Open FAIR™ Certification Program

Effective May 29, 2014, new Training Course Accreditation Policy and Training Course Accreditation Requirements documents are in effect.

This page details the changes to the training course accreditation process and how it impacts existing Accredited Training Course (ATC) Providers and organizations who are in the process of accreditation or wish to get a course accredited.

Why the change?

Q. Why are you making these changes?

A. We have been asked by a number of our Accredited Training Course Providers to introduce some form of Affiliate program that allows these ATC Providers to use partner organizations in the delivery of the ATC and to clarify how third parties may be used to market ATCs.

We are also using this opportunity to make the policy and accreditation requirements documents identical across all of our exam-based people certification programs, and in the process are clarifying some areas of these documents.

What is changing?

Q. What program documents are being changed?

A. The Accreditation Policy, the Accreditation Requirements, the Accreditation Agreement, the Accreditation TMLA, and the Accreditation Checklst.

Q. Why the changes to the legal documents/contracts?
A. The Accreditation Agreement and Accreditation TMLA are being changed such that there is one set of terms across all of our exam-based people certification programs and therefore only one Accreditation Agreement and on Accreditation TMLA to cover multiple programs. This change will simplify the signature process as training providers will be able to sign one set of documents and be able to add new programs later without having to sign new agreements. Training course providers will be required to execute a Schedule to these agreements for each course they wish to have accredited. The Schedule will specify the program in which a course is to be accredited. A Schedule is also required for each Affiliate an training provider wishes to use with an accredited training course.

Affiliates Explained

Q. What is an Affiliate?

A. An Affiliate is a partner of the provider of an Accredited Training Course (ATC) that will promote, sell, and deliver, or support the delivery of, the Accredited Training Course on behalf of the ATC Provider. The ATC Provider must have a formal contractual relationship with the partner organization that ensures aspects of the course administration, promotion, and delivery covered by the Affiliate are performed in accordance with the requirements for an Accredited Training Course.

When advertising courses, Affiliates must make reference to courses by the ATC Provider and course name listed in the Accreditation Register and make their relationship with the ATC Provider clear in all marketing and published materials.

Q. What is a Broker?

A. A partner of an ATC Provider that promotes and markets the Accredited Training Course, but neither delivers nor supports the delivery of the Accredited Training Course.

When advertising courses, Brokers must make reference to courses by the ATC Provider and course name listed in the Accreditation Register and make their relationship with the ATC Provider clear in all marketing and published materials.

Q. We have an Accredited Training Course at the moment, and we want to add an Affiliate. What do we have to do?

A. The policy regarding adding an affiliate is defined in Section 8.1 of the Training Course Accreditation Policy. The process for adding an affiliate is described at: http://certification.opengroup.org/affiliates#add-affiliate.

Q. We have an Accredited Training Course at the moment, and we want to add a Broker. What do we have to do?

A. The policy regarding brokers is defined in Section 8.2 of the Training Course Accreditation Policy. Brokers are not required to enter into any agreement with us. Note that as an ATC Provider you are at all times responsible for your brokers’ compliance with the trademark usage guidelines in the Accreditation Trademark License Agreement, and we may ask for a list of your brokers at any time to help us in monitoring the use of our trademarks.

Commercial Licenses

Q. Do Affiliates need a Commercial License?

A. Yes, because delivering or supporting the delivery of an Accredited Training Course is commercial exploitation of Open FAIR. The Risk Taxonomy Standard (O-RT) and Risk Analysis Standard (O-RA) commercial license is free to members of the Security Forum, or may be purchased. The commercial license is available at http://www.opengroup.org/sites/default/files/contentimages/Security/risk...

Q. Do Brokers need a Commercial License?

A. No, because we do not consider that marketing or promotion activities alone are commercial exploitation of Open FAIR.