Prospective Candidates
Why should I become accredited?
The ABC designation behind your name says that you have successfully met a global standard in organizational communication. You have a specific level of education and experience as a communicator or public relations practitioner. Your work has demonstrated that you can think strategically, establish meaningful goals and objectives, and measure your success. Your work has been reviewed by your peers and has successfully stood the test that demonstrates you have a well-rounded problem-solving approach.
IABC’s biennial survey of the profession, Profile, shows that accredited members’ average salary is significantly higher than that of non-accredited members.
Earn your ABC in three steps: Application, portfolio of work, and a written and oral examination.
Accreditation Prospective Candidate FAQs:
What are the prerequisites?
You are eligible for accreditation if you are a professional communicator with a minimum of five years of experience in business communication (organizational communication, public relations or communication management) and a bachelor’s degree, or a total of nine years of combined post-secondary education and/or experience.
You must also have a reputation for abiding by the principles of accuracy, truthfulness, sensitivity and IABC's Code of Ethics for Professional Communicators.
How do I become accredited?
The accreditation process involves three separate steps. You must successfully complete each step before you can proceed to the next.
- Application
- Qualification (the portfolio)
- Examination (written and oral)
Each portion of the accreditation process contributes to your score. The portfolio grade counts for 25 percent of the total, the written exam counts for 58 percent of the total, and the oral exam counts for 17 percent of the total.
Application
The application form asks for information on your education and work experience.
Your application should be a comprehensive summary of your professional experience and qualifications. Your eligibility to proceed with accreditation is determined mostly by the information you provide, so be as complete and candid as possible. Evaluators will check to see that you've met the basic eligibility requirements and look for evidence of general career progress and experience in a number of areas of organizational communication.
The front of the form gives the Accreditation Council biographical information such as: who you are, where you work and how long you have been in the profession.
You are also asked about your post-secondary education. If you intend to substitute years of work experience in lieu of formal education, check the table of prerequisites below.
There is space on the application to list continuing education courses taken in the past two years. This could include graduate courses in the communication field or attendance at professional conferences, seminars or workshops.
If you plan to take the exam at a specific location and on a certain date, please specify this.
If you have disabilities that might require special arrangements on the day of the examination, please explain on the application form.
Information on your present position. In describing your supervisory activities, include not only those people who report directly to you but others—such as freelance writers, consultants, vendors, photographers and task force members—who receive direction from you. Be sure to distinguish between the two categories.
Information on prior positions should cover any jobs that required communication responsibilities. Prepare additional sheets on each prior communication position for the past 10 years and attach them to your application in reverse chronological order (most recent first). The information requested is the same as that required for your present position. You may provide any other information, including a résumé, that may have a bearing on the judges' evaluation of your application for accreditation.
The full accreditation fee is due with the application.
If it is necessary to retake part of the examination, an additional fee will be charged based on the number of sections the candidate retakes.
Qualification: The portfolio
You must submit a portfolio of two work samples with work plans to demonstrate the range of communication projects or programs you've been responsible for and your ability to plan and work strategically. Candidates must receive a passing score of 4.0 or better on their portfolio to qualify to take the examination (using a 0-7 scale).
Examination
The examination tests your knowledge of communication and management skills. The exam is 4.5 hours long and includes a written and oral test.
Candidates meeting all requirements of the program earn the designation Accredited Business Communicator (ABC).
How much does it cost to apply?
The fee is payable in U.S. currency only.
IABC members maintain their accreditation as long as they are members. Non-members will be required to pay an annual administration fee of US$400 to keep their accreditation active, payable annually on the anniversary of their accreditation.
For groups wishing to go through the process together, discounts are available when applications are submitted at the same time. For more information, please consult the Accreditation Partnership Program or contact
.
Where can I get an application form?
Download the IABC Accreditation application form.
What resources are available to help me?
Resources available to all candidates include:
Other resources:
Accreditation workshops and local mentoring programs are offered by a number of IABC chapters. An increasing number of chapters are now offering Accreditation Completion Programs (ACPs). The ACP model, first developed by IABC/BC, provides an outline by which groups can work through the process together to successfully earn their ABCs.
You are highly encouraged to attend a workshop or go through an Accreditation Completion Program. If you would like more information on how to help your chapter develop workshops or completion programs, please contact
.
Candidates may be interested in optional teleseminars on the topics of portfolio and exam preparation, and the text Inside Organizational Communication, Third Edition, edited by Al Wann, ABC, APR. You can consult the Events page for upcoming teleseminars. The IABC Handbook of Organizational Communication is available for purchase from the IABC Knowledge Centre bookstore.
Accreditation Coach Program
If you are not able to get coaching from an accredited member in your chapter, IABC may be able to match you with an accreditation coach. Members of the Accreditation Council recruit accredited members to be Accreditation Coaches and match them to the experience and knowledge requested by accreditation candidates. Your coach can discuss the accreditation process with you, review your draft portfolio work plans, and provide general coaching for the exam and cheerleading toward completion of the accreditation process. If you would like to request a coach, please complete the Accreditation Coach Request form.
What skills are needed for the accreditation process?
Most ABCs have accumulated their professional knowledge and skills through a combination of education and experience. Because of this, there are no required study materials, although some review may be helpful, particularly if a lot of time has passed since you’ve taken an exam. There is a sample written and oral exam on the web site to help you prepare for the process of examination.
Accreditation covers a wide variety of skills required of a strategic communicator. Some are considered essential for all communicators and are included on every examination. These are:
- Goal-setting
- Audience/constituent research
- Writing communication plans
- Budgeting and cost control
- Oral presentation
- Project management
- Time management
- Measuring effectiveness
- Writing proposals for communication programs
- General management skills
- Written communication
- Managing employee communication programs
- Media relations
- Communication ethics
- Problem-solving and consulting skills
- Organizational culture and politics
- Investor/shareholder communication
- Technology
Other skills are more job-specific and are optional. Many questions in the exam have a number of options, allowing you to answer the one that best reflects your experience and knowledge. Skills covered in these optional questions include:
- Writing news and features
- Newsletter editing
- Magazine editing
- Writing for audiovisual and video programs
- Speakers bureaus
- Event and conference planning/support
- Writing speeches
- Managing publications
- Marketing communication
- Member communication
- Managing community relations programs
- Feedback systems
- Technology use
You will not be expected to know the technical aspects of areas normally outside of the professional responsibilities of a communication generalist (such as statistical considerations of validity in survey samples, or the color characteristics of flexographic inks).
Accreditation workshops are offered by a number of IABC chapters, and an increasing number of chapters are now offering Accreditation Completion Programs. You are encouraged to attend a workshop or go through an Accreditation Completion Program. If you would like more information on how to help your chapter develop workshops or completion programs, please contact
.
How long does it take to approve my application?
About four to eight working days.
What are the portfolio deadlines?
Portfolios are accepted for evaluation throughout the year. However, if you would like to take the exam at the IABC International Conference in June, you will need to submit your portfolio no later than March 1.
How long does it take to approve my portfolio?
About 8 - 10 weeks.
How long does it take to receive results from the oral and written exams?
Generally within 60 - 90 days.
Do ABCs receive a certificate?
Earning IABC accreditation is a significant achievement. You will receive:
- A certificate
- ABC pin
- Pass packet with detailed scores
and, perhaps most important,
- Peer recognition
- Personal satisfaction.
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