The American Association of Landscape Architects has launched the Women of Color Licensure Advancement Program to "support women of color in their pursuit of landscape architecture licensure and provide mentorship opportunities that position women for success." The program is part of ASLA's Racial Equity Plan of Action. The women in the program receive financial assistance with examination fees, examination preparation resources, and mentorship from a licensed landscape architect.
June 01, 2022
May 10, 2022
Update: minimum wage for articling students in Ontario
The Law Society of Ontario has voted to implement a mandatory minimum wage for articling students (with a narrow margin of 25 in favor, 24 opposed and 1 abstention). The minimum wage requirement will come into effect during the next licensing cycle in May 2023. A report last year found that 10-15% of articling placements are below minimum wage or unpaid, with increasing education costs raising equity concerns for entering the profession. Those opposed ot the minimum wage raised concerns that smaller firms would be unable to offer articling positions if required to pay minimum wage.
March 28, 2022
Changes to the CPA Exam: focus on evolving competencies and technologies
In conjunction with the CPA Evolution initiative, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants have announced a transition policy for changes to the CPA exam. Candidates completing their requirements by December 31, 2023 will not be impacted by the changes. Candidates still working on requirements in January 2024 and beyond will transition to the new exam. Changes tot he exam are in response to employer needs for new CPAs to possess greater skill sets and competencies and a greater knowledge of emerging technologies. In July, the Exposure Draft of the 2024 CPA Exam will be released, outlining the content and skills proposed for each new section of the exam.
Interested to hear more about how regulators can better align their licensure model to address the competencies and tech-knowledge required of the future licensee? Join us for a webinar where NASBA discusses why a new model was needed, the process to develop the new model, and getting buy-in for the new model.
March 23, 2022
Ontario: debate over articling student compensation
Th Law Society of Ontario's Professional Development and Competence Committee issued a November 2021 report recommending not to compensate articling students' minimum wage, thus relieving a burden from sole and small firms and allowing them to more easily bring on students. The Law Society argues that a minimum wage for articling students would exacerbate the problem of licensing candidates being unable to find articling jobs. The Federation of Ontario Law Associations has spoken against the recommendation. Concern has been raised that unpaid articling makes it harder for the legal profession to become more inclusive, as racialized and marginalized students often cannot work for free as they complete their requirements for entry into the profession.
March 09, 2022
Minnesota considers Nurse Licensure Compact
The Minnesota Senate has passed a bill to allow Minnesota to join the Nurse Licensure Compact, which would allow Minnesota nurses in good standing to apply for a multistate and the Minnesota Board of Nursing to recognize nurses from other compact states. Concern has been raised that the standards set by the Compact are less stringent than the standards already in place in Minnesota. Concern has also been raised that the compact will not address the problem of a nursing shortage because other factors, such as hospital staffing, lack of mental health support, violence at healthcare facilities, and inadequate faculty, are contributing to the challenge.
March 02, 2022
Update: Florida bills on condo association registry stall
Several bills in Florida related to condominium association boards have either not been referred to committee or did not receive a hearing during this legislative session. One bill would have updated education standards for condo association board directors. Another bill would have created an online database to be maintained under the Department of Business and Professional Regulation that would have included details about condo boards.
February 09, 2022
Canada: article supports graduated medical licensure
An article in the Canadian Medical Association Journal proposes replacing high-stakes summative examinations with graduated medical licensure. The article states that there is no evidence supporting the effectiveness of current licensure exams in ensuring patient safety. The authors also note that directing resources toward passing an exam could detract from actual preparation for practice. Instead, the authors propose graduated licensure, a model of assessment that "integrates both training programs’ competency-based assessments and clinical practice data derived from trainees’ clinical work would better align with evidence-informed educational practices, underscore the importance of continuous quality improvement for practitioners and refocus licensure on real-world clinical practice."
January 26, 2022
Update: Oregon Supreme Court supports alternative pathways for attorney licensure
The Oregon Supreme Court has unanimously supported recommendations from the state Board of Bar Examiners for two alternative pathways to licensure in lieu of the Uniform Bar Exam. An experiential learning pathway for students could require 15 experiential credits and a capstone project. A postgraduate supervised legal practice pathway could require 1,500 hours of supervised legal practice to become licensed. The Board of Bar Examiners will appoint a committee to establish specific criteria and get input from the public.
Vermont adopts Foreign Credentialing Rules
The Vermont Office of Professional Regulation has adopted Foreign Credentialing Rules as a means to determine if license applicants trained outside the US meet requirements for a Vermont license. The Office of Professional Regulation will utilize third-party evaluators to determine equivalency of an applicant's foreign work experience, education, training, and exams. If deemed equivalent, the applicant will be able to apply for licensure by endorsement, waiving US formal education, training, and exams.
January 06, 2022
New York: investment in healthcare workforce
New York has announced a $10 billion investment in healthcare over five years. The investment will support wages and bonuses for workers and investment in capital infrastructure. The investment will also increase the training capacity of medical institutions and new programs. The plan will offer free tuition and financial support for students in healthcare, provided they work in New York State for a time after obtaining their credentials; increase funding for Doctors Across New York and Nurses Across New York programs to incentivize workers to practice in underserved areas; and create apprenticeship job training programs for immigrant workers.
