Rob Hillard, city manager of Allegan, Michigan, recently said, “I have never regretted my participation in the ICMA Voluntary Credentialing Program. It has pushed me to enter areas of training that I would not have pursued without the incentive. I am a much better city manager as a result and encourage others to participate.” Henry Hill, deputy city manager of Frisco, Texas, agreed that “the program has been a great means of staying disciplined on continued education.”

This praise was echoed by many other program participants, and ICMA noticed an uptick in new applications to the program and questions about credentialing. ICMA also noticed some common misperceptions about the program:

1. I don’t have time to go through the application process. The application process does not take a lot of time. Just verify that you’re eligible, complete the Applied Knowledge Assessment (AKA), and submit your application. The AKA takes less than two hours to complete and you don’t have to finish it in one sitting. The application takes 10 to 20 minutes.
2. Professional development costs too much. You do not have to spend a lot of money. The 40-hour professional development requirement can be fulfilled through no- to low-cost activities, such as structured mentoring and professional reading from the library. The credentialing program itself only costs $75 for the Applied Knowledge Assessment and $50 for the online application. ICMA does not charge credentialing renewal fees at this time.
3. Forty hours is too big of a commitment. All Full members of ICMA currently in service to local government, whether credentialed or not, are required by the Code of Ethics to “commit at least forty hours per year to professional development activities that are based on the practices identified by the member of ICMA.” The credentialing program simply allows you to focus and structure your 40 hours.
4. I will have to write a long report. A comprehensive report of all you learned is not necessary: one brief, specific example of something learned from each activity is sufficient. “I read Media Relations for Local Governments and learned about working with the media” is too vague. Better would be “I read Media Relations for Local Governments and learned more effective ways to improve my working relationships with the media, specifically to be proactive, after assuring my policy body is informed, about providing the media with breaking news; to not play favorites among the media; and to encourage elected officials to provide quotes.”
5. I will have to drop out if my political or financial situation prohibits me from completing a multi-rater assessment. The credentialing advisory board (CAB) is quite flexible regarding the five-year assessment requirement. You can request pre-approval to complete an alternative assessment or work with the CAB to devise another method of external feedback tailored to your situation.

For more information, visit the Members section of icma.org and click on Credentialing. Contact credentialing@icma.org with questions.