Is the National Association of Safety Professionals (NASP) Legit?

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by jimwe, Jan 18, 2006.

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  1. Eric Gislason

    Eric Gislason New Member

    HAZMAT 1951, when this blog came to my attention I researched your comments and found a history in our records concerning your situation. We strive for customer satisfaction and I am sorry that you were disappointed but I believe there was a misunderstanding. You were indeed granted a 50% scholarship all of which must be paid before you attend class, which is our policy, as it is most training organizations’ policy. You wanted to attend a class that was only a brief period of time away, so you had a short time to pay it. But you had the opportunity to take a later class and make payments beforehand for whatever period you chose.

    You later requested a 100% scholarship but those are normally only granted to individuals who are unemployed. You were gainfully employed and were planning to travel to Las Vegas to attend the class. So, the board decided that a 50% scholarship was appropriate. Please allow me to respectfully submit that even though you were disappointed that you didn’t get a 100% scholarship, neither the organization you chose instead, or any other similar organizations offer scholarships at all. We want to make our courses available to as many people as possible, because we truly have a passion for safety, which is why we offer scholarships. Our scholarships are given dependent on need. That is why we check one’s ability to pay. It is true that no one who is truly unable to pay full tuition is turned away.

    [​IMG]
     
  2. kdelspokane

    kdelspokane New Member

    The National Association of Safety Professional is just what the name implies. An association of Safety Professionals that offers professional certifications, certificates of achievement and specialist designations that represent expertise in and individuals professional knowledge skills and abilities. I hold the Licensed Safety Professional (LSP) designation with them and the Certified Safety Manager (CSM) designation with them as well. I have had a great experience through their training programs which has allowed me to progress and move forward professionally in my career. I have been in Safety for over 20 years and this is by far some of the best training I have ever received. The LSP designation was wonderful and really helped me become more proficient and knowledgeable in the 18 courses I was required to take to achieve the certification. It required many hours of study and the folks at NASP were there to answer any of my questions during the course. The networking of the safety professionals has also been invaluable to me as I have often reached out to many of the other safety professionals for their opinions or assistance on similar issues. I also hold the STS certification from the BCSP as well. I have learned much more from the NASP than from the BCSP workshop I took just to pass the exam. I highly recommend the NASP for all Safety Professionals.
     
  3. DOD & DOL CSHO

    DOD & DOL CSHO New Member

    I first came across the NASP (National Association of Safety Professionals) during the end of my term of military service. The ACAP program at that time was a God send "The Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) assists military personnel, Department of Defense (DOD) civilians affected by reduction in force (RIF), and their family members with the employment search process by providing the highest quality guidance, training, resources, and support during their career transition from....."

    I had submitted my CSP application prior to leaving the service but, at the time I had only my years of hands on experience, military training, certifications and an AA degree so when the opportunity was presented to obtain certification that would be recognized in my civilian applications supporting of my military accomplishments.

    I have been a member and have received numerous NASP certifications which still support my professional career.
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    I am wondering if any of our (other) members would care to enter into a small wager. I am betting that we can get yet a fourth brand new member to sing the praises of this organization. Clearly they are registering at DI solely to say nice things about this safety entity.
    Any takers?
     
  5. tfhardin

    tfhardin New Member

    Hi Kizmet,

    You are correct in your observation that some of our students and members have recently signed up on this blog and voiced support for our courses and certifications. We had addressed the original comment from back in 2006, but recently this blog post began showing up on our radar again, possibly due to a new post on the feed. We noticed that there was a new response from a potential student who was unhappy about not receiving a full scholarship so we wanted to address his comments and provide anyone viewing your blog with the correct information.

    We are a membership association so we maintain a relationship with our students even after they have completed their programs and we decided to share this blog with them through their monthly newsletter. We are happy to have members that are eager to defend the legitimacy of their courses and certifications. Hopefully you find it good that actual students of our organization talk about their experiences with us. If you take a look back at the original comment and the posts that followed it, you’ll see that most of them are from “new member” accounts from people who have no direct experience with NASP, like Caldog who seemed to have created an account to show support for the CSP and nearly every post on this blog is from a new member.

    Thanks
     
  6. Lerner

    Lerner Well-Known Member

    I'm curious about licensed certification - is it state license or certification named Licensed but the licensing authority is the association?

    tfhardin, in the past the same person, would create multiple accounts and troll the treads, so there is suspicion of multiple new users.

    I can't comment about the association that I'm hearing about for the first time. This is not my field.
     
  7. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Yeah, OK, I get it. And if you guys want to actually participate in discussions about distance learning, rather than simply promote your organization on our site, then you will likely see that we get a lot of "new members" who register simply for the purpose of shilling for questionable organizations. As a result of our having a long history of such experiences we have come to develop a healthy level of skepticism about "new members" who clearly have no interest in distance learning who decide to start promoting their organization. So welcome to DI and maybe we'll hear from you every few years when someone posts on this topic.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. tfhardin

    tfhardin New Member

    Oh, I see. Thanks for explaining. I didn't realize people had done that in the past. We could submit proof of those who say they have our certifications if you need that.

    Our LSP is licensed by the association. They usually are safety directors in large our multiple facilities or are consultants.
     
  9. tfhardin

    tfhardin New Member

    LOL, thanks Kizmet. Actually I am interested in distance learning. Our courses are approved by the University of North Carolina for CEUs so we are always interested in colleges and universities offering OHS degrees who will accept and convert those CEUs to credit hours for our members.
     
