EQUIVALENCY CHALLENGE PROGRAM

EQUIVALENCYCHALLENGE PROGRAM

Established July 1, 1987, the Equivalency Challenge Program is intended for emergency services personnel who desire to obtain credit for MFRI courses based on successful completion of similar courses through other training agencies or previous versions of similar MFRI courses.

Please note, not all classes qualify for equivalency.

The steps for equivalency testing, if applicable, are as follows:

1. Address a letter to the Certification Office of the Institute requesting equivalency challenge for a particular course. Include in the letter:  Full name  Social Securitynumber (last four digits only)  Home address  Daytime telephone number(s)  Department affiliation

2. Attach source documentation. This includes certificates or transcripts that attest to successful completion of the course and document course length. Source documentation is required to be the original version or certified copies. Source documentation must include the objectives of the course completed. The course in question must be equivalent to the objectives of the course for which equivalency is requested. It is the responsibilityof the student to develop this comparison.

If approval is granted, the applicant will be contacted and a determination will be made as to where testing will take place. Scheduling of testing will be accomplished between the applicant and the regional office. Regional offices will only schedule testing for approved courses. All required test instruments for the course will be administered, including midterm and final written and practical exams as applicable to the particular course. Test instruments will be those used in the current MFRI course. A retest option is available by request following the MFRI guidelines for retesting examinations. Upon successful completion of the MFRI examination(s), the applicant will receive full credit for the MFRI course, and equivalent credit will be recorded on the applicant’s transcript. An individual who applies for equivalency testing for a course with a prerequisite(s) must complete any prerequisite(s) either by successfully completing the course or through equivalency testing. Individuals applying for equivalency testing are required to meet Institute program admission requirements.

The following will be considered for the equivalency process:

 Any previous edition of a MFRI course to the current edition of the course.  Any corresponding level of certification to the current edition of the same MFRI course.  Any corresponding level of training that previously qualified for certification for which the student failed to apply for certification correlated to the current edition of the same MFRI course.  Any previous successful course completion through another training agency determined to be similar in content and length to a corresponding MFRI course.