Frequently Asked Questions

The following questions are frequently asked by teachers and administrators who are either seeking certification, renewal, or upgrade with IACCS. If you have already looked through the Certification Manual and these FAQs and you still need further clarification, feel free to contact our office at OPS@iaccs.org or 954-517-9500.

What is the bare minimum I need to get certified with IACCS?

One can receive IACCS Temporary Teacher or Administrator Certificate with a Bachelor’s degree from an accredited or IACCS approved college, university, or seminary. Please complete and submit a IACCS Application for Professional Educator Certification or Renewal and original college transcripts to the IACCS Office of Program Services.

Can I send a copy of my college transcripts to IACCS for certification?

No. All transcripts sent to IACCS MUST be original documents, no photocopies are accepted. The transcript does NOT need to be in a sealed envelope, however it must have the official college seal or be printed on paper which cannot be photocopied. Most original applications for certification are delayed significantly for this reason.

How long does it take to get certified by IACCS?

Once all of the required paperwork (application, original college transcripts, CEU transcripts and certificates, Philosophy of Christian Education course certificate, evaluation fee, additional fees) has arrived in our office, it takes 6-8 weeks to process a certificate. It often takes longer because the applicant does not provide the appropriate paperwork with the application.

Where will my certificate be sent when IACCS is finished processing my application?

All correspondence concerning one’s certification process is directed to the school administrator or a designated staff development coordinator. Please check with your administrator or staff development coordinator before calling IACCS to check the status of your application.

If I have a Temporary Certificate, how many CEUs do I need to get upgraded to a Professional Certificate?
None. If you hold a Temporary Certificate, it means that you were lacking some key element(s) necessary to achieve Professional Certification. When you received your Temporary Certificate it would have been accompanied by a Professional Certification Plan (PCP) which lists precisely what you need in order to upgrade your certificate to a Professional Certificate. Once you earn your Professional Certificate, then you may begin to accrue CEUs and ISPs toward certificate renewal.

What qualifies as an “education” course as required on a PCP or for a subject area endorsement?
Education courses are courses that are educational in content and normally carry an education prefix in the course number (ex. ED-, EDU-, EDUC-). They are normally a part of an educational degree program, however it’s not uncommon for one to have taken educational courses in other majors as well. These can be taken at any college level as long as the college is accredited or IACCS approved. Courses that are “church” or “Sunday School” education in nature do not count as educational courses for certification purposes. We are looking for school educational courses.

What qualifies as a subject area course as required on a PCP or for a subject area endorsement?
Subject area courses are courses that are within the subject field being requested as a subject area endorsement. (ex. College Algebra, Statistics, analytical Geometry, etc would all apply to a Mathematics endorsement). They are normally a part of a degree program within that specific field, however it’s not uncommon for one to have taken subject area courses in other majors as well. These can be taken at any college level as long as the college is accredited or IACCS approved.

What is an IACCS Approved college?
An IACCS Approved college is any college that does not hold regional accreditation or accreditation from any other accepted accrediting agencies, but has met the three (3) letters of credit transfer policy. They have supplied to IACCS three (3) letters from accredited or other IACCS Approved colleges that state they accept credits from the college in question as transfer credits. The college must also prove that they do not permit more than six (6) hours of “life experience credit” for any given student. A complete list of IACCS Approved colleges can be found on the Certification page of the IACCS web site. If the college from which you graduated is not on this list, please ask the academic dean to contact the IACCS Office of Program Services for more information on how to become an IACCS Approved college.

What kinds of college accreditation does IACCS accept toward initial certification?

IACCS accepts degrees and courses from any college, university, or seminary that is accredited by:

• Any CITA (The Commission on International and Trans-Regional Accreditation) participating regional accrediting agency. This commission includes the five major regional accrediting organizations in America: www.citaschools.org
  Western Association of Schools and Colleges
  Southern Association Council on Accreditation and School Improvement
  Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
  North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement
  National Council of Private School Accreditation www.ncpsa.org
• TRACS (The Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools) - www.tracs.org
• ABHE (The Association for Biblical Higher Education - formerly the AABC -Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges) - http://abhe.gospelcom.net/
• ATS (The Association of Theological Schools) - www.ats.edu
• DETC (The Distance Education Training Council) - www.detc.org

When can I apply for IACCS Certification Renewal?
You can apply for your IACCS Certification Renewal anytime within 6 months before your current certificate expires. In other words, if your certificate expires on August 31st, you may submit your application between March 1st and August 31st. No earlier renewals will be accepted. If you wish to upgrade from a Temporary Certificate to a Professional Certificate and you have completed all the requirements listed on your Professional Certification Plan (PCP), you may apply for the upgrade at anytime. Please check the IACCS Certification Renewal box on the application - we know it is an upgrade, not technically a renewal.

"Yikes" - my IACCS Certificate expires soon and I have not completed the required CEUs and ISPs needed to renew. What can I do?
If your IACCS Certificate is about to expire, you may apply for a Certification Period Extension for 6 months or one (1) year to give you time to complete the requirements. Simply complete the application, check IACCS Certification Period Extension on the application, select the amount of time you wish to request, include the appropriate Extension Fee, and a reason for your request. This application MUST arrive on the Office of Program Services no later than your expiration date to receive the extension.

