JulyAug2011

It is with great pleasure that I am sending you this message as Chair of NCTRC's Board of Directors. This year NCTRC is celebrating its 30th anniversary. We have come a long way from our early beginnings and the first 200 item paper and pencil certification exam. I would like to take the opportunity to reflect on several NCTRC accomplishments and comment on its future directions.

I would first like to speak to the certification exam which is how I became involved with NCTRC, first as an item writer and then as a member and chair of the Exam Management Committee. The certification exam and subsequently the CTRS credential continue to be the professional benchmark for Therapeutic Recreation/Recreation Therapy today. The pass rates of the exam have shown consistency over time and we have seen a trend in certificants choosing to take the exam for recertification. The contents of the certification exam are based upon the NCTRC Job Analysis which is completed every 10 years, with the most recent job analysis being completed in 2007. The practice and terminology of the profession is carefully monitored during the period of time between the job analyses to ascertain any changes that would impact the certification examination content. Items on the exam are continuously updated to ensure the exam reflects the current practice and terminology of the profession. The NCTRC certification exam remains an effective psychometrically sound instrument that has well served the TR/RT profession in establishing its credibility and acceptance by health and human service providers.

NCTRC has been working closely with the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA) these past several months to pilot CEU pre-approval of the educational sessions to be offered at ATRA's Annual Conference in Indianapolis, September 18-21, 2011. Participants will be able to attend these sessions with confidence knowing CEUs will be accepted for recertification by NCTRC. The feedback from certificants since this pilot program was announced has been overwhelmingly positive. NCTRC is looking forward to continuing collaboration with ATRA to expand the pre-approval process to educational opportunities at the regional, state, and eventually local level.

NCTRC continues to provide assistance to states and provinces who seek to strengthen Therapeutic Recreation/Recreation Therapy regulation through licensure. NCTRC continues to promote the CTRS credential through publications and presentations at non therapeutic recreation conferences as well as therapeutic recreation conferences.

In closing, please join NCTRC in celebrating 30 years of excellence in service. Please join us at the NCTRC Certificants' Meeting at the ATRA Annual Conference in Indianapolis in September where we will acknowledge our anniversary and 30 years of being the recognized provider of the CTRS credential which serves to protect the public, promotes standardized practice, and serves as an international unifying body.

Thank you for your continued support of NCTRC and the CTRS credentialing program!

NCTRC Conducts Annual Certificants Meeting

NCTRC conducts its Annual Meeting for CTRSs at the annual professional conference of the American Therapeutic Recreation Association (ATRA). The official meeting this year will be held in Indianapolis, IN at the 2011 Annual ATRA Conference. The Annual Meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza at Historic Union Station on Monday, September 19, 2011 at 12:30pm.

The NCTRC Annual Meeting of Certificants is a valuable opportunity for NCTRC to share information regarding current activities and introduce the Board of Directors, Committees, and Staff. NCTRC has several exciting projects underway that we look forward to sharing with you. We hope that you will attend the meeting at ATRA or review a post of the meeting on the NCTRC website. If you are unable to attend, please contact NCTRC with any concerns or suggestions you may have about the CTRS credentialing program.

NCTRC Seeks Input on Internship Supervision

NCTRC is currently investigating the option of awarding continuing education credit hours for competency-based internship supervision. As a result NCTRC is seeking input from CTRSs who currently sponsor internship programs (both from practitioners and educators). More specifically, NCTRC requests examples of internship policy and procedure manuals as well as evaluation forms that measure/document student competencies in the task areas of the NCTRC Job Analysis.

Please forward your agency internship manuals and/or evaluation forms via email to Noelle Molloy, Credentialing Specialist at nmolloy@nctrc.org .

Application Review and Exam Statistics

NCTRC Exam: NCTRC conducts three exam administrations within a one-year cycle. A review of the October 2010, January 2011, and the May 2011 exams indicate that a total of 1382 individuals participated in the NCTRC exam program. Provided below is a summary table that contains the number of candidates per exam administration and the corresponding pass rate of first-time examinees.

Exam Date	# Tested	Pass Rate
Oct. 2010	564	74%
Jan. 2011	297	70%
May 2011	521	74%

New Applications for Professional Eligibility: For the period July 1, 2010 to March 21, 2011, 697 new applications were reviewed for professional eligibility. The number of candidates that met the NCTRC Professional Eligibility Standards and thus eligible to sit for the NCTRC exam was 648 (93.1%).

CTRS Annual Renewal: For the period November 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, 7267 (86.2%) individual CTRSs renewed their certification.

Recertification Application: For the period November 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011, 1626 applications for recertification were received by NCTRC . A total of 96.4% of the applications were approved for recertification. Approximately 3.0% of the individuals who applied for recertification used the exam option while the majority (97.0%) used the professional experience and continuing education option.

Important Log-In Reminders

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If you created your login after 2006, your login name is something that was created by you. If you are unable to access your profile, please contact nctrc@nctrc.org for assistance.

To ensure a positive and secure experience, NCTRC strongly urges you to change your Login and Password to something unique and created by you. Please login to your profile and click Security at the left side of the screen. Once you are at the Security Edit screen, please make changes to both your login and password.

We hope your experience at this site is rewarding. If you have any comments or feedback, please email us.

November Recertification Exam Option

NCTRC would like to remind you that if you are coming to the end of your five year recertification cycle you can take the NCTRC exam to meet the requirements for recertification. The October 2011 exam is the only exam one can take to meet the November Recertification cycle requirements. The recertification registration deadline for the October 2011 exam is August 19, 2011. Visit the NCTRC website www.nctrc.org to access the exam registration form. From the home page, click on “exam” or use your log-in information to access the form. There are two options for submission. You can fill out the registration form online and submit it with a credit card payment or print off the registration form, fill it out, and mail it directly to NCTRC with a check or credit card number. The dates for the October 2011 exam are October 3-7, 2011.

Did you know ...

The Annual Expiration Date is the date by which a CTRS must submit the annual maintenance application and fee. This renewal process must be completed each year within the five-year CTRS Certification cycle. An active CTRS is eligible to: 1) Use the designation "CTRS" and "Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist" and 2) Serve as a supervisor for a proposed internship requiring an active CTRS.
The Recertification Due Date is the date by which a CTRS must submit the recertification application and fee in order to waive the $50.00 recertification fee. This renewal process must be completed every five years and in accordance to the NCTRC Recertification standards.

Please contact NCTRC at 845-639-1439 or nctrc@nctrc.org if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your continued support of NCTRC and the CTRS credential.