The membership of the CGSA, at its Annual General Meeting in Toronto
in January of 2005 after several years of consultation and discussion,
approved the CGSA designed program known as Continuing Education for
Golf Course Superintendents in Canada. Implementation on July 1,
2006, the program has been further refined by the CGSA Accreditation
Committee and the Professional Development and Research
Committee.
The Accreditation Committee was established in May 2005 to provide
guidance to the CGSA Board of Directors and Professional Development and
Research Committee on the continuing development of the accreditation
programs. It consists of six CGSA Master Superintendents.
Throughout 2005 these Committees have been focused on developing the
details for both the Accredited Golf Superintendent (AGS) and the Master
Superintendent (MS) designations. This update will highlight their
efforts.
AGS Eligibility
- Three years experience as a Superintendent or Assistant
Superintendent
- Achieve required points
- CGSA Member in the superintendent or A-AC category
- Complete exam with the established passing grade (exam is 2 hours
with 100 questions, need to achieve overall mark of 70% and a minimum
grade of 50% in each section)
- Any eligible member who has been a class A member of the CGSA for a
minimum of 12 years will be automatically granted the AGS
accreditation
- Grandfathered recipients of the AGS accreditation would need to
complete the approved renewal requirements.
In addition to membership, experience and successful completion of
the AGS exam, the membership approved a requirement for the AGS
designation requiring the accumulation of education points prior to the
completion of the exam. The Board of Directors has approved a
criterion that will require AGS applicants to accumulate 50 education
points in the three years prior to writing the AGS exam. In
addition, the required three years experience as a superintendent or
assistant superintendent must be consecutive years and as a member of
CGSA.
Responsibilities of Accreditation Committee
Under the provisions of the approved accreditation program the CGSA
Board of Directors was to appoint an Accreditation Committee. The
Accreditation Committee has been given a number of responsibilities
related to the implementation of the AGS, including:
- Approval of point/credit values for the various activities that have
been identified as being applicable for the accumulation of credits
related to eligibility for and renewal of accreditation;
- Review and approve the
proposed guideline for the review of education programs to determine
their eligibility for education credits;
- Review and approve exam questions for inclusion in the
“bank” of exam questions available for each accreditation
exam;
- Review and approve guidelines for the grandfathering of current
Superintendent members into the AGS program;
- Review and approve a dispute resolution process;
- Review and make a decision on any dispute or appeal submitted;
- Review and approve proposed policies with regard to extensions to
time frames or other related requests;
- Review applications and make decisions relative to applications that
may include unique circumstances.
The Accreditation Committee would also be responsible for dealing
with any other matters referred to it by the Professional Development
and Research Committee or the Board of Directors.
If you have any questions on this program, please contact Lori
Micucci.
