ICF to Keep 3-Tiered Credentialing System; ISO to Be “Revisited”

The single-credential concept is off the table–for now.

In a message posted on the International Coach Federation’s blog, ICF president Giovanna D’Alessio writes “the decision of the Board is to keep the existing 3-tier credentialing system in place until January 2012.” The decision follows months of discussion and debate and a contentious forum on the ICF’s proposal to adopt a single credential at its convention in Orlando in December. “This does not mean that the 3-tier system will disappear in January 2012,” said D’Alessio. “It only means that anyone planning to apply for one of the existing credentials can rely on the stability of the existing 3-tier system through that time.”

The ICF had advanced a single credential system, along with the adoption of ISO compliance.

The decision to seek ISO certification “must be revisited,” said D’Alessio. “The Board discussed that there are merits to us using internationally accepted standards as applicable for our credentialing program. We decided to use such existing standards as a guideline and we will work to develop other standards where needed.”

The ICF Board has further decided to develop “a governance body under the umbrella of the ICF which is administratively independent.”

What happens now?

According to the ICF letter, “The Credentialing and Program Accreditation Committee has been charged with developing a plan of action to be presented to the Board. This plan of action will be aligned to the three-fold purpose above. The Committee will reach out and create task forces to include key stakeholders such as credentialed coaches, assessors, ICF Coaches Take a Stand members, ACTO, GSAEC and others to carry out the plan and ensure co-creation. A 2010 work plan with major milestones and time frame will be developed by the Committee for Board review on March 18.”

The ICF Board will discuss the new agenda in a series of calls following the Board’s January meeting. The first call is scheduled for January 26. Full details of the call schedule–and the Board’s focus for credentialing–can be found here.