifications to anyone, as long as the check is good. It's even easier than setting up a bogus university, and there are even fewer legal risks.

CESB accreditation provides some degree of assurance that a given certification is reputable. I can't speak for all CESB-accredited programs, but many, like Certified Industrial Hygienist (CIH), Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM), and Diplomate Environmental Engineer (DEE) are definitely respected.

I should add that the lack of CESB accreditation doesn't mean that a particular certification is bogus -- there are perfectly valid certification programs out there that are not accredited by CESB. But if a program is approved by CESB, then that's a good sign.

 

Thanks for the explanation.

This is very revealing to me.

I was under impresion that even if the accreditation is for licensing or certifification in professional world then it has to be
CHEA recognized in order to claim recognition.

But the more I think about what you are saying the more I understand.

They don't accredit schools or educational programs, OK
I think I get it.

Interesting nitch.

Thanks

 

Professional credentials are not degrees

This is beyond the scope of degreeinfo.com, but it should be obvious that there are *vast* numbers of professional credentials and titles that are *not* academic degrees and have *nothing* whatsoever to do with CHEA.

Such credentials may be issued by state governments ("Certified Public Accountant", "Professional Engineer"), or professional associations ("Realtor", "Certified Financial Planner"), or corporations ("Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer", "GM Certified Mechanic"). In fact, you probably know many people with credentials like these.

In many fields, such credentials are more valuable professionally than academic degrees.

 

Professional credentials

This is my first post, so be gentle.

While true that professional credentials are not degrees, as such, many RA Universities do grant academic credit for having earned such a credential. A case in point is my certificate from the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists. In order to obtain this certificate someone must be a graduate of a CAHEA approved Radiologic Technology Educational Program, or equivalent. You must also pass the national certifying exam from the ARRT. Most RA Universities will grant from 30 to 60 hrs of credit for having earned this certificate.

Therefore, I think some respect is due to holders of certain professional credentials because they do constitute "real" academic credit, as well as recognition by a professional body.

However, I am sure that there are several "bogus" or at the very least "highly questionable" professional credentials out there also.

My long winded point is that many holders of genuine professional credentials have been made to feel that they are not really "academic" and this is just not right.

Any thoughts out there?

Regards.

 

Good point

Vendor certifications that have been reviewed by ACE have academic standing, Microsoft, oracle etc.

Wile Microsoft educational provider is not RA or NA the designation is recognized for academic credit.

The same if I study for GRE and get good pass score EC will grant academic credit for taking the exam.

But there are other certifications that people take on line without proctored exams, they have limited value.

So QA in this area is needed practice.

Learner

 

Re: Professional credentials are not degrees

It's hard to mix them all because some require academic education on the level of earned ABET accredited BSEE or MSEE
for the Professioanl Engineer - National and international designation.

In some countries there is a Vocational BS degree that is earned mostly at work place.

But going back to claiming to be recognized accreditation body.

Well we have DETC and others that accredit vocational schools.
The recognized ones are all CHEA recognized.

I think that if a body is claimimng to be recognized even if its not accrediting the learning but only the final credential that body should have CHEA or USDoE recognition.

Now vendors ints another issue.
ACE comes in to the picture.

 

Re: Re: Professional credentials are not degrees

It is often difficult to generalize about the interplay between academic and non-academic credentials. Consider, for example, engineering, where there are both academic degrees and state-issued credentials, such as the "Engineer-in-Training" (EIT) and "Professional Engineer" (PE) licenses.

At some universities, engineering students must pass the EIT exam (also known as the FE exam) in order to graduate with a BS degree. In other words, the EIT exam is used as an "exit exam" for the degree, and so the EIT credential is, in effect, a prerequisite for the BS. However, other universities don't require their students to take the EIT exam at all.

State engineering boards operate completely independently of CHEA, and they may or may not require accredited academic degrees. In some states, an ABET-accredited BS degree in engineering is a prerequisite for a PE license. In other states, you can earn a PE license without a college degree of any kind, as long as you have sufficient, documented engineering work experience.

So in engineering, there are cases where state certifications are prerequisites for academic degrees, and cases where academic degrees are prerequisites for state certifications, and cases where academic degrees and state licenses can be obtained independently of each other.

 

Accredited versus non-accredited

One area I think we have overlooked are the non-accredited programs that have voluntarily chosen to remain so because of affiliation with a specific religion. I am talking specifically about some of the theological seminaries, etc.

I know many of them have their degree's recognized by RA schools and their graduates are considered "legitimate". In my experience these are the only major exception that is made concerning non-accredited schools and they should be recognized as providing a quality education (and NO, I am not a graduate of one).

Does anyone know, do these schools have a central "accrediting body" that they operate under? How does everyone feel about their degree's?

Any thoughts?

 

Re: Accredited versus non-accredited

I was under impresion that the number of such legitimate schools is very small.

And even smaller the number that recognized by RA schools and some even not cocedered academic.

Learner

 

Re: Accredited versus non-accredited

I was under impresion that the number of such legitimate schools is very small.

And even smaller the number that recognized by RA schools and some even not cocedered academic.

Learner

 

Accredited vs Unaccredited

You are correct on both counts, the number is small and there are MANY out there that are non-academic and cannot transfer credit to RA Universities. However, there are about 20-30 which are recognized by virtually every RA University.

My sole point was that these schools are the proverbial "exception" when we talk about the admittedly lousy "academics" at the non-accredited schools.

Regards

Rebel

 

Accredited vs Unaccredited

You are correct, the amount is small (probably around 20-30).

You are also correct that there are many religiously affiliated schools which are definately NON-ACADEMIC and cannot have their degrees recognized by RA schools.

However, those that can are the proverbial "exception" to the rule when we talk about how bad it is for someone to consider "attending" a non-accredited institution.

I think Oregon lists some of these schools on their website and recognizes them as legitimate.

I felt this was a class of schools which should be recognized for "getting it right" even if they are not RA. Being non-RA and having your degrees recognized by RA Universities is an accomplishment

Regards

Rebel