  10. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    A-HAH!!!
    Thank you for the clarification, Tom. Now that you have made clear the fact that it is your association that is granting so-called licensure rather than a state board or agency, I now feel confident in calling NASP a certification mill. The word licensed is a regulated term, and by using it you cross the line into unacceptability. And become a laughingstock.

    By the way, is your e-mail address (on the first page of this thread) still at aol.com? Even back when you wrote it, that was an indicator that NASP is a sham.

    Is what you do legal? For the most part, it appears to be. Is it credible? No way, mon cher. It's a fancy con job. Does that make you want to sue me? Feel free - it will open up your files to discovery, and the press alone will have a blast with that. ANd so, of course, will I.

    In the meantime, you've got a nice con game going. Don't do anything to put it at risk - like having more of your members shill for you here at DegreeInfo.

    (The good news is that, if they're continuing to follow this thread, they'll learn the truth about how meaningless your so-called certifications really are.)
     
  11. Michigan68

    Michigan68 Active Member

    Steve,

    If this statement by TFHARDIN is correct; "Our courses are approved by the University of North Carolina for CEUs", I am not sure I would classify it as unacceptable.

    What do you think of the PMP Cert from the PMI.org.... or certificates thru the Society of Manufacturing Engineers of the ASME ? These are sought after certs in my industry.

    Do you think that those certs would be in the same classification as NASP ?

    Or is it just using the term 'licensed' ?


    - Michael
     
  12. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    I would classify it as irrelevant - totally. There is no requirement that CEU's be approved, and any organization can grant them. Including NASP. The CEU (continuing education unit) is explicitly not college credit - one CEU is generally equal to 10 contact hours, whereas one semester hour credit is generally equal to 15 contact hours plus 30 study hours. Tom Hardin's claim is, therefore, tantamount to bullshit - no more, no less. Maybe he wants people to believe that UNC is endorsing NASP. I would hardly buy into that notion.
    I have no thoughts on the PMI/ASME certifications whatsoever - this is not my field at all. When it comes to PMP certifications, I would normally refer people to Dr. Rich Douglas, who holds a PMP cert. I consider him an expert in the field. However, Rich has made himself absent from Degree Info for quote some time. You might try contacting him directly if this is an issue of concern.

    By the way, in my 21 years in over-the-road transportation, I had the opportunity to write safety and operational manuals for multiple trucking companies. Every trucking company - yes, every one - has a safety function of some type (it's mandated by DOT) ranging from a single safety manager to a full-blown safety department. And in 21 years, I never heard of these NASP jokers. That in itself doesn't mean anything, but in checking up on them once I did hear of them (from this thread), they do not come up as legitimate.
     
  13. tfhardin

    tfhardin New Member

    Steve,

    You made your judgment here based on a mistaken assumption. The laws in NC (where we are headquartered) or any other state I am familiar with (which is not all of them), do not require that licenses be granted only by “a state board or agency” as you said. We are within the law and reasonable practice to do what we do.

    You also said, “there is no requirement that CEUs be approved, and any organization can grant them, including NASP”. But that is not true either. Many organizations today require employees or members to gain a certain number of CEUs per year and they generally are strict about from where they come. If NASP declared that we were issuing CEUs on our own authority, no one would accept them. It was necessary to have our courses evaluated for CEUs by UNC and that is the only reason our students can satisfy their CEU requirements with CEUs from our courses.
     
  14. Imposter87

    Imposter87 New Member

    Not turning someone away for their inability to pay is hog wash!

    I came to you a few years ago in hardship, I was losing my job, and was looking for help in acquiring the CSM, but could not pay, you offered a scholarship which was nice, but that didnt change my inability to pay, which I couldnt at 50% either...and I still can't afford to, glad I got another job, without your help, not in the safety field like I preferred but hey that's life.

    Dont say you don't turn someone down, just because I am currently making money doesnt mean I can pay or will be able to due to job loss.

    That statement is a balled face lie.
     
  15. Steve Levicoff

    Steve Levicoff Well-Known Member

    Cool . . . another newbie necromancing an old thread to whine. But at least this one is obviously against NASP rather than shilling for it.

    But, out of curiosity, what is a "balled face lie?" Is the emphasis on balled or face? I could speculate, but I'm afraid anything I say would be a bold faced lie. :D
     
    Imposter87 likes this.
  16. Imposter87

    Imposter87 New Member

    Funny. Yes autocorrect destroys credibility once again.
     
  17. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    [​IMG]
     
  18. Imposter87

    Imposter87 New Member

    Her you go
     

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  19. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Hmmm. Well maybe on a slightly more serious note I might suggest that they are not illegitimate simply because they didn't give you money. In the last year we have seen Harvard sued regarding unfair admissions processes relating to affirmative action. The fact that there is an injustice, or even the perception of an injustice, or the allegation of injustice, etc. does not de-legitimize the university.
     
  20. Imposter87

    Imposter87 New Member

    Agreed. Just pissed me off when they are trying to say they dont turn people down due to financial hardship.

    When they turned me down I was cool with it, but when I saw their reply as of they are this giving organization to those in need...no not happening. Gonna give my two cents.

    I have no doubt they are legit, honestly, they probably have a great program, but don't say things that you know arent true.
     

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