Online Certification for an Aspiring Activities Director

Activities directors may be certified at the national level by an organization such as the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals or at the local level by any number of organizations, including the assisted living facility at which they work.

Activities Director Certification Availability and Offerings

An activities director is in charge of planning and helping to facilitate activities for elderly people who are in assisted living facilities or nursing homes. Activities directors can normally be certified either on a national level by a highly-recognized organization or on a local level by their own assisted living facility or organization. Requirements for local certification vary greatly depending on the organization offering the certification.
Nationally, organizations such as the National Certification Council for Activity Professionals (NCCAP) certify activities directors on a number of levels (www.nccap.org). The NCCAP offers four levels of certification, including Activity Assistant Certified (AAC), Activity Consultant Certified (ACC), Activity Director Provisionally Certified (ADPC) and Activity Director Certified (ADC). These certifications require varying amounts of education and experience, and have continuing education requirements.

Requirements for Certification and Online Availability

Because NCCAP certification does not require proctored organization-specific testing, the certification itself for activities directors is available via a simple mail correspondence. Some of the requirements for certification, however, require activities that can not necessarily be completed online. Components that can be completed online include the education requirements and the Modular Education Program for Activity Professionals (MEPAP) course, which is available online via distance education from the Activity Directors Network (ADN). Education requirements include an associate's or bachelor's degree, or a certain number of college credits from an accredited institution. NCCAP guidelines make no mention of whether distance learning is acceptable for these courses.
Certification requirements that may not necessarily be completed online include the activities requirements and the continuing education requirements, which must be in-person. If distance education is preferred it must be pre-approved by the NCCAP. The activities requirements are less specific, but are designed to be completed by those who are currently working in a position of activities director, and must be documented to NCCAP satisfaction.