How do I apply for Core Accreditation?

Welcome to the Accreditation Corner. First and foremost, the University of Florida Plant Diagnostic Center has become our second Core Accredited lab. Congratulations on this momentous achievement!

Now for the rest of us, how do we apply for Core Accreditation?

You have your quality manual and associated external documents prepared, and you are using your quality management system in your lab. What’s next? Applying for Core Accreditation! If you aren’t looking for the gritty details right now, there are summary infographics online illustrating an overview of the accreditation process*, and an overview of the entire application process*. These figures and many resources referenced below are available and accessible on the Core Accreditation webpage (https://www.npdn.org/core_accreditation)*.

*Being logged in to your NPDN member account is required for these links to work properly.
 

Prerequisites

1. The laboratory quality manager (LQM) or their designee must complete Accreditation Orientation Course One in LearnUpon prior to applying for core accreditation. A direct link to the course is available on the Core Accreditation webpage. It is the second to last option under the green button titled “Apply for Core Accreditation”.

Applying for Core Accreditation

To begin the Core Accreditation application process, you will need to enroll  in the learning path titled Application for NPDN Core Accreditation. Only the laboratory quality manager (LQM) or their designee can complete this learning path. There are two ways to enroll:

1. Log into your LearnUpon* account through NPDN and select the Application for NPDN Core Accreditation learning path from the catalog.
2. Alternatively, you can access the learning path through a direct link on the Core Accreditation webpage. It is the last option under the green button titled “Apply for Core Accreditation”.

You apply for accreditation by progressing through the modules and courses within this learning path which allows you to submit your application, schedule a live audit session, and receive your accreditation credentials.
Specifically, what does this entail?

Welcome to Application for Core Accreditation is the first course. In this course you will:

1. Submit your completed audit checklist. The audit checklist can be found on the Core Accreditation webpage under “Key Accreditation Documents.”
2. You will complete a short survey where you will provide information including the laboratory quality manager (LQM) designation in your lab, their title, and the lab name and address. You also will be asked to confirm that you have taken Accreditation Orientation Course One in LearnUpon.

Document Submission is the course following the survey and consists of multiple modules that request you to upload a variety of required documents. A list of these required documents is on the Core Accreditation webpage. Simply click the green button titled “Apply for Accreditation” for more details. The document submission course allows you to upload up to 15 documents, 10 of which are required, with room to provide 5 additional documents that you may choose to best describe your quality manual system.  The Accreditation Program Manager and members of the Accreditation Committee review all documents and decide whether they warrant progression to the next course or if the lab may benefit from implementing some suggestions prior to scheduling the audit session.

Core Accreditation Audit Session
Once the Accreditation Committee and Accreditation Program Manager deem your lab prepared for the next step, you will be notified and enrolled in this course. In this course you will select a meeting time for a Virtual Audit Session, which is a 1.5-hour meeting with the Accreditation Program Manager to discuss your quality management system to determine if it satisfies the requirements of the Core Standard.

Final Document Submission and Checklist
Upon completion of the virtual audit session, you will be enrolled in this final course which consists of three modules.

Module 1: If any nonconformances were identified during the audit, the Accreditation Program Manager will outline these in an email to you and indicate whether any documents need to be revised. You will upload any revised required documents in this module.

Module 2 is a checklist.

Module 3 is a final exit survey to collect your feedback on the LearnUpon course and the accreditation process.

Login to LearnUpon and enroll today to start your Application for NPDN Core Accreditation!