Presentation given in Rochester on April 23, 2012, Toronto on December 8, 2010 and January 19, 2011 to introduce members to the new STC Certification Program launched in May 2011.

1. Certified Professional Technical
Communicator™ CPTC Program
ARE YOU READY?
ROB HANNA
S T C C E R T I F I C AT I O N C O M M I S S I O N V I C E - C H A I R
AT T H E S P E C T R U M C O N F E R E N C E
APRIL 23, 2012

2. Certification and Professions
 A profession is marked by three essential pillars:
 A code of ethics
 A unique body of knowledge
 Certification of qualified practitioners

3. Certification Drivers
 Legitimize the contributions of, and respect for, our
profession
 Establish uniform worldwide performance standards
 Increase the employability and earning potential for
certified practitioners
 Reduce risk for employers
 Satisfy employers’ expectations

4. Value to Employers
 Employers find that
certified professionals are
more often competent
and successful than
uncertified ones
 Employers spend less to
hire, train, and replace
certified employees
 Therefore, employers
seek out and pay more for
certified professionals

5. Guiding Principles
 Certification is voluntary  Assessment involves a
 Certification focuses on variety of methods
uniform areas of practice  A core certification provides
where technical the basis for certification
communicators provide growth
unique value  Applicants must agree to
 Applicants must meet adhere to the STC Code of
prerequisites to be eligible Ethics
for certification  Opportunities are provided
 Applicants must to applicants for
demonstrate remediation
knowledge, skills, and  Once granted, certification
experience must be maintained

6. Certification Milestones
 First discussed in 1964
 First STC-sanctioned work: Ad Hoc Committee on
Certification in 1975
 Six membership surveys:
1975, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1995, 1997
 Certification RFP issued in 1985
 Feasibility study commissioned in 1998
 Began work on Body of Knowledge (BOK) in 2007
 Benchmarking report on professions in 2008
 Value proposition adopted in 2009
 Approved by STC Board on 30 April 2010
 First certifications issued: 2012

7. STC Certification Commission
 Incorporated in 2011, in
Virginia, as a 501(c)(6)
organization, subsidiary of STC
 Responsible for establishing
certification policies and
overseeing operations
 Adjudicates appeals and
professional conduct reviews
 Steven Jong (Chair)
 Separate  Rob Hanna (Vice Chair)
bylaws, policies, procedures, fi  Stephen Murphy (Secretary)
nances  Charles Fisher (Treasurer)
 One “member”—The STC—and  Saul Carliner
two crossover STC  Karen Baranich (STC Board)
commissioners  Kathryn Burton (STC CEO)

8. Development of Evaluation Criteria
 Over the summer of 2010, members of the STC
Certification Committee met in Fairfax, VA
 Sessions were facilitated by Clarence Chaffee, an
experienced certification and assessment consultant
 The group produced:
 Profile of a certified Technical Communicator
 136 separate elements weighted against a survey of 70 of our
industry’s thought-leaders
 Scoring criteria needed to demonstrate the required elements

9. Prerequisite Qualifications
 Candidates for certification must
 Be persons of good character, unencumbered by any
 conviction of a felony or indictable offence;
 outstanding judgment in a civil court for negligence, professional
misconduct, or incompetence; or
 condition or dependency that would render them incapable of
performing or fulfilling the essential duties of a CPTC.
 Possess a high school diploma and five years of full-time
employment as a technical communicator
 Up to two years of work experience may be credited for completion
of approved post-secondary education in a relevant field of study

10. A Typical Certified Technical Communicator is
 A person working in a professional or technical
setting, who
 is able to readily adapt to a new subject area,
 can select and assess the type and level of communication required to
 meet the needs of the intended audience, and
 support the intended purpose of the information
 has the knowledge, skills, and abilities to
 select and effectively apply the appropriate tools, and
 plan and execute an information solution within the constraints of
corporate and regulatory requirements and appropriate industry
standards
 ensures that stakeholders and consumers benefit from the
safe, appropriate, and effective use of the subject product or service.

11. Areas of Practice
User, task, experienc
e analysis Information
development
Information
design Information
production
Process
management

12. Portfolio
Assessment
1. Planning Documentation Projects
The portfolio
assessment is 2. Conducting Research
broken into 9 3. Designing Deliverables
separate
submissions used 4. Architecting Information
to demonstrate the 5. Authoring and Composition
136 elements or
KSAs
6. Demonstrating Visual Literacy
(Knowledge/Skills/ 7. Reviewing, Editing, and Testing
Abilities)
8. Managing Content
9. Producing Deliverables

13. Evaluation Process
 Application screened by STC office
 Packet examined by up to three trained evaluators
(who receive honoraria)
 Under non-disclosure
 Objective evaluation against established criteria

14. Fee Schedule
Fees (USD) STC Members Non-Members
Initial Application $99 $125
Portfolio Evaluation $595 $695
Annual Maintenance $49 $69
Recertification (every 3 years) No charge No charge

15. Certification
Marks
Certificate
Logo
Designation
Listing on Website
Steven Jong, RTFM

16. Maintaining Certification
 Certification is good for
three years
 To maintain it, continue
your education to
maintain current skills or
learn new skills, and stay
active in field
 Reapplication requires
proof of attendance
 Screened by STC office

17. PMP Growth, 1984–2010
450000
2010:
400000 412,000
PMPs
350000
300000
250000
2002:
200000
50,000
150000
1993: PMPs
1000
100000 PMPs
50000
0

18. Example of Salary Impact

19. Expanding Certification Beyond Writers
 Areas of practice can be
weighted
 Specialty certifications
(future)
 Opportunity for
partnerships with other
organizations

20. To learn more and get started
S T C C E R T I F I C AT I O N C O M M I S S I O N
C O N TA C T R O B H A N N A AT r o b @ a s c a n . c a
F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N , P L E A S E S E E T H E S T C
C E R T I F I C AT I O N W E B S I T E AT
h t t p : / / w w w. s t c . o r g / e d u c a t i o n / c e r t i f i c a t i o n /
certification-main
T H E S E S L I D E S AVA I L A B L E O N S L I D E S H A R E AT
h t t p : / / w w w. s l i d e s h a r e . n e t / r h a n n a / s t c -
certification