Updated ACE Code of Ethics (Guest Post)

By 2015 ESA Certification Board Director Dr. Laura Higgins, BCE

By unanimous vote yesterday, the Certification Board updated the ACE Code of Ethics which is binding on all ACEs and ACE aspirants. The Code of Ethics is seen as a living document and may change over time, though the intent will always be to ensure that ACEs and those who wish to become ACEs continue to be of the highest ethical caliber and represent the best in our industry.

For the most part, the recent changes to the Code of Ethics were cosmetic and merely served to simplify and clarify the language. For example, in the previous version of the Code, every time the ACE was referred to, it was listed as "Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest Control," a cumbersome structure to be sure. In the new version, that has been simplified to "ACE" in 25 different instances.

The most substantive changes came to Sections 3.4, which was a relatively new addition to the Code, having been added only in November 2013, as discussed here. Whereas the previous version of this Section only dealt with the ways that an ACE refers to themselves, this latest update adds a burden on the ACE to report back to ESA any misuse of the terms entomologist or certified entomologist.

It is the belief of the ESA Certification Board that only by obtaining a degree in entomology (whether a Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate) can one become an entomologist. The ACE is the only legitimate path currently in existence for an individual to become an Associate Certified Entomologist.

Any pest management professional who claims to be a "Certified Entomologist" but (a) does not have a degree in the science, or (b) is not certified as an ACE or a BCE is not recognized as a certified entomologist in the eyes of the ESA Certification Board.

This is not a change from past practices, actions, nor beliefs of the Certification Board, it is merely a codification of long-standing policy of the Board.

To review the current ACE Code of Ethics, please click here.

The specific changes to the Code are detailed below with additions indicated in blue and deletions noted by strike-through:

Preamble: The profession of entomology is increasingly important to the welfare and progress of human society. Associate Certified Entomologists-Pest Control (ACE)s have the position and authority to render effective service to humanity, in keeping with high standards of ethical conduct. In order that the honor and dignity of the profession be advanced and maintained, the Entomological Society of America (ESA) has established the following code to define the professional conduct and ethics, binding on Associate Certified Entomologists-Pest ControlACEs.
1.1: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest Control'sACE’s knowledge and skills will be used for the betterment of human welfare.
1.2: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will share in sustaining the laws, institutions, and burdens of the community.
2.1: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will have proper regard for the safety, health, and welfare of the public in the performance of all of his or her professional duties – ensuring proper regard for the safety, health, and welfare of the public and environment; documenting findings as appropriate and required; and keeping all stakeholders informed of the process.
2.2: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will be honest and impartial, and will preface any one-sided statements, criticisms, or arguments by clearly indicating on whose behalf they are made.
2.3: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will express an opinion on an entomological subject only when it is founded on adequate knowledge and honest conviction,; and will be factual in all estimates, reports, and testimoniesy.
3.1: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will strive to advance the science and art of entomology, to guard and uphold its high standard of honor, and to conform with to the principles of professional conduct.
3.2: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will cooperate in edifying the profession by exchanging information with fellow entomologists, and by contributing to the work of technical societies and the technical press, where disclosure of such information does not conflict with the interests of clients and employers.
3.3: The ACE will strive to promote the public’s awareness and perception of pest management, pest management professionals, and all facets of the pest management business, taking special care of his/her responsibilities as an ACE to defend the honor and prestige of the entomological aspects of the pest management profession that are encapsulated by the ACE program.The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest Control will defend the prestige of the entomology and pest control professions and will report to the Entomological Society of America any persons or organizations using the words entomologist, entomology, or derivatives thereof in a manner implying performance or supervision by a Board Certified Entomologist, or by an Associate Certified Entomologist, when such is not true.
3.4: The ACE, when referring to the certification granted by the ESA, shall always use the full title of Associate Certified Entomologist or ACE, rather than abbreviating to Certified Entomologist or only Entomologist. The ACE will seek to inform others of the prestige of entomology and will immediately report to the ESA any misuse or misrepresentation of the terms entomology, entomologist, Associate Certified Entomologist, Board Certified Entomologist, or derivatives thereof. The Associate Certified Entomologist – Pest Control, when referring to the certification granted by the Entomological Society of America, shall always use the full title of Associate Certified Entomologist or ACE, rather than abbreviating to certified entomologist or only entomologist.
4.1: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will act as a faithful agent or trustee for each employer or client, and will not knowingly engage in illegal work or unethical practice, or knowingly cooperate with any person so engaged.
4.2: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will undertake only those entomological assignments for which he or she is qualified. The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will obtain, or advise the employer or client to obtain, the assistance of specialists whenever the employer's or client's interests are so served best, and will cooperate with such specialists.
4.3: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will indicate to the employer or client alternatives to recommended courses of action and the expected consequences of each recommended action and alternative.
4.4: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will inform the employer or client of any financial interest, or other conflicting interest, he or she has in any person, material, device, or concept which is or might become involved in a project or work for the employer or client. Decisions regarding entomological or business services to be performed shall not be influenced by such interests.
4.5: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will act fairly and justly toward vendors and contractors, selecting their products and services on the basis of merit and value.
4.6: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will not disclose information concerning the business affairs or technical processes of present or former employers or clients without their consent.
4.7: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will not accept compensation, financial or otherwise, from more than one party for the same service, or for other services pertaining to the same work, without the consent of all interested parties.
5.1: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will give credit for pest management and entomological work or advice to whom it is due.
5.2: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will promote solidarity and harmony with fellow pest management professionals, respect their judgment, and support them collectively and individually whenever possible against unjust claims and accusations.
5.3: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will not accept any engagement to review the professional work of a fellow pest management professional (except in litigation and editing of technical or scientific papers) without the knowledge of such person, unless the person’s connection with the work has been terminated.
5.4: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will not injure intentionally the professional reputation, prospects, or practice of another pest management professional. However, proof that another ACECertified Entomologist has done anything unethical, illegal, or unfair in a professional capacity, should be communicated to the Entomological Society of AmericaESA as soon as possible.
5.5: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE will provide a prospective pest management employee with complete information on working conditions and the proposed status of employment and during employment will keep the employee informed of any changes therein.
5.6: The Associate Certified Entomologist-Pest ControlACE who employs or supervises other pest management professionals will endeavor to encourage and provide opportunities for their professional development and advancement.