"Oops" - I allowed my IACCS certificate to expire within the last year. What do I do?
If your Temporary or Professional Certificate has expired, you may still apply for a Late Certification Renewal if it expired within one (1) year ago. Simply complete the application, check Late IACCS Certification Renewal on the application, include all CEU and course transcripts, and include both the standard evaluation fee and the Late Filing Fee.

My IACCS certificate expired over one year ago. What can I do to get my certificate reinstated?
If your Professional Certificate has expired over one (1) year ago, you may apply for a Certification Reinstatement. Simply complete the application, check IACCS Certification Reinstatement on the application, include all CEU and course transcripts, and include both the standard evaluation fee and the Late Filing Fee. You will be issued a Reinstated Professional Certificate with restrictions. See the Certification Program Manual for more details. This option is NOT available to Temporary or Provisional Certificate holders who allowed their certification to expire over one (1) year ago.

What if I let my Provisional Certificate expire? Can I renew it?
Sorry, but no you may not renew it. A Provisional Certificate is a special certificate issued after the 1999 Certification Revision that permitted previously certified teachers who did not hold a Bachelor’s degree to continue certification within certain provisions. One of those provisions was that you would not allow the certificate to expire. Therefore, you have lost your IACCS certification status and must apply for an initial certificate under the latest IACCS Certification guidelines and policies.

What is a CEU?
A CEU is a Continuing Education Unit as applied by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (www.iacet.org). One CEU equals ten (10) contact hours of professional development training which are broken into individual one (1) contact hour units called Inservice Points (ISPs). To renew a Professional Certificate, you must have a minimum of 9 CEUs accrued within your certification period.

What is an ISP?
An ISP is an Inservice Point which equals one (1) contact hour of professional development training. Technically, one (1) contact hour of professional development training is equivalent to a fifty (50) minute session. Ten (10) ISPs equal one (1) CEU. To renew a Professional Certificate, you need 90 ISPs or 9 CEUs accrued within your certification period.

How do I get an inservice opportunity approved for CEU or ISP credit?
All CEU and ISP approvals are handled through the Master Inservice Program. Before you take the course or seminar, provide your school administrator or school inservice coordinator with all the following information about the seminar: title, date, location, host organization, instructor name and credentials, and length of instructional sessions.

If I take college courses as professional development toward IACCS certificate renewal, do I need to submit the college credits to the Master Inservice Program for approval or accrual?
No. Any college courses taken as professional development toward IACCS certificate renewal are not to be submitted to the Master Inservice Program. They should be reported to IACCS upon application for renewal by submitting an original transcript for each college where courses were taken.

If I teach a college course, can it count as professional development toward my certificate renewal?
Yes. However the course must be educational in nature. (ex. Introduction to Education, Secondary Teaching Methods, Teaching Elementary Math, etc.) Submit the course information and a letter from the college dean certifying that you taught the course to the Master Inservice Program. Each semester credit hour taught will earn you 20 ISPs. A course may be submitted to Master Inservice Program only one time, regardless of how many times you teach the course.

What if my school is not a member of Master Inservice Program?  Can I still submit CEUs and ISPs for renewal?
No. If your school is a participant or accredited member of IACCS and one (1) or more faculty members are IACCS certified, the school is REQUIRED to join the Master Inservice Program on an annual basis and use the service to approve and accrue CEUs and ISPs for all faculty members. IACCS will not accept CEUs or ISPs from a certificate holder who is employed by a IACCS member school.

I am no longer a teacher at a IACCS participant member or accredited school. Can I still maintain my IACCS certification?
Yes. However, you will not have the privilege of having CEUs and ISPs approved or accrued by the Master Inservice Program. You will need to submit CEU and ISP approvals directly to the IACCS Office of Program Services. Upon certificate renewal, submit to IACCS your Master Inservice Program transcript (CEUs and ISPs accrued when you were employed by a IACCS school), certificates of completion of CEU and ISP seminars, and any original college transcripts. You can apply for Certification Period Extensions and Late Certification Renewal, however you cannot apply for Certification Reinstatement if you are not employed by a IACCS member school.

What types of on-campus professional development activities count toward IACCS certification renewal for our teachers?
Any type of on-campus professional development that is held in a seminar format with a qualified instructor (Master’s degree or higher and expert in the field) and last for at least one (1) contact hour can count toward certification renewal. Each should be submitted to the Master Inservice Program before the seminar is held.

If I take a professional development course online or through distance education, can it count toward certification renewal?
Yes, but with some restrictions. Online and distance education professional development must contain some type of product to be produced by the teacher. Each should be submitted to the Master Inservice Program before the seminar is held to be sure it will count.

Does The MASTER Teacher Learning Network for Professional Teacher Development™ brochure program count toward IACCS certification renewal?
Yes, however you must complete the online elements (test and self-reflection exercise) and provide a transcript from the program to the Master Inservice Program. Each course will equal one (1) ISP. Note, a maximum of twenty-four (24) ISPs from this program will be accepted toward a teacher’s certification renewal in a certification period.