Methodology
Given the lack of publicly available and useful information, the question is, which of the 27 readily and publicly accessible attributes listed earlier could possibly serve as the basis for a meaningful evaluation between professional credentials?
Prior research by this author[2] indicated that:
"An attribute or trait common to nearly all definitions of a profession is the expectation that professions require a 'long' period of education and training. Based on the literature research, this attribute is often broken down into two parts:
- Formal education, usually at minimum four years beyond high school, but often longer. Polelle (1999) in particular identified several US State Supreme Court decisions establishing a four-year education as one of the 'bright line' tests that jurists use to determine whether an occupation is or is not a profession, and
- Some form of supervised 'hands on' training, apprenticeship, internship or experience-based element, designed to build competency.
However, as indicated by Pierce v AALL Insurance (1988)[3] and by Garden v Frier (1992)[4] the Florida Supreme Court felt that apprenticeship alone without a four-year degree did not qualify as being a profession (Polelle, 1999). Another US Supreme Court ruling from North Dakota (Jilek v Berger Electric)[5] also differentiated trades from professions based on the fact that although both required a license to practice, by not requiring a degree disqualify them as a profession. (See Recommendations for more on this issue)."
Based largely on this earlier research and the comparative data obtained from the web sites, it was clear that of the 27 possible pieces of information provided by the organizations, the only four categories that made any sense were:
- The work experience requirements
- The formal educational requirements
- The testing for knowledge and/or
- The assessment process used to determine competency.
All four of these sets are readily available from the various organizational websites, and appropriate to use for inferring the relative professional strength of each organization's credential compared to another. Therefore, these four sets were used as the basis for the exploratory or preliminary model.
2. Giammalvo, Paul D. "Is Project Management a Profession? And if not, what is it?" PhD dissertation, 2007
3. Pierce v. AALL Insurance Inc. [513 So.2d 160, 161 (Fla. 5th DCA)]
4. Garden v Frier [602 So.2d 1273 (FL 1992)]
5. Jilek v. Berger Electric (441 N.W. 2d 660 [ND, 1989]
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Developing the Rating Criteria
