ST. LOUIS—The National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) has accredited the American Board of Optometry’s (ABO) board certification program for a five-year period. “Receiving NCCA accreditation is another significant step in assuring credibility of the ABO,” said Paul C. Ajamian, OD, ABO chairman of the board. “We will continue to pursue such measures to advance our process and our profession.”

The NCCA is the accrediting body of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) (formerly the National Organization for Competency Assurance), whose mission is to advocate credentialing through education, standards, research and advocacy to ensure competence across professions and occupations. Of ICE’s more than 330 organizational members, 119 of them have accredited programs.

Accrediting certification programs since 1977, the NCCA covers all aspects of each program accredited, including administration, assessment development and recertification. It was founded to help ensure the health, welfare and safety of the public through the accreditation of a variety of certification programs that assess professional competence, and it uses a peer-review process to establish accreditation standards, evaluate compliance with these standards, recognize programs that demonstrate compliance and serve as a resource on quality certification.

There are 254 NCCA accredited programs that certify individuals in a wide range of professions and occupations.