March 2007 was a banner month for the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM). In addition to awarding its 7,000th credential, NBC-CAM succeeded in having military veterans reimbursed for the cost of its certification exam.
Congress approved changes to the GI Bill in 2001 allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs to reimburse eligible veterans for the cost of taking approved certification and licensure examinations. Acting on a request by NBC-CAM, the VA accepted the CMCA program as an approved certification program as of March 15.
GI-eligible veterans can be reimbursed for either the paper and pencil or computer-based exams—and reimbursement is provided whether they pass or fail the exam. The career-enhancing CMCA certification signifies that a manager has passed NBC-CAM's National Certification Examination and met the requirements for managing homeowner and condominium associations and cooperatives.
"This is great news for veterans who may be interested in pursuing careers in the community association business," said NBC-CAM Deputy Executive Director Ann-Marie Johnson. "We hope this opportunity will prompt even more veterans to explore the benefits of this growing profession. We know that many veterans possess the skills and abilities sought by community associations and management companies."
To learn more about this reimbursement opportunity, visit the GI Bill web site at www.gibill.va.gov or write NBC-CAM's Ann-Marie Johnson at amjohnson(at)caionline.org.
More than 7,000 professionals have earned CMCA certification since NBC-CAM was founded by Community Associations Institute (CAI) in 1995. An affiliate of CAI, NBC-CAM operates as an independent entity.
To obtain CMCA certification, managers must complete a 16-hour classroom course, the Essentials of Community Association Management, and pass the NBC-CAM exam. Certified managers must adhere to the CMCA Standards of Professional Conduct and take continuing education courses for recertification. CMCA recipients who don't comply with the Standards of Professional Conduct are subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension or revocation of the credential.
NBC-CAM is the first and only national organization created solely to certify community association managers and to help consumers identify managers who have demonstrated fundamental competency and knowledge in this profession.
A community association manager's duties include providing administrative, operational and managerial counsel to association boards and residents; developing association budgets and financial reports; enforcing community association covenants and restrictions; overseeing payment for community association services, and managing association personnel.
Communities and others searching for an active CMCAs in their regions can go to www.nbccam.org/hiring/search.cfm.