Admissions

A.    Autonomous professional or educational societies with headquarters in the United States or any nation in good standing of the International Community as indicated by membership in the General Assembly of the United Nations with expressed goals of assuring the highest levels of academic excellence and freedom of thought may qualify for admission as Member Societies of IPCA.
B.    Characteristics that support society eligibility for Member Society status include the following:
1.    Active engagement in the dissemination of academic knowledge and or research;
2.    Demonstrated interest in encouraging and providing the certification and or accreditation process;
3.    Substantial representation of persons employed in the discipline;
4.    An organizational structure that has an educational or research component.
5.    Evidence the society speaks for the academic community it represents. This may be demonstrated by:

• having a history of broad based membership of academics and professionals in the discipline,
• having established a record of conventions presenting research and scholarship in the discipline attended by a significant number of academics and professionals in the field to be represented
• having a record of scholarly publications addressing the concerns and interests of the discipline.

6.    In cases where a potential member society is one of several possible representatives, IPCA encourages Associate Membership and suggests that they partner with other societies as well as public and private agencies who demonstrate a willingness to assist in assurance of quality in the pursuit of excellence regarding higher education.
7.    Associate Membership is recommended when a society is unable to demonstrate significant representation of the field in terms of such factors such as membership a history of significant contribution to scholarship or professional growth.
8.    Associate membership is open to Agencies, Corporations, Business and Industry which demonstrate a commitment to furthering the professionalization, education and skills of students and or employees the related disciplines, and in promoting certification/accreditation of individuals and or programs in the fields above specified.
9.    Associate membership is open to Centers, Institutes and others similarly designated agencies affiliated with institutions of higher education who wish to promote and support the goals of IPCA.
C.    Applicants for admission as a Member Society must demonstrate they would represent the best interests of the discipline.
D.    Approval of an application for membership as a Member Society is by majority vote of the Board and subsequent ratification by at least two-thirds of the governing bodies of the Member Societies.
E.    Applications for membership as Associate Member Societies must be approved by majority vote of the Board and subsequent ratification by the governing bodies of at least two-thirds of the combined total of the Member and Associate Members Societies.