NCCA Accreditation

IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association has announced 10 certifications that are either NCCA accredited, or are in the process of applying. IHRSA

Those certification organizations currently accredited are:

American College of Sports Medicine
American Council on Exercise
National Academy of Sports Medicine
National Council of Strength & Fitness
National Federation of Professional Trainers
National Strength & Conditioning Association

Those who have stated intent to apply are:

National Exercise & Sports Trainers Association
Pilates Method Alliance
The Cooper Institute
International Fitness Professionals Association
National Exercise Trainers Association


A little history and other info:
In 2005, IHRSA set out to raise the standards of personal training nationwide by making the recommendation that its member clubs only hire trainers who hold at least one certification from an NCCA accredited organization.
NCCA accreditation is only granted to certifying organizations that adhere to their strict criteria for certification-granting testing. Among the criteria, an organization must use a required independent exam validation process, such as Schroeder Measurement Technologies or Thomson Prometric. They must also put in place and prove enforcement of policies on cheating, proper test environment, a supervised examination delivery, third party "grading", and absolutely NO "teaching to the test".

It should be noted that NCCA accreditation is the accreditation of many professional certifying fields such as, to name just a few:

emergency medical technicians
nursing
athletic trainers
radiography
sonography
orthotics and prosthetics
opticianry
nutrition
and even chiropractic!

For a complete list of NCCA accredited fields, please visit here: http://www.noca.org/ncca/accredorg.htm

Chiropractic is of interest here. The American Chiropractic Neurology Board earned NCCA accreditation (ACNB article) , and the American Chiropractic Association had directed that its Specialty Council Certification Boards pursue NOCA/NCCA accreditation. According to the ACA, "This accreditation ensures the public and all professions that a certification board represents the highest quality and standards in a discipline."

It seems interesting that the NBFE would appear to take such a strong stance against NCCA accreditation when Sal Arria (NBFE leader) is a Doctor of Chiropractic, a field that obviously recognizes NCCA as a gold standard for certifying board accreditation. If it is good enough for the American Chiropractic Association, why isn't it good enough for personal trainers?

However, NCCA is just as hailed in personal training as it is in the chiropractic field. Ace has a good description of the accreditation process, along with a comprehensive explanation of why it is important to the personal training industry, ACE NCCA. The National Federation of Professional Trainers (NFPT), an NCCA accredited trainer certifying organization, also has a position on the issue:

"The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), is a 3rd party governing (accrediting) authority over certifying agencies whose governance requirements in part, include proof of the independent development of standardized minimum competency exams of all certifying organizations it governs. Valid exam development starts with the clear definition of the scope of practice. Then, an unbiased 3rd party psychometric company creates an industry survey-based validated exam for that particular scope of practice. Since the same exact protocols are required of all independent certifying agencies by NCCA, the resulting exams are overwhelmingly similar. Hence, widespread, universal testing standards currently exist among NCCA accredited certifiers. This clearly identified NCCA accrediting body is experienced, respected, and recognized by all informed allied health professionals. Relationships between personal trainers and allied health professionals who have confidence in NCCA's governing ability is finally possible RIGHT NOW.

Confidence in NCCA may more logically result in widespread patient referrals for fitness training [since professionals in these health care fields often hold specialization certifications which are NCCA accredited]. NCCA protects vocations from government regulation indirectly through a legislative sunrise Review process that identifies NCCA to legislators as an acceptable self-governing standard This process may likely be the reason there has been no legislative involvement in the personal training field.

The incidences of trainer-client injury-related law suites have been grossly overstated over the past two decades when in fact, personal trainers are being offered Million per claim professional liability insurance policies for an annual premium of as little as 0. Moreover, where NCCA is concerned, reduced professional liability insurance rates are already being offered to health clubs who staff their facilities with trainers possessing at least one accredited certification. With risk levels acceptable by those with the greatest exposure (Insurance Companies), how do we then justify the sense of urgency concerning the purported risk to public health and safety that does not exist? Misinformation can hurt our industry."