Pre-Professional Assessment and
Certification (Pre-PAC) Program
Introduction to the Pre-PAC Program
The American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) national organization has a proud 100-year history of providing support and leadership for family and consumer sciences professionals. AAFCS is pleased to announce the Pre-Professional Assessment and Certification (Pre-PAC) program, creating the premier family and consumer sciences pre-professional assessment and certification system in the nation. Pre-PAC utilizes the considerable grassroots network of AAFCS members, representing a broad range of business, industry, and education practice settings in collaboration with other stakeholders to develop and administer quality competency assessments and industry-recognized certifications for pre-professionals in family and consumer sciences educational programs and careers. In addition to drawing heavily on business and industry input, Pre-PAC utilizes information from the National Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences Education, the National Career Clusters initiative, and other relevant guidelines.
AAFCS has a well-established Credentialing Center that includes certification of professionals as Certified in Family and Consumer Sciences (CFCS). AAFCS believes that it is important to move forward by adding to the association’s products and services a portfolio of standards-based assessments and industry-recognized certifications to support pre-professional level family and consumer sciences career areas and programs of study for the following reasons:
- To help satisfy the growing emphasis on assessment and accountability in secondary and postsecondary education, including requirements for Perkins funding for Career and Technical Education, and
- To help satisfy the growing emphasis on credentials as a human resource and quality control tool in employment settings throughout the career ladder.
In creating the Pre-PAC program, AAFCS assumes the major responsibility for providing staff, infrastructure, and other resources supporting the development of competency assessments and corresponding industry-recognized certifications representative of a broad range of pre-professional level family and consumer sciences careers. AAFCS recognizes that program effectiveness depends heavily upon the involvement, contributions, and assistance of a broad range of stakeholders with an interest in assuring that family and consumer sciences education programs are effectively preparing individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary for demanding career opportunities, therefore providing a workforce to meet the needs of business and industry in the demanding U.S. economy. These stakeholders include representatives of business/industry providing career opportunities for those trained in family and consumer sciences programs of study; state leadership for secondary family and consumer sciences education, career and technical education, and higher education programs; Family and Consumer Sciences content specialists; and others responsible for the improvement and accountability of training programs.
Click here for a one-page overview of the Pre-PAC Program.
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