COR wants its Associates to meet high standards of professional quality. Since 1995, COR has trained many people in leadership and professional helping roles, based on best practices gleaned from research in these areas. Additionally, we pay attention to the feedback we receive from the services we provide to others. What COR did not have — until 2006 — was a strong model to articulate what “high standards of professional quality” means.

Additionally, many members of the general public recognize the advantages of strong knowledge, skills, and dispositions in areas affecting their effectiveness in leading others and in professional helping. The same courses and workshops COR uses to train its own Associates are also open to the public. The more people who share these enhanced ways of working with others, the healthier all our organizations and communities will be – what COR’s mission is all about!

The dictionary defines “to certify” as “to provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one’s behavior, attitude, or external attributes.” COR’s basic certification process requires evidence that an individual meets specific standards of competence necessary to specific areas of group leadership and professional helping roles. This evidence is provided to a Certification Committee in portfolio format. The portfolio process is designed to be highly personalized depending upon individual preferences and experience.

COR offers basic certification, not “intermediate” or “advanced” — although many people who are certified by COR possess high levels of expertise. COR’s intent is to document that an individual has demonstrated competence in a specific area as judged by a juried committee of professionals.

COR’s basic certifications do not constitute professional licenses or state credentials, which are legal, standardized, or official declarations of competence. The types of educational services offered by COR, and other similar organizations currently do not require state licensure.

Other educational and professional organizations offer similar types of certification to COR’s. Examples include:

• International Association of Facilitators (IAF)
  
• National Institute for Facilitation (NCF)
  
• International Coach Federation (ICF)
  
• National Speakers’ Association (NSA)
  
• American Society of Training and Development (ASTD)