CSP Application Guide - Board of Certified Safety Professionals

BCSP Eligibility Point SystemBCSP uses a point system to determine eligibility forexaminations. You must have at least 48 points to sit for the ASPexamination and after passing or receiving a waiver for the ASPexamination, at least 96 points to sit for the CSP examination.You can earn points through education, experience and othercertifications.Academic Points + Experience Points + Certification Points =Total Eligibility PointsTable 1 lists eligibility points awarded for various degrees. Youmay use only one undergraduate and one graduate degree forcredit. If you hold more than one undergraduate or graduatedegree, only the degree yielding the highest point value willbe accepted. Continuing education courses, seminars, andcertificate programs are not a substitute for, and do not receivecredit toward, the academic requirement.A bachelor’s degree in safety from a program accredited by ABET 6earns the maximum 48 points. Refer to the ABET website (www.abet.org) for accreditation standards and a listing of accrediteddegree programs.Many people enter the safety profession from other educationalbackgrounds and their degrees alone do not achieve the 48eligibility points needed to sit for the ASP examination. They mayuse advanced degrees and/or professional safety experience toearn additional points.In addition to degrees and experience, candidates earn pointsfor holding the Occupational Health and Safety Technologist ®(OHST ® ) or Construction Health and Safety Technician ®(CHST ® ) certifications. You are awarded 12 points if you hold theOHST or CHST at the time of application or after. If more thanone certification is held, the maximum number of points awardedis still 12.The Experience RequirementCSP candidates must have professional safety experience. Theexact number of years depends on their degree(s) and if theyhold OHST or CHST certification. BCSP has a broad definition ofsafety. Professional-level work experience in safety, health, environmentalprotection, fire protection, ergonomics, radiation protectionand industrial hygiene is considered professional safetyexperience.All professional safety experience must meet all of the fivefollowing criteria to be acceptable to BCSP:2. The position’s primary responsibility must be theprevention of harm to people, property, or theenvironment, rather than responsibility for responding toharmful events.3. Professional safety functions must be at least 50% of theposition duties. BCSP defines full-time as at least 35hours per week. Part-time safety experience is allowedinstead of full-time safety experience if the applicant hasthe equivalent of at least 900 hours of professional safetywork during any year (75 hours per month or 18 hoursper week) for which experience credit is sought.4. The position must be at the professional level. This isdetermined by evaluating the degree of responsiblecharge and reliance of employers or clients on theperson’s ability to defend analytical approachesused in professional practice. Responsible charge alsoencompasses their recommending how to control hazardsthrough engineering and/or administrative approaches.5. The position must have breadth of professional safetyduties. This is determined by evaluating the variety ofhazards about which the candidate must advise and therange of skills involved in recognizing, evaluating, andcontrolling hazards. Examples of skills are analyzing,synthesizing, designing, investigating, planning,administrating, and communicating.Each month of acceptable professional safety experience earnsone point. Each position is evaluated separately.A percentage of CSP Applications will be randomly selectedto have their Professional Safety Experience Form(s) audited.If your application is selected, you will be notified to providedocumentation validating your experience.Experience UpdatesAt the time of application, many candidates have enough pointsto sit for the ASP examination (48), but do not have the pointsrequired for the CSP examination (96). In this instance, BCSPestimates when you will achieve 96 points assuming you remainemployed in a position that meets professional safety practicerequirements. Near that estimated date, you must submit aProfessional Safety Experience Update Form to BCSP. This form islocated at www.bcsp.org/CSP.If 96 points are not met after the candidate’s work experienceis updated, BCSP estimates a new eligibility date. Candidatesmay be dropped from the CSP process if they fail to provideupdated information when requested, or have not meteligibility requirements at the end of the third year from theoriginal projected eligibility date.1. Professional safety must be the primary function of theposition. Collateral duties in safety are not considered theprimary function.3