Proposed Policy Statement Applications Committee
The general guidelines for the qualifications of an applicant as stated on the application are as follows:
1. If the applicant has a BA/BS/MA/MS Level CM qualifying degree through an accredited College or University, 4 years of RIC are required.
2. If the applicant has a AA/AS/Certificate Level CM qualifying degree through an accredited College or University, then besides the 4 years of RIC, 4 additional years of general design/construction experience are required. (Total of 8 years)
3. If the applicant does not qualify under Numbers 1 and 2 above, an additional 8 years of general design/construction experience. (Total of 12 years)
The requirements for a degree on the website are as follows:
Qualifying CM degrees: Construction Management, Architecture, Engineering and Construction Science.
Accredited sites:
ACCE (American Council for Construction Education) http://acce-hq.org/baccalaureateprograms.htm ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) http://www.abet.org/accrediteac.asp
NAAB (National Architecture Accrediting Board).
U.S. http://www.naab.org/schools/search.aspx?searchType=A Canada http://www.naab.org/usr_doc/canadian_schools.pdf
VERIFICATION OF DEGREE
If you are qualifying using a CM accredited-related degree (construction management, architecture, engineering) to substitute for general project experience, then you will need to submit evidence of the degree. A photocopy of the degree itself is sufficient. If you are submitting transcripts, they need to be sent directly from the college or university you attended.
About Accreditation (according to ABET)
In the United States, accreditation is used to assure quality in educational institutions and programs. Accreditation is a voluntary, non-governmental process of peer review. It requires an educational institution or program to meet certain, defined standards or criteria.
Accreditation is sometimes confused with certification. In general, institutions and programs are accredited, and individuals are certified.
The question to be asked is which degrees are acceptable to the BOG for qualifying credit to receive a 4 year exemption on the 8 year experience requirement. What is the definition of “Construction Management, Architecture, Engineering and Construction Science”?
The goal is consistency, and not to leave the decision as to the acceptance of a qualifying degree to Kate or any BOG member, but to have it spelled out for the applicant as clearly as possible. The concept I believe is to have a candidate have the experience in education that will be used on the job, and that the curriculum supports the general knowledge of the applicant to enable the enhanced job performance. Not receiving any recommendation from the meeting, and thanks very much to Lou for the document prepared a couple of years ago, the following recommendations are put on the table for discussion and presentation to the Board:
Accredited Schools
There should be NO allowance for the acceptance of a degree from a non-accredited school. The accrediting schools are doing our work for us, and why should we question that by looking at the courses or curriculum? Therefore, the third requirement on the application form should read
“No BA/BS/MA/MS Level CM qualifying degree through an accredited college or University and an additional 8 years of general design/construction experience. (Total of 12 years)”
As far as the Type of degree, I recommend that we keep it generic to the following: Acceptable degrees: Civil Engineering Mechanical Engineering Electrical Engineering Chemical Engineering Architectural Engineering Construction Management
LOU COUTORE STATEMENT CCM Academic Requirements:
The Applications Committee has considered the merits of including other academic degrees as an indication of an applicant’s overall skill and ability to perform CM services. Also, academic degrees can serve as evidence of a serious pursuit to increase the applicant’s knowledge in the interest of better serving clients, both public and private, in the market to purchase such services.
I’ve wrestled with these ideas for more than two years now. I’ve reviewed the past and current requirements regarding a degree substitution for years of CM
experience. The CMCI has traditionally limited qualifying undergraduate degrees to accredited CM or CM related programs. With all due respect to previous and current perspectives on this matter, I believe we have been selling ourselves short. The proposition below represents somewhat of a radical departure from the status quo. Proposed qualifying degrees:
1. Associates degree from an accredited program in ANY academic major: substitutes for one year of general CM experience;
2. Bachelors degree from an accredited program in ANY academic major: substitutes for two years of general CM experience;
3. Masters degree from an accredited program in ANY academic major: substitutes for three years of general CM experience;
4. Associates degree from an accredited program in CM or CM related academic major: substitutes for two years of general CM experience; 5. Bachelors degree from an accredited program in CM or CM related
academic major: substitutes for four years of general CM experience;
6. Masters degree from an accredited program in CM or CM related academic major: substitutes for five years of general CM experience;
With respect to non-accredited degree programs:
Transcripts will be evaluated to determine that the applicant has had sufficient coursework and training in areas that are relevant to the practice of construction management, through all five project phases. To have non-accredited degrees considered by the BOG, the applicant will submit in addition to their transcript the following supporting documentation: course description and syllabus, and any other supporting documentation that may be requested by the reviewers.
Suggested relevant coursework may include: six to twelve semester hours in each of the functional areas listed below; (this list is not intended to be all inclusive, and other courses can be added as appropriate)
Project Management: Organizational Behavior, Leading Project Teams, Enterprise Management, Program Management; Personnel Management, Business Law,
Business Communications, Electronic Project Management Systems, Statistics Time Management: Planning and Scheduling, CPM Scheduling Theory, Construction Claims Analysis; Primavera P3, Primavera P6
Cost Management: Construction Cost Estimating, Budgeting, Job cost accounting; Value Engineering, Cost Containment Strategies;
Quality Management: Contractor Quality Control, Quality Assurance, Quality Management Systems, Total Quality Management;
Contract Administration: Construction Contract Law, Contracting Officer’s Representative Training, Alternate Dispute Resolution Strategies;
Safety Management: Jobsite Safety, OSHA Regulations, Contractor Safety Management
Rationale for above suggestions:
For every rule, there is always an exception. The field of Construction Management is such a wide area of study and practice, with personnel from highly varied and
diverse backgrounds, including those with global design and construction experience. It is desirable to attract individuals of the highest integrity and moral character to the practice of Professional Construction Management, who have a demonstrated commitment to conducting themselves in a professional manner at all times while representing themselves, their firms and their clients. Academic achievement/formal education is one measure of a individual’s commitment to advancing one’s body of knowledge, and by extension, applying that knowledge to improving the quality of life and the built environment.
It should be noted however, that education in and of itself, does not guarantee honesty and integrity in everyday life, particularly with respect to business
transactions. Trust is a critically important, hard earned but easily lost component, which is necessary for successful relations among parties to a contract, as well as in personal relationships. In the context of the BOG’s role in reviewing CCM
applications, the governors must rely on the written statements provided by the applicant’s references. And while past performance is no guarantee of future success, a satisfied customer is the best assurance we can have that the applicant has
conducted him/herself in an honest and professional manner in the past. Final note:
Due to the diverse nature of the CM profession, it is possible for individuals with no formal academic and/or CM training to be successful as construction managers. An area in which it is difficult to assess skills is that of interpersonal relationships, but for the references provided.
CMCI has recognized that four years of RIC experience, and an additional eight years of general CM experience, will meet the minimum requirements to qualify an
applicant for candidacy, submitted together with two letters of reference from past or current projects.
Academic degree substitution for years of experience is offered as a means to
promote professionalism, and to allow aspiring professional construction managers a fast track to earning the professional credential. The BOG has discussed the
outside of the traditional design and construction curriculums at the university and college level. While technical disciplines are critically important for architects and engineers, the construction manager also needs to have a clear understanding of fiscal management, business practices, construction law, contract law, quality
assurance, and safety management in addition to a broad and general understanding of the technical disciplines of design and construction.