New Streamlined Process for APR Offers More Flexibility,
Feedback
by Richard F. de la Torre, APR
There are many new things that CalSPRA members will like hearing about the new Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations (APR).
The APR process this year has been significantly changed to offer candidates better direction and support in their quest to become accredited.
The key revision, according to the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), has to do with the structure for the oral interview portion of the testing, which is now called a Readiness Review. The Readiness Review requires a candidate to interview with a local panel of three accredited professionals who will assess each candidate's readiness to succeed in the written examination.
The Review will involve each candidate submitting to the panel written materials and a portfolio of work.
If a candidate passes the review, he or she is then eligible to take the written portion of the exam. If a candidate does not advance, he or she may apply to take another review in 90 days. There are no limits on the number of times a candidate may submit to the Review process.
When it's time to take the written examination, it can be scheduled at virtually any time through Prometric, Inc. The firm has as more than 300 computer-based testing facilities throughout North America. This scheduling convenience, which is another major change in the process, can be done via toll-free telephone or Prometric's Web site. The exam may be taken within one year of being advanced by the Readiness Review Panel.
Earning accreditation is a meaningful professional and
personal achievement, says Karen Kleinz, APR, associate
director the National School Public Relations Association.
"It not only adds credibility and stature to your expertise
on the job, it also builds self confidence by validating
your knowledge and experience as a PR pro. But it's not
to be pursued lightly -- it requires study and commitment!"
NSPRA is one of eight public relations organizations that
comprise the Universal Accreditation Board (UAB), which
became effective January 1999. NSPRA offers its members
a testing fee rebate of $110, which is provided to candidates
after they successfully achieve accreditation.
Here's a quick recap of the process and who to contact:
- Submit eligibility form, application fee to PRSA
- Receive notification of eligibility from PRSA
- Access Study Guide, online exercises and/or local prep courses.
- Complete Readiness Review Questionnaire; request a Readiness Review through PRSA
- Participate in Readiness Review
- Request coaching, mentoring and support services
- Schedule Written Exam with Prometric
- Take the Exam
Contact info:
- Manager of the Universal Accreditation Board: kathy.mulvihill@prsa.org
- The UAB's office Web site: www.accreditationboard.org
- The Prometric Info Line and Web site: 1-800-274-1900 and www.prometric.com
- View PDF files of some recent articles on accreditation from the PRSA's Public Relations Tactics newsletter.
Richard F. de la Torre is a communications specialist with
the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
APR: Your PR diploma, our professional insignia
By Gary Leatherman, APR
If you have been in school public relations for more than a couple of years, you no doubt have heard colleagues complaining about one or more of the following: We get no respect even from the people we make look good. We are scorned as hacks, flacks and spin doctors. We are looked at as excess baggage when budgets get tight.
Sometimes the misinformation about the profession can be staggering. I once heard an assistant superintendent ask a communications director who was working on a doctorate, "Why would you need a Ph.D. for a job that any secretary with a copier could do?"
It is ironic that we work so hard to promote others and yet have had such limited success in positioning ourselves as the key players in solving the communications problems that nearly all school districts decry as a crucial shortcoming.
While we may publicly agree that effective communications is an art and a science that involves research, analysis and evaluation and requires training, study, skill and experience in all of those disciplines, the numbers indicate that too few of us moved very far beyond doing communications by the seat of our pants. What numbers? The numbers that show that only eight of the 161 current members of CalSPRA are accredited.
Can you be a good PR professional without accreditation? Of course you can. But you can be an even better one with accreditation.
As Rick de la Torre, APR, has eloquently explained in his article on universal accreditation in this newsletter, the process has been updated, streamlined and rendered universal in the sense of availability as well as applicability. There is no reason that any practitioner with the requisite years of professional experience should not be accredited.
So why are so few of us getting it done? One reason may be that our understanding of why accreditation is important is a bit fuzzy. After all, few of us and even fewer of the administrators who hire us, know what the heck APR stands for, much less what it means.
It stands for "Accredited in Public Relations." It means that the person who holds that title has studied, practiced and stood for examination by the best of his or her peers and proven that he or she is qualified to manage a comprehensive communications, public relations or community relations program for any public or private institution anywhere.
It means that we know developing a comprehensive communications program involves more than reporting. It means that we not only know that research, analysis, communication and evaluation are all necessary elements of a communications strategy, but also how to execute each of those elements.
It means we know the differences among marketing, publicity, advertising and sales. It means that we know that building credibility and relationships is the heart of public relations, not media exposure.
It means that in the hardscrabble school of real world public relations, we have been weighed and measured and found exemplary. It means we have earned our PR diploma.
But as we wander in the politically polarized wilderness that 21st century American public education is fast becoming, we are in danger of being so many Cassandras speaking truths nobody believes.
The future of the free and fair public education for all children to which we have dedicated our professional lives depends to a great extent on our ability not just to demonstrate our individual skills, but to establish our collective professional credibility.
The status of a profession is elevated immeasurably when its practitioners are certified to possess mastery of a complex body of skill and knowledge. If we want to be respected as professionals, we have to stand for the exam. It really is that simple.
When only five percent of a body of professionals holds the certification for the job, one might conclude either that the five percent are extraordinarily talented folks or that the standards of the profession are exceptionally low.
The point is, however that your colleagues who have earned their APR are no more brilliant, talented, well-educated, experienced or good looking than you are. They just decided one day to stop thinking about it and get themselves accredited.
Mr. De la Torre wants to prevent your being scared off by the accreditation process by pointing out that it is fair, transparent and available. It is all of those things, but just to set the record straight, earning your PR wings is no walk in the park. The level of preparation, reading and writing involved is often compared to an upper-division graduate school course.
Still, nobody I know who has toughed it through the process has been sorry for having made the effort. Even back in the dark ages when candidates could pass the written exam only to crash and burn their first time through the orals, everyone recognized that the professional grounding the reading, case studies, analysis and testing provided made them more competent and more confident professionals.
Now the process is more straightforward and far more accessible. So what are you waiting for? These are tough times for California educators and students, but there will never be a better time for CalSPRA members to show that we are willing to do everything humanly possible to develop the community support our schools need to thrive. In a state that demands its students to take a test to prove they deserve a diploma, how can we do any less to show we deserve to represent them?
If you need more convincing that the accreditation process is worth the effort you will put into it, visit the NSPRA Web site at http://www.nspra.org/2002APRFlyer.pdf. There you will find testimonials from the newest accredited members of NSPRA, including fresh APR's from CalSPRA.
Should you decide to take the plunge, any APR in the CalSPRA or NSPRA directory is no more than a phone call or e-mail away for encouragement, advice and support. The CalSPRA Accreditation Committee is at your disposal for contact information and tips on how to set up a real or virtual study group.
You know the four rules of PR are:
- Do a good job.
- Do a good job.
- Do a good job. and
- Tell everybody what a good job you are doing.
There is no better way than getting your accreditation to let the world know what a good job you are doing and how proud you are to be doing it.
Gary Leatherman, APR, is the Communications Director for
the Fremont Unified School District