Effective April 14, 2014, new Training Course Accreditation Policy and Training Course Accreditation Requirements documents are in effect.

This page details the changes to the training course accreditation process and how it impacts existing Accredited Training Course (ATC) Providers and organizations who are in the process of accreditation or wish to get a course accredited.

Why the change?

Q. Why are you making these changes?

A. We have been asked by a number of our Accredited Training Course Providers to introduce some form of Affiliate program that allows these ATC Providers to use partner organizations in the delivery of the ATC and to clarify how third parties may be used to market ATCs.

We are also using this opportunity to make the policy and accreditation requirements documents identical across all of our exam-based people certification programs, and in the process are clarifying some areas of these documents.  We started with TOGAF as that is where the greatest need for Affiliates was felt. We then introduced the same revised documents to the ArchiMate and Open FAIR programs.

What is changing?

Q. What program documents are being changed?

A. The Accreditation Policy, the Accreditation Requirements, the Accreditation Agreement, the Accreditation TMLA, and the Accreditation Checklst.  The Conformance Statement Questionnaire (CSQ) is being renamed the Conformance Declaration and will evenutally be a form that is completed on the program web site rather than a separate document to be completed and uploaded.

Q. Why the changes to the legal documents/contracts?
A. The Accreditation Agreement and Accreditation TMLA are being changed such that there is one set of terms across all of our exam-based people certification programs and therefore only one Accreditation Agreement and on Accreditation TMLA to cover multiple programs. This change will simplify the signature process as training providers will be able to sign one set of documents and be able to add new programs later without having to sign new master agreements. Training course providers will be required to execute a Schedule to these agreements for each course they wish to have accredited; at the moment this is done manually via a physical signature but in the future execution may be done via a click-to-accept Schedule within the certification and accreditation system itself. The Schedule will specify the program in which a course is to be accredited. A Schedule is also required for each Affiliate an training provider wishes to use with an accredited training course.

Q. Are any other changes being introduced in the revised Accreditation documents?

A. Yes. The differences are:

In the Accreditation Policy:

  1. Provisional Accreditation is being removed. Organizations must submit Quality Management System Documentation up front, along with the rest of the materials in the Accreditation Package.
  2. We are no longer having Conformance Statement Questionnaires, as the information we were collecting in these was being transferred manually into the register. We will instead collect this information using a form on the program web site.

In the Accreditation Requirements:

  1. Record keeping and reporting requirements have been clarified:

    Section 2.3 - "Records of each ATC delivered must be kept for a minimum of six (6) years. These records must include date, location, and level of course, trainer name, attendee names, and voucher code issued to each attendee and, if applicable, the name of the Affiliate that delivered or supported the delivery of the course."

    Section 2.5 - "The Organization must provide a quarterly statement of vouchers purchased by the Organization and its Affiliates, showing the voucher number, attendee name, country, date of course attendance, and any other particulars as the Certification Authority may reasonably require."

  2. The period allowed for offering previous versions of an ATC has been reduced to 6 months.  [Section 3.1]
  3. The requirements for supervision of exams integral to the course have been clarified [Section 4.1.1 - IBT supervision]:
    "Each supervisor must have a fully executed The Open Group Examination Proctor Non-Disclosure Agreement in place and at all times adhere to the Requirements for IBT Examination Supervisors."
  4. ATC Providers are now required to validate the identity of Candidates using a government issued photo ID.  [Section 4.1.3]
  5. An ATC Provider must keep records of the source used to validate Candidates’ identity for a minimum of six (6) years.  [Section 4.1.3]

How do these changes affect me?

Q. We have an Accredited TOGAF Training Course at the moment, but we do NOT want to add any Affiliates now.  Do we have to do anything?

A. Yes.

1) You will need to enter into the new Accreditation Agreement and Accreditation TMLA, including Schedules for each of your accredited courses.This can be done at any time and will be required by the anniversary of your accreditation or the anniversary of signature on the legal agreements, whichever is sooner.

2) You will need to ensure that you are keeping the appropriate records for each delivery of the ATC.  Beginning in Q3 2014, you will need to start providing quarterly statements of voucher purchases to the Certification Authority.

Q. When do I need to start providing quarterly statements of my voucher purchases?

A. ATC Providers must provide a report for the third quarter (Q3) of 2014. Quarterly reports will be due to the Certification Authority within 15 calendar days after the end of the quarter, thus by October 15, 2014.

Affiliates Explained

Q. What is an Affiliate?

A. An Affiliate is a partner of the provider of an Accredited Training Course (ATC) that will promote, sell, and deliver, or support the delivery of, the Accredited Training Course on behalf of the ATC Provider. The ATC Provider must have a formal contractual relationship with the partner organization that ensures aspects of the course administration, promotion, and delivery covered by the Affiliate are performed in accordance with the requirements for an Accredited Training Course.

When advertising courses, Affiliates must make reference to courses by the ATC Provider and course name listed in the Accreditation Register and make their relationship with the ATC Provider clear in all marketing and published materials.

Q. What is a Broker?

A. A partner of an ATC Provider that promotes and markets the Accredited Training Course, but neither delivers nor supports the delivery of the Accredited Training Course.

When advertising courses, Brokers must make reference to courses by the ATC Provider and course name listed in the Accreditation Register and make their relationship with the ATC Provider clear in all marketing and published materials.

Q. We have a TOGAF Accredited Training Course at the moment, and we want to add an Affiliate. What do we have to do?

A. The policy regarding adding an affiliate is defined in Section 8.1 of the Training Course Accreditation Policy. The process for adding an affiliate is described at: http://certification.opengroup.org/affiliates#add-affiliate.

Q. We have a TOGAF Accredited Training Course at the moment, and we want to add a Broker. What do we have to do?

A. The policy regarding brokers is defined in Section 8.2 of the Training Course Accreditation Policy. Brokers are not required to enter into any agreement with us. Note that as an ATC Provider you are at all times responsible for your brokers’ compliance with the trademark usage guidelines in the Accreditation Trademark License Agreement, and we may ask for a list of your brokers at any time to help us in monitoring the use of our trademarks.

Commercial Licenses

Q. Do Affiliates need a Commercial License?

A. Yes, because delivering or supporting the delivery of an Accredited Training Course is commercial exploitation of TOGAF. TOGAF commercial licenses are free to members of the Architecture Forum, or may be purchased. Information about the commercial license is available at http://www.opengroup.org/architecture/togaf91/comm_index.htm

Q. Do Brokers need a Commercial License?

A. No, because we do not consider that marketing or promotion activities alone are commercial exploitation of TOGAF.

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