UAB Accreditation Tips and Tools — March 2021

April is APR Month! How is your Chapter or participating organization celebrating? Here are a couple of “virtual” ideas:

• Host an APR Happy Hour mixer — open to all.
• Keep it informal and fun, but also be prepared to answer APR questions.
• Looking for something more formal? Consider a webinar via Zoom. The Universal Accreditation Board has several templates, slide decks and examples of successful APR webinars under one hour. Contact your participating organization UAB representative who can access examples on the portal. UAB members are listed here.

Still have people asking “Why APR?” Send them to this webinar called The Value and Values of Accreditation: Why an APR for Your Career on April 8, 3–4 p.m. EDT. Elyse Hammett, APR, will lead a discussion about why APR is a game changer and then help individuals decide if they are a candidate for APR. Normally $200, this webinar is free for candidates who belong to a participating organization of the UAB. Use the discount code WHYAPR21.

Generate interest and recognize your APRs on social media. This is something you can do all year long, but it is especially important in April as we celebrate APR Month!

• An example of this “shoutout” can be found here.
• An example of a single-person shoutout with a quote and feature photo can be found here.

The UAB has generic social media graphics that any PRSA Chapter or participating organization can use on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or LinkedIn. Contact your UAB representative for these graphics or to share an idea for a graphic that would help you promote the APR!

Check out more stories on our channels: Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

The APR process has gone virtual, and so have most Accreditation prep sessions. The APR Online Study Course is available in 10 self-paced modules, which you can access anytime after paying. Need help staying on track? The course also offers live study sessions with APR candidates from across the globe. 

APR drive-by! Here’s an innovative way to celebrate a newly Accredited professional — host a drive-by celebration complete with balloons, flowers and a pin! Check out how the PRSA Georgia Chapter helped celebrate a new APR and captured it on social media.

Ethics is now part of APR Renewal. Current APRs may ask where they can find ethics courses and training that are part of the new Renewal requirement. Here are several examples of training sessions that can be used toward APR Renewal CEUs:

• Ethics – Ethical Listening.
• Ethics Role in PR.
• Ethical Voices in PR Podcast.
• PR Ethics Quotient Quiz (produced by BEPS).
• PRSA Leading With Ethics on-demand webinar.
• FREE IPR Emerging Ethical Issues webinar.
• Taking a Position for Ethical PR webinar.

Have you checked your Chapter’s or participating organization’s APR webpage for accuracy lately? Make sure you’re using the most up-to-date language. As a reminder, we have Panel Presentations (not Readiness Reviews) and we require Renewal (not Maintenance) to keep your APR up to date. Are you unsure of changes over the last couple of years? Contact Kathy Mulvihill at PRSA and ask for a quick once-over to your website page about APR.

Fielding questions about the APR Renewal process? Information is available on the website about the switch to CEUs. Topics include: What is changing and when are the changes taking place? Why the change from points to CEUs and how do CEUs work? Why was an ethics requirement added? You can find an FAQ and more here.

Submit items for the computer-based examinations! The computer-based examinations for APR and the Certificate in Principles of Public Relations are refreshed on an ongoing basis, and any PR practitioner can submit items for consideration. A test item is more than just a question; complete items also indicate the correct answer(s) and incorrect but plausible distractors. Other elements include the relevant KSAs and references from the APR list of recommended texts. Submissions undergo intense technical review before potentially being added as unscored or beta items to the examination.

• Curious about how to write an item? Watch this instructional video before you get started.
• Ready to submit an item? Use the online form.
• Bonus! APRs who submit items can also earn CEUs toward Renewal.

KSAs updated to align with current PR practice. Based on results from the most recent practice analysis, the computer-based Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations was recently refreshed to align with changes in professional practice. As of Jan. 1, 2021, the APR Examination tests knowledge, skills and abilities in these areas:

• Researching, Planning, Implementing, Evaluating Programs (30%).
• Leading the Public Relations Function (20%).
• Managing Relationships (15%).
• Ethics and Law (15%).
• Managing Issues and Crisis Communications (15%).
• Understanding Communications Models, Theories and History of the Profession (5%).