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Greetings NACC Members!
I am writing to let you know that some exciting updates have been made to the NACC web pages for Initial Certification and for Board Certified Chaplain and for Certified Associate Chaplain (CAC).
These changes were made for the following reasons:
- To clarify and streamline the application process and instructions.
- To reflect recent changes to the Initial Certification process that have been approved by the Certification and Competencies Commissions.
- To reflect the recent changes that have been made to the CAC Certification requirements.
It is important to communicate these changes to our members as some of you are Applicants, some of you serve as mentors for potential Applicants, and others serve as Interviewers and ITEs for the certification weekends.
Summary of Changes Approved by the Certification and Competencies Commissions
The following changes have been approved within the last few months. These changes are now reflected in the website pages and templates:
- Applicants for Board Certified Chaplain certification no longer need to provide a bachelor’s degree transcript. Applicants will continue to provide transcripts for their master’s degree.
- A Bachelor of Theology (STB) from a Pontifical University or affiliated institution does not require an additional year of theological study to meet the graduate theology prerequisite. The STB alone satisfies the prerequisite for a master’s degree from an accredited university.
- Transcript analysis is no longer required for a Bachelor of Theology (STB) from a Pontifical University or affiliated institution acquired outside of the United States since an STB is equivalent to a master’s degree from an accredited institution in the US. Transcript analysis will continue to be required for all other degrees acquired outside of the United States.
- From now on, application submissions will only be accepted via digital upload. NACC continues to look at ways to streamline administrative processes and honor the environment by reducing waste, and for these reasons, physical binders will no longer be accepted.
Certified Associate Chaplain Certification
CAC certification is intended for those who are seeking a national credential for spiritual care ministry but may not have the four units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) or master’s degree required for Board Certification. This includes permanent deacons working in a pastoral ministry setting or those who are working for per diem, part-time, or on call chaplaincy. The CAC is also encouraged for full time ministry/chaplaincy in areas such as prison ministry, ministry to first responders, port ministry, etc. The CAC certification has been available for several years, yet to date, we have only one individual who is certified at this level.
Last year, a subcommittee was convened to reassess and reboot CAC with the hope of making certification more accessible to people who provide pastoral care in various settings and to provide a an eventual steppingstone to Board Certification. The outcomes of the subcommittee are reflected in the updated web pages for CAC Initial Certification:
- The Prerequisite for graduate theology credit hours was reduced from 32 to 18.
- The required ministry hours were reduced from 1000 to 500 within the last three years of the application date.
- For permanent deacons who completed a diocesan formation program that abides by the National Directory for the Formation, Ministry and Life of Permanent Deacons in the United States, this diaconal formation satisfies the education prerequisites for CAC Certification.
- For those individuals seeking educational equivalency, the rubric for granting equivalency was scaled down from the BCC requirement.
New Web Pages for Initial BCC and CAC
Finally, here is a high-level summary of what changed on the website.
- Cosmetic changes for a cleaner look and feel.
- Removed repetition, especially as it pertains to instructions for the application process.
- Created a new page called Preparing and Submitting Application Materials that outlines a step-by-step process on how to prepare application materials. On this page, users will find:
- A new checklist that clarifies the order of the application process and excludes the Tab language. The checklist also includes all the document formatting requirements.
- New Templates for the Autobiography, Spiritual Care Encounter, Narrative Statement I, Narrative Statement II, and Integrative Theological Essay. The new templates have many of the formatting requirements already baked into the template.
- Streamlined access to the E-Learning Module and Post-Test.
- Missing from the list, the requirement for the signed Ethics and Accountability Statement, as it is now signed yearly through the membership process.
- A new upload portal that accepts only PDF documents.
Open Zoom Meetings
If you are a Mentor, Applicant, ITE or Interviewer and would like to review the checklist and templates in more detail, I have scheduled two Open Zoom Meetings to walk you through the requirements and explain how to use the templates. Please attend one or the other:
1. Tuesday, May 23, 2023, 10:00am Central Time (11am Eastern, 9am Mountain, 8am Pacific) - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2477581607
OR
2. Thursday May 25, 2023, 3:00pm Central Time (4pm Eastern, 2pm Mountain, 1pm Pacific) - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2477581607
Our long-term goal is to completely overhaul the website, but until then, please know that updates to this website are a work in progress. The VA and PCHAC web pages will be undergoing a similar update in the coming months.
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me at certification@nacc.org. I hope to see many of you at the retreat in June!
God Bless,
Anita Houghton
Director of Pastoral Care and Certification
certification@nacc.org
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