Required Documentation for CPPS Applicants

U.S. and Canadian Degrees

Official transcripts must be submitted for each degree. An official transcript is one sent directly to BGC by your college or university through mail or as secure e-transcripts. Alternatively, you may submit official transcripts if they are in a sealed envelope with the registrar’s stamp across the seal. When a degree includes credits that were transferred from another college or university, official transcripts for those course credits must be sent upon if requested.

The Board will consider a U.S. college or university to be acceptable when it holds institutional accreditation from one of the six U.S. Regional Accrediting Bodies or the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), which are recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) and the U.S. Department of Education. Your degree must be awarded during the time that the institutional accreditation is in effect.

A Canadian college or university will be considered acceptable if it is recognized under applicable provincial standards, depending on where the school is located. In addition, it may hold specialized program accreditation as noted by membership in Universities Canada (formerly the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada).

International Degrees

A degree from a college or university that is located outside the United States or Canada will be considered for acceptability based on the institution’s accreditation status in the education system that has jurisdiction. Applicants with international degrees will be required to submit their transcript(s) for a credential evaluation unless the academic program is authorized by BGC or through a BGC-recognized accreditation agency to issue BGC verification statements. (BGC verification statements streamline and shorten the review for applicants. Please contact your program director to find out if your college or University has a relevant BGC verification statements.)

A member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services, Inc. or a member of the Association of International Credential Evaluators must be used to prepare a credential evaluation report. You must request that the report be forwarded directly to BGC through the applications@gobgc.org portal. Below is a list of different services that our applicants have successfully used for transcript evaluations. BGC does not specifically endorse or recommend one service over another.

• Spantran
• World Education Services
• International Education Evaluations (IEE)
• Academic Evaluation Services
• Foundation for International Services

Documentation of Work Experience in Product Stewardship

An applicant must assure the independent documentation of 48 months (4 years) of work experience at a minimum of 50% time by choosing one of two options:

• Option 1: Supervisory references covering 48 months (4 years) for which you are claiming professional product stewardship practice at 50% time or more. The most recent reference must cover work done within the last 12 months.
• Option 2: (a) a combination of one supervisory reference documenting your product stewardship responsibilities for work done within the last 12 months, plus (b) verification of employment (e.g., through official job descriptions) and duration of employment from your employer(s). The documentation must cover the 48 months (4 years) for which you are claiming professional product stewardship practice at 50% time or more.

Submitting References

Supervisory references are required to document, from firsthand experience, the nature of your product stewardship practice using a CPPS Professional Reference Questionnaire form (PRQ). A PRQ must comply with the requirements of this section. Each PRQ will remain confidential between the author and BGC.

• You must initiate communication with your references to request that they submit the completed CPPS Professional Reference Questionnaire electronic form that you will send them. BGC does not initiate communication with references for you.
• Each reference must be provided on the Board’s CPPS Professional Reference Questionnaire (PRQ) electronic form.
• It is unacceptable for you to provide the response on the form and then have it signed by your reference. We may use the contact information provided to verify the authenticity of the reference and confirm who prepared the text.
• Each PRQ must be submitted on the BGC website by the person writing the reference.

It is your responsibility to communicate with your reference(s) as frequently as needed to assure that the PRQ is submitted in time to meet BGC application deadlines.

Verification of Employment

Verification of Employment is documentation from your employers of the amount of time that you have been employed in product stewardship. The Verification of Employment must comply with the requirements of this section. Each Verification of Employment will remain confidential between your employer and BGC.

• You must initiate communication with your employers to request that they submit the information specified on the Verification of Employment electronic form.  BGC does not initiate communication with your employers for you.
• Each Verification of Employment must be provided on company letterhead or include the name of the employer in the body of the document.
• It must identify the applicant as a current or former employee with:
  • Full name of the applicant
  • The title of the position
  • Dates of employment
  • Confirmation that 50% of duties or more were in product stewardship
  • Official Job Description (a one- or two-paragraph summary of the job from the employer is acceptable if an Official Job Description is not available.)
• It must include the contact information of the author of the document or of someone who can discuss the document in the event of questions from BGC.
• It is preferable that the document include a handwritten signature, but not required.
• It is unacceptable for the applicant to prepare the Verification of Employment or send the form.
• Each Verification of Employment must be emailed, faxed, or sent by certified or registered mail directly to BGC by the Employer.

It is your responsibility to communicate with your employer as frequently as needed to assure that the Verification of Employment is submitted in time to meet BGC application deadlines.

Unqualified and Suspicious Documentation

Professional Reference Questionnaires (PRQs) that appear to have been prepared by any of the following individuals may result in your application being rejected or delayed:

• Your spouse or other relatives
• A person whom you supervise
• Yourself, preparing your own PRQ (even when it is for someone else to sign)