The Degree of Experience is a program for accrediting prior learning (APL) at a London university. Advantages for students lacking entry qualifications include admission criteria stated in terms of skills, knowledge, and ability (SKA) rather than credentials; accurate SKA profiles for diagnosing weaknesses; and integration of APL into admissions…

Immigrants often are unable to practice their professions in new countries. Interviews in 1992 and 1995 with 910 Russian immigrants to Israel showed that participation in government-sponsored retraining helped improve occupational status and earnings, especially for women. Those with lower occupational status also benefitted subjectively from…

Almost one of every seven persons who gets a high school-completion credential does so through the tests of General Educational Development (GED). A study based on figures gleaned from the annual reports of the GED Testing Service is reported. (MLW)

A popular legal strategy for college faculty who sue after being denied tenure is to turn the spotlight on the credentials of colleagues, particularly in sex discrimination cases. Colleagues caught in the crossfire often suffer personal humiliation and professional discredit. (MSE)

Includes "The Foibles and Follies of Gerontological Imperialists" (Johnson); "The Time for Accreditation Has Come" (Connelly); "Professionals in the Field of Aging Should Be Credentialed" (Peterson); and "A Reaction to the Debate" (Lubben). (JOW)

The American School Food Service Association has two recognition programs: the recently revised School Foodservice and Nutrition Certification Program and the new School Foodservice and Nutrition Specialist Credentialing Program. The credentialing program was created to enhance school food-service professionals' image and improve their management…

Explores the concept of the "professional" in librarianship, the right mix of professional and support staff in libraries, librarians doing clerical work, professional credentials, and staffing changes resulting from technological advancement. (PEN)

Provides an overview of standards development, accreditation, and credentialing with particular attention to specialties. Considers a number of unresolved issues, and presents the pros and cons of specialties in the professionalization of counseling. (JPS)

Although the regulation of the counseling profession has been sought and accomplished in most states, it is questionable whether the public is best protected by state regulation. Offers an alternative to governmental regulation of specialties. (JPS)

Reviews the available evidence on the economic benefits of postsecondary education below the level of the baccalaureate degree, concentrating on the effects of community colleges. Results indicate substantial benefits for many kinds of postsecondary education. However, the economic benefits of small amounts of coursework are often zero and at best…

Examines the implementation of the New Zealand Qualifications Framework, with emphasis on the relationship between educational institutions and industry partner organizations. Argues that government policy must consider the differing skills of industry and education and not create an imbalance in power that inhibits effective implementation of…

Professional identity is a term used to describe both the collective identity of a profession and an individual's own sense of the professional role. This article draws from the literature exploring professional identity with attention to the issues of developing professional identity in fields such as art therapy where lower wages, fewer jobs,…

Accurately describing personnel shortages is difficult in the absence of reliable sources and with problems defining terms. Despite periods when employment opportunities were limited, it appears there has never been a time when the supply of school psychologists was sufficient to meet the demand. Recent personnel shortages follow a period of…

The Behavior Analyst Certification Board[R] (BACB[R]) credentials behavior analysts at two levels. This article examines how well the BACB and the certifications it offers adhere to accepted professional credentialing standards. Future developments in the BACB certification process and implications for behavior analysis service delivery are also…

One of the most ambitious and intriguing developments in higher education in the world today is the so-called Bologna process in Europe. An initiative of the European Union, this process began in June 1999 when twenty-nine ministers in charge of higher education met to begin creating a European higher education area within which the comparability…