Paper Chase
In May, the U. S. Green Building Council officially handed off its LEED credentialing program to a third party—the Green Building Certification Institute—which led to a scramble by some people to take the USGBC test for Accredited Professional certification before everything changed.
“The rollout has been complicated, but anything with LEED has to keep evolving with the market,” says Courtney France, a Denver-based independent sustainability consultant who provides LEED training nationwide.
The switch has also confused leaders at some of the USGBC chapters. “We’re still kind of new in the rating system,” says Todd Laker, education and programs committee chair with the Utah Chapter of the USGBC. “We had a lot of people wanting to take the test before it changed. We haven’t had a lot of success in bringing the technical (continuing education) workshops and filling them.”
A Complex Process
But in fairness to local USGBC chapter leadership, the process itself is layered with complexity. Where there used to be just one test and one credential, there are now three possible tiers: Green Associate, LEED AP and LEED Fellow.
In addition to tiers of testing and credentialing, there are also two separate groups of people to consider: existing LEED APs who took the old test and new people.
Existing LEED APs can choose to do nothing and be designated a LEED AP without specialty in the LEED Professional Directory. Or they can choose to take one of the new specialty tests and earn a LEED AP with a specialty designation. As a third option, they have until August 2011 to enroll in the new tiered system and take 30 hours of continuing education credits every two years.
All existing LEED APs have been sent an e-mail alerting them of the enrollment deadline, France says. But many may choose to wait until August 2011 because they don’t feel motivated to enroll. The date at which a LEED AP enrolls begins his or her two-year timeframe to earn the continuing education hours and become a LEED AP with specialty.
Chapter Help
The Colorado chapter of the USGBC is encouraging its existing LEED APs to enroll sooner rather than later.
Colorado LEED APs who enroll before the April Rocky Mountain Green 2010 conference can earn continuing...
...education credits by attending conference sessions, says Jessica Pascoe, director of education for USGBC Colorado. Courses must be approved for eligibility, and the sessions at the April conference will be an easy way to earn credits, she says.
“We’re planning for 2010 to offer a variety of programs for all the different specialties and levels,” Pascoe adds. “You can get hours under live presentations, committee work and participating in a LEED project.”
Sharon Patterson, Idaho’s USGBC Chapter chair, says, “I don’t think it (the new system) takes work off the chapter’s plate. If someone wants to pursue credentialing, they’re going to go through the national GBCI. But it impacts the state on the educational side. There’s now a continuing education requirement.”
Patterson says all the new specialty tiers require more specialty classes. “There needs to be someone available to teach a workshop,” she says. “You need LEED faculty. We don’t have many in this region.”
Each state’s USGBC chapter is handling the changes differently.
“At this point, in the Utah chapter, we help facilitate study groups, nothing formal other than putting people together,” Laker says. “We have a few resources on our website.”
New people can go to the GBCI’s website and review handbooks and requirements to figure out which test they want to take.
As of December, more than 2,600 people nationwide had earned the LEED Green Associate designation, but opinions are mixed on whether the new system is an improvement over the old.
“In some ways, there’s respect that it’s a little more challenging to get the credentials,” Patterson says. “You have to prove you have project experience. It’s a little higher bar to reach.”
Pascoe adds: “I think there’s some frustration on exactly what’s required. GBCI is still trying to communicate the program.”
