Take responsibility
So, what happens when you let your ISA arborist certification expire? I actually didn’t know until last week because it can’t happen to me. I love my ISA certification. As a certified arborist I have to collect 30 education credits in three years. It’s easy and fun. It amazes me how much stuff you can learn.
As a green professional, I take responsibility for my re-certifications. ISA is due every three years; and my landscape is due every second December.
Step one is keeping track of my CEUs. I need seven more to get the required 30 credits by June 2022, my recertification date. Normally, I get it done in the first year but, with the pandemic raging, it’s been a bit goofy.
Step two is paying the recertification fee on time. Every three years I ask my boss nicely and he lets me use my company VISA card to renew. Again, it’s easy and it’s up to me to do it on time.
Step three is keeping my contact information up to date. This is also very easy because I visit the ISA website frequently.
Expiry
People usually keep up with their CEUs but they forget to pay on time. Remember, your ISA membership is totally separate from your certification. Memberships are renewed annually; certifications every three years. You can get certified without having ISA membership.
Incidentally, my company also pays for my membership. And I always say thank you.
If you don’t collect the required credits, you can appeal with really good reasons. And if your appeal is rejected, you will have to retake the examination. That’s the worst, having to rewrite the exam.
Tons of CEUs to be had
Now, the ISA is super happy to sell you materials loaded with CEUs. Personally I prefer to read the one credit articles published in every issue of Arborist News. After that, I fill out the answer sheet and then input the results online. My score is instantly visible and the new credit shows up in my account. It works really well and I always learn something new. It’s almost a pleasure.
Thanks to the COVID pandemic, there are many webinars and conference replays available for credits. ISA’s newsletter “Tree-sources” has a listing of many CEU opportunities.
The obvious conclusion here is for you to be a professional; don’t let you certification expire.
