- CACP Credential
Certified Accreditation Coordinator Professional
A credential built for the people who lead accreditation.
- The practice gap
A Credential Built for the People Who Lead Accreditation
Public health accreditation requires much more than understanding standards. Accreditation coordinators must organize work across programs, mobilize leadership and staff, assess readiness, manage evidence, facilitate quality improvement, navigate organizational change, and keep the accreditation process moving from preparation through review.
Yet accreditation coordination is often assigned to public health professionals whose primary training may be in epidemiology, nursing, environmental health, administration, quality improvement, or another discipline, with little formal preparation for leading the accreditation process.
The Certified Accreditation Coordinator Professional (CACP) pathway was developed to address that practice gap. Rather than focusing only on what accreditation standards require, the program develops the practical competencies needed to know the standards, organize the journey, improve performance, lead change, and translate quality into organizational value.
- Standard of evidence
Certification Means Demonstrating What You Can Do
Completing training is only part of the CACP pathway. Certification candidates must demonstrate that they can translate what they have learned into professional practice. Candidates complete prescribed coursework and assessments and produce applied work products adapted to a real or realistic public health setting. Depending on the course, these may include readiness assessments, standard operating procedures, accreditation plans, evidence reviews, data analyses and visualizations, quality improvement tools, change-management strategies, and other products that reflect the work of an accreditation professional.
- Transparency
About the CACP Credential
The Certified Accreditation Coordinator Professional (CACP) credential is an AccrediQI Academy professional certification and is not currently accredited by an external certification accreditation body. AccrediQI intends to pursue appropriate independent accreditation of the certification program as the program matures and becomes eligible for such recognition. Individuals who earn the CACP credential before external accreditation is achieved will be provided a pathway to transition to the accredited credential, at no additional cost, subject to the requirements applicable to the accredited program at that time.
- The pathway
Your Path to CACP Certification
CACP certification integrates competencies from across the AccrediQI Five Pillars Framework. Candidates first establish a comprehensive foundation in public health accreditation and then build complementary capabilities in accreditation leadership, quality improvement, change leadership, and value and performance optimization. The pathway combines a defined core with carefully selected electives, allowing candidates to meet a common professional competency standard while tailoring part of the experience to their role, organization, and professional development needs.
- 01 — Know
Accreditation Knowledge
- Tier 1 · 10 core courses
- Complete all ten PHAB domain courses.
10
- Courses required
- 02 — Organize
Accreditation Leadership
- Tier 2 · 1 core + 1 elective
- T2C1 required, plus choose one additional Tier 2 course.
2
- Courses required
- 03 — Improve
Quality Improvement
- Tier 3 · choose 3
- Complete three Tier 3 courses. T3C4 is excluded from the CACP requirement because its competency is addressed within T1C9.
3
- Courses required
- 04 — Transform
Change Leadership
- Tier 4 · choose 3
- Build practical capability in leading and sustaining organizational change.
3
- Courses required
- 05 — Optimize
Value & Performance Optimization
- Tier 5 · choose 3
- Connect quality, data, performance, outcomes, and organizational value.
3
- Courses required
21 Courses
- CACP certification curriculum
- Requirements
What You Must Complete to Earn the CACP
Earning the Certified Accreditation Coordinator Professional (CACP) designation requires more than completing the 21-course curriculum. Candidates must demonstrate both knowledge and applied professional competence through the following requirements.
- 01
Complete the 21-course certification curriculum
- Fulfill the required core and certification-elective coursework across the five AccrediQI capability pillars.
- 02
Pass all required course quizzes
- Successfully complete the knowledge checks and end-of-course assessments associated with the courses taken.
- 03
Pass the comprehensive certification examination
- Complete a separate, cumulative examination designed to assess integrated knowledge across accreditation readiness, quality improvement, change management, and related professional competencies.
- 04
Submit a professional practice portfolio
- Compile the applied work products assigned through the courses completed. Depending on the learner's pathway, the portfolio may include standard operating procedures, plans, data analyses, visualizations, reports, quality improvement tools, and other practice-based documentation.
- 05
Complete an accreditation readiness assessment
- Submit a completed readiness assessment based on a real health department or a hypothetical case. If the readiness-assessment course has already been completed and the required assessment was produced as part of that course, the same work product may satisfy this requirement.
Ready to Demonstrate Your Accreditation Leadership?
Move beyond understanding accreditation standards and demonstrate your ability to lead the work in practice. The CACP pathway combines structured learning, comprehensive assessment, and applied practice to build and validate the competencies needed to organize accreditation, strengthen quality systems, lead change, and advance organizational performance. Begin your certification journey and turn what you know into demonstrated professional competence.