Q: I am looking for information on how to set up a certification process for a course. We are developing a course and we would like it to lead to a certification but I need to know what the considerations are and how to proceed.
A: Thank you for your question on getting started with developing a certification program. We can respond briefly here, and we are available for more intensive consulting if you wish. 1. We would suggest you contact the national Canadian Realtor association, and then the U.S. national Realtor association, And find out if there are any requirements or restrictions in Alberta Real Estate Association developing and offering a certification. 2. Analyze the market. We counted at least 20 Realtor certifications in existence already. You should analyze both competition from other certifications and other real estate associations, and even more importantly, the target audience in Alberta, Canada and internationally. If you can find a niche certification that has a large enough audience, then this is an excellent new program to develop. If you can create a certification that will have an audience beyond Alberta, it greatly increases your chances of success, income and profitability. 3. Find 5 to 10 realtors who already have experience and expertise in the subject area of the certification. Use these people as an advisory board in creating the certification. 4. Use your new advisory board, plus literature research, to develop 5 to 20 skills needed. These skills should be unique to this subject matter, not just selling a property or something that is common to other realtor certifications. 5. Now develop 5 to 20 knowledge competencies that match the skills. Your certification training program will, of course, provide knowledge. You cannot teach behavior, but you can teach knowledge skills. This is an important distinction in creating the curriculum. 6. Now you can build the curriculum. Generally there is some rigor in the curriculum course of study. One way is to have 3-5 courses in the program. Another is to have it take 10 weeks of study. Think hard about making it an online course of study. Your enrollments and income will be far higher for an online certification as opposed to a Face to face offering. Some associations offer both F2F and online versions, and that works well as people have their preference for format. 7. Now create a practice component to the certification. Certification differs from certificates in that certification carries with it some measure of actual competency and practice.