Revoking, Suspending, or Withdrawing Certification
An individual's certification may be
revoked, suspended, or withdrawn by AKYLADE under various circumstances and/or conditions.
AKYLADE reserves the right to revoke,
suspend, or withdraw the certification due to various circumstances and/or
conditions, including, but is not limited to:
Falsification of information on AKYLADE’s
examination application
Misrepresentation of continuing education credits required for re-certification
Falsification of any material information requested by AKYLADE
Misrepresentation of AKYLADE's certification status
Suspected individual
pre-knowledge of test content, impersonation, cheating on any of AKYLADE’s
certification examinations, or other evidence of possible examination
compromise
Serious violation of a
provision within AKYLADE’s Code of Conduct
AKYLADE investigates
alleged misconduct, misrepresentation, and/or noncompliance, beginning with an
objective review process in which evidence substantiating the allegations is
collected to ensure due process and to protect the rights of candidates.
AKYLADE
initiates the below process upon notification of noncompliance or
misrepresentation and conducts its review process and/or investigation in an
expedited manner to avoid creating an undue burden on the candidate. Upon
completion of the review process, AKYLADE reserves the right to take
disciplinary action, for valid cause, against its certification holders,
individuals seeking AKYLADE’s certification, or individuals misrepresenting
their AKYLADE certification status.
The below
policy ensures that all certifications are maintained in accordance with
AKYLADE's standards of integrity and compliance. The policy outlines the
procedures for handling each scenario to uphold the credibility of the
certification program.
1. Individual
certifications shall be revoked for any of the following reasons:
a. Candidate fails to
submit the CEU credits by the 36-month deadline
b. It is found that any
part of the CEU credit submissions was fraudulent or false
2. Individual
certifications shall be suspended for the following reason:
a. CEU credits have been
submitted and approved, but the candidate has not yet paid their CEU renewal
fee
3. Individual
certifications shall be withdrawn for any of the following reasons:
a. It is found that the
individual cheated on the exam
b. It is found that the
individual disclosed exam questions to other test candidates
Procedure:
The following
are the specific procedure for suspending, revoking, or withdrawing a
candidate’s certification based on failure to meet continuing education
requirements:
When a person’s
certification is going to be revoked or withdrawn, the Chief Executive Officer
shall:
1. Document the specific
reason for withdrawing the certification from the person’s file
2. Notify the person via
email and official letter of decision and opportunity to appeal
a. If the person appeals,
AKYLADE will follow its official appeals process
3. Update certified
person’s profile to reflect withdrawal
of their certification
4. The candidate’s
digital badge and certificate shall be removed upon revocation or withdrawal of
the certification
When a person’s
certification is going to be suspended, the Chief Executive Officer shall:
1. Notify the person via
email regarding the suspension and providing them timeline for remediation and
informing them that they must refrain from promoting themselves as a certified
person while their certification is in suspension
2. Place the
certification in a suspended state for no more than 30 days to allow a
candidate time to pay their CEU renewal fee
3. If payment is not
received within the 30-day suspension window, the certification will be fully
revoked
4. If payment is received
within the 30-day suspension window, the certification will be renewed and
reinstated for another 36 months
The following
are the specific procedures for suspending, revoking, or withdrawing a
candidate’s certification based on reasons other than failing to meet
continuing education requirements.
1. AKYLADE will notify the candidate in writing
that it has received evidence of cause for denial, suspension, or revocation of
certification. This notice will describe the purported cause. The notice also
shall request the individual to submit in writing, within 30 days of
notification, any evidence or argument concerning the proposed denial,
suspension, or revocation of certification.
2. AKYLADE’s Chair of the Board of Directors will
appoint a Discipline Subcommittee and send information describing the details
of the situation and the candidate in question, including evidence or argument
supplied by the individual, if submitted. This subcommittee is empowered by AKYLADE’s
Board of Directors to make discipline decisions.
3. If the Discipline Subcommittee reaches a
unanimous decision, its decision will be carried out with the approval of AKYLADE’s
Board of Directors.
4. If the decision is not unanimous, or if the
Discipline Subcommittee decides that the case is unusual, the case will be
presented to the full Board of Directors for consideration and action.
5. AKYLADE will notify the candidate by electronic
mail (e-mail) regarding the decision. This notice shall include a brief
statement setting forth the reason for AKYLADE's decision.
6. The candidate’s records within AKYLADE’s
database will be modified to indicate that the certification has been suspended
or revoked. Inquiries will simply be
told that the individual is not currently certified by AKYLADE.
7. If AKYLADE determined the need to deny, suspend,
or revoke the candidate’s certification, then AKYLADE will forward to the candidate
information regarding its Complaints and Appeals Process.
8. Any candidate who wishes to appeal AKYLADE’s decision
which suspended, revoked, or withdrew their certification status must do so
according to the process outlined in AKYLADE’s Complaint and Appeals Process.
9. In the event that the candidate does not appeal
AKYLADE’s decision which suspended, revoked, or withdrew the certification, AKYLADE
will update its certification database to reflect the candidate’s current
certification status.
10. Written materials
considered in the Disciplinary Process and written decisions of the Discipline
Subcommittee will be securely stored and retained in AKYLADE’s records for 3
years following AKYLADE’s Document Management Policy.