8 minute read
Spotlight on Education: Certification Status Report
Chart Your Course for Success In 2019 with Online Access to Your Personal Certification Status Report
Whether you are a seasoned professional or new to the industry, CACM’s Certification Status Report makes understanding where you are in your educational pursuits a snap!
The CACM Certification Status Report was designed to make your certification and educational pursuits easy to navigate and eliminate unnecessary phone calls during your busy workday. Now you have access to this information in an easy to understand format 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!
New Certification So you’ve made the decision to invest in your career and earn your CCAM (Certified Community Association Manager) certification which tells your employer, colleagues or the communities you serve that you truly are a professional within the field. Good for you!
This certification demonstrates a level of competence that CACM has defined for community managers. Your understanding of best practices, California-specific laws and ethical guidelines will assist you in providing the highest level of service to your communities.
Educational Overview: The Certification Status Report provides an educational overview that showcases key information: • The specific credential you are recertifying in • The original certification date • If you have recertified in the past • The date you must complete all requirements to recertify
Additionally, you’ll find the number of CEUs required to recertify, the number you have earneåd to date, if you satisfied the Law Seminar and Ethics requirements and if you have submitted the recertification application. Your first step is to contact Education & Credentialing Advisor, Tammy Willits so that she can guide you through the process and ensure you can log on and view your Certification Status Report. Like the recertification detail listed below, you’ll have access to your educational overview in addition to a comprehensive listing of the specifics related to the CEUs required.
Recertification CCAM managers must satisfy recertification requirements every three years, starting from the first official certification date. CACM understands that keeping track of the details can feel a bit overwhelming.
CEUs Toward CCAM Recertification: Dive into the information displayed by learning the specifics related to the CEUs required and taken.
Advanced Credentials: So you hold your CCAM certification, but would like to take your career to the next level ensuring the communities you serve see you as the top of your field. Congratulations! Your first step will be to contact Education & developing your personalized education path at CACM. Unlike foundational courses that are required in order to be certified, the advanced credentialing educational phase provides you with the ability to choose from over 200 course sessions that best suit your career goals. Whether you’ll be working towards securing your specialty designation or MCAM certification, your Certification Status Report will keep you on track. Ready to access your report? Follow these easy steps:
Credentialing Advisor, Tammy Willits so she can assist you with 1. Log on to CACM.org 2. Under Certification Status Report (found on your profile page), select Click here for your Certification Status report 3. Once selected, you’ll be directed to the Status Report page. Simply scroll down to view the status report
Why the Certification Status Report Is Important
With this report, you’ll be able to stay on track, share the exciting news with your supervisor or board, reach out to CACM for the additional documents you need, map out a plan to expand your knowledge and ultimately, achieve your certification or recertification!
Your Certification Status Report offers a detailed look at what courses you have registered for, confirms your attendance (if the course survey was completed) and the specifics of where you are in the documents and fees required to finalize your credential.
CACM advocates for you, our manager members! It is our strongest desire to ensure you are the most educated professional in California, which elevates you as the premier choice for managing California communities. CACM is the only association that gives you the ability to call yourself “certified” after completion of our courses.
By now, many of our members have heard from our new Education and Credentialing Advisor, Tammy
Willits. Tammy’s primary role at CACM is to work alongside our members in making the most of the courses available to you as a CACM member.
Contact Tammy to walk through how you can elevate your personal brand with quality education and certifications that carry the highest level of professionalism. She can be reached at twillits@cacm.org or 949-340-6615.
No Time to Travel to Courses? No Problem!
CACM is making it easier to gain the professional
enrichment you need to succeed in your career
path. We have added 12 updated courses to
our newest learning platform, the instructor
led web courses. Same instructor experience
and Q & A opportunities as a classroom course
without having to leave the office. Look for
additional online offerings later in the year.
For more information email
education@cacm.org
SHOUT OUT to the Community Manager!
Personal Disclosures Display Value and Professionalism
Sometimes it can be a daily struggle to prove your value and worth to board members. If you have a portfolio of accounts you will have a large number of board members watching and wondering if you know what you’re doing. Then of course, you get new ones every year. We joke about reinventing the wheel every time a new owner gets on the board. Honestly, this aspect of our role as community managers can be quite the challenge.
I remember years ago, I was a freshman manager and my board president mentioned that I was the topic of conversation at the club during dinner. Whoa, that set me back in my chair for a moment! I never imagined anyone would be talking about me. That’s when
the light bulb turned on, and I realized I was now a very public person. Yikes! What stress that placed on my everyday communications with owners and board members. I was always wondering what was being said about me and what people thought.
Fast forward to today. While I no longer stress about such things, I do recommend that managers utilize different ways to tout their skills and disclose to owners and board members the education and training they have achieved.
Portray Your Value in the Community Newsletter
A great idea is to have a newsletter brief once a year or so to tout yourself. Owners will find a “Did You Know” article about you interesting, particularly when you’ve passed a milestone, taken advanced coursework or received a new California certification. Annual Certification Disclosure
We also have a chance every year to provide our board members with details about professional accomplishments. The annual manager certification disclosure is a very important avenue to help your board understand your skills, value and commitment to your career. You can find a great example of a disclosure letter in the Manager’s Toolkit in the Members Only section of the CACM website. CACM also provides a beautiful four color brochure outlining the value of the CCAM designation. You can order copies to include with your letter!
Annual Report Updates
Another great tool is the annual report. I always write a report that accompanies the prior year audit. I recap everything the board accomplished in each category to correlate with expenses (landscape, security, etc.) I take the minutes from the prior year and use it as my guideline. In my closing, I take the
Continued on page 52
Shout Out to Managers
Continued from page 51 opportunity to disclose my education and accomplishments and thank the members for allowing me to serve them. I get numerous positive notes and calls after that mailing is received.
Other Disclosures
Additional disclosures can come at any time during the year. Disclosures that show your board that you have completed a course, obtained a credential or just demonstrated that you have integrity. You can disclose in executive session that a particular vendor has offered to pay your way in the local golf tournament or that the painter will be painting your home and what you will be paying. Keeping your board apprised of any personal transactions with your vendors shows them you take your professionalism seriously and value your ethics and integrity.
Take every opportunity you can to share your success with your boards and owners, they will truly see you as a valued asset to their community.
This article originally published in Vision Magazine’s Summer 2015 issue. The author, Kay Ladner, is a retired community manager.
Our Services:
• Asphalt Repair, Patching & Crack Seal • Asphalt Removal & Replacement • All Types of Slurry Seals, Pavement Coatings & Striping • ADA Compliance
