HRCI votes in 2005 Board of Directors

The Human Resource Certification Institute (HRCI), an affiliate of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), has elected two new members to its 2005 Board of Directors. In addition, HRCI has opened a second window for HR professionals to apply for certification exams.

The two new members are Virgil Seibold, PHR, a longtime SHRM volunteer, and Larry Singleton, Ph.D., CPA, who was a preconference speaker at the 2004 Annual Conference. Board members, with an eye toward Sarbanes-Oxley requirements, were looking for a director with financial competencies, said Cornelia Springer, director of HRCI.

Following is a complete slate of directors for 2005:

* Chair Susan Harmansky, SPHR.

* Vice Chair R. Gregory Green, SPHR.

* Immediate Past Chair Philip Way, Ph.D., SPHR.

* Secretary/Treasurer Kristi Acuff, SPHR.

* Director Lynda Brown, Ph.D., SPHR.

* Director Roger Herod, SPHR.

* Director Frances Hume, SPHR.

* Director Jim Jose, Ph.D., SPHR.

* Director Joseph Petrick, Ph.D., SPHR.

* Director Mary Rutland, SPHR.

* Director Virgil Seibold, PHR.

* Director Larry Singleton, Ph.D., CPA.

* Director Susan R. Meisinger, SPHR.

* Director Lou Forbringer, Ph.D., SPHR.

* Director Kate Minette, SPHR.

* Director Connie Rank-Smith, SPHR.

* Director Gary Wheeler, SPHR, CBP.

At its September meeting, the HRCI board voted to restructure its nominating process and to realign some of the directors' duties for 2005. Previously, some members of the board were tasked with overseeing development of the Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and Professional in Human Resources (PHR) exams. There were a national exam development director, two regional exam development directors and an international exam development director. These directors, in addition to attending four board meetings a year, had to attend two to three item-writing and revision workshops.

To focus the board on strategic goals instead of tactical duties, the board voted to drop those designations but retain the same number of board members. HRCI will hire a new staff member with HR expertise to over-see item-writing and test development, Springer said.

The board also, in 2005, will switch from using a Nominating Committee to a Governance Committee, much like the Board of Directors for SHRM. The HRCI Board Governance Committee will seek potential board members with competencies that will advance the board's strategic goals, such as professionals with experience in financial management or marketing, Springer said. The search process will be more active and broad-ranging.

These actions will help the board be more forward-thinking, and they mark some of the last steps of a two-year shift toward being more strategic, Springer said.

Computer-Based Testing a Success

HRCI is now accepting applications for the next SPHR/PHR computer-based testing window, Nov. 15 through Jan. 15, and the first computer-based GPHR exam, to be held Nov. 15 through Dec. 15. Test-takers will take the entire exam directly on a computer and see the results immediately after they finish the exam.

The first computer-based testing window ended June 30, with nearly 7,800 HR professionals taking part. The pass rate was 67 percent for the PHR exam and 59 percent for the SPHR exam, which is similar to past years, Springer said.

"HRCI has worked for nearly three years to make computer-based testing a reality," Springer said.

HRCI had to make significant additions to its test-question banks for the PHR and SPHR exams in order to offer the exams by computer, Springer said, and the volunteer item writers and reviewers--certified HR professionals and educators-worked overtime to develop the new questions. HRCI pre-tested hundreds more items per test administration for the past three years.

Computer-based testing is less stressful than regular paper-and-pencil exams, Springer said, because test-takers have more choices of dates and times to take the test, more test centers--more than 250 Thomson Prometric testing locations in the United States and internationally--and more consistent test center quality. Also, candidates can see immediate preliminary test results, where-as previous candidates had to wait for four to six weeks for pass/fail notification.

"With paper-and-pencil testing," Springer said, "candidates would report to one of 98 testing locations on the same day, often with 200 or more other HR professionals. It was not unusual for HR managers to be seated next to their bosses--you can imagine how that may increase stress levels in an already stressful situation."

For information, visit www.hrci.org.

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