Certification Corporation Bylaws Updated

Bylaws are the guiding rules by which an organization operates. They define the how, what, and why of operations. As such, they should be well-thought out from the very beginning and adjusted only when necessary.

This is one of those times.

The ESA Certification Corporation arose out of the ESA and many of the Bylaws were adapted from current ESA rules and practices. As (a) the ACE program has continued to grow and thrive, and (b) additional stability was required for proper board management, it became apparent that a Bylaws adjustment was necessary in order to allow proper representation on the Certification Board.

Effective immediately, the following changes to the composition and structure of the Certification Board have taken place via an update to the ESA Certification Corporation Bylaws (See Article VII, Section 2):

• An ACE Representative position has been created,
• Terms of office are moving from one year to three years (see note below),
• New rules are in place for appointment of candidates if none arise through the normal elections process, and
• The two Ad Hoc positions have been clarified.

The 2015 officers of the Society are going to be elected in just a few weeks. Any candidates for the open seats should step forward soon and apply by COB on June 13th. Please visit the ESA Elections and Nominations page to nominate yourself or someone else for a seat on the Certification Board.

Staggered terms off office:
The positions on the board will be staggered so that approximately one third of all candidates rotate off each year. In order to achieve this, ESA is going to stagger the implementation of the three year terms.  For the 2015 positions (that would be elected in the summer of 2014), the Southeastern and North Central Branch representative positions will be elected to three year terms. The ACE position will be selected by a vote of all ACEs. All other positions are still for one year terms. The following year the Eastern and Southwestern Branches will elect to three year terms. The Governing Board will also appoint one of the Ad Hoc positions to a three year term. And then, completing the implementation, the 2017 officers will be selected for three-year terms in the summer of 2016. These would be the appointment of the second Ad Hoc position and the election of the International and Pacific Branch representatives.

ACE position:
The ACE representative does not need to be an ESA member to compete for the position. During the election all current ACEs will have the opportunity to vote for their representative.

Certification Board Actions

On May 13, 2014 the ESA Certification Board (CB) held its second quarter meeting via teleconference. In anticipation of launching the ACE-International program later this fall, the CB made several decisions which will also modify the domestic ACE program. The goal is to have the two programs be as similar as possible with as little stratification as required. Two decisions that affect the ACE program -- both of which will take effect on October 1, 2014 -- are:

1) Modify the application requirements to require submission of two letters of professional reference. Currently the program only requires the applicant to list one professional colleague who would be able to vouch for the candidate's professionalism. This new requirement mirrors the BCE requirement for submission of two letters.

2) Modify the application requirements to adjust the years of experience required. Currently the ACE program requires seven years of professional experience in structural pest management -- a number that was derived arbitrarily at the program's inception. Two panels of subject matter experts reviewed the decision and felt that the point at which a professional was able to acquire the minimum amount of experience to competently perform their duties up to the ACE standard would be closer to five years.

This latter decision is in keeping with the rules of certification. According to Jerald Jacobs in the Association Law Handbook, "The best way to maximize validity is to have an open process by which all affected constituencies may participate … a broad base of participation and input will help ensure that the requirements do not unfairly bias or discriminate against any eligible professionals and accurately measure competency… The criteria, standards, or principles should be no more stringent than necessary to ensure the levels of competency or quality that the program aims to measure have been achieved by the candidates."

In other words, the rule for setting the requirement is to find the point at which the minimum is met, not the maximum.

Said another way by Mickie Rops, CAE (who also served as ESA's Certification Consultant during the program review in April 2012), "It is important that eligibility requirements are linked to the actual needs of the role being certified, not randomly chosen; this concept is often called job-relatedness. It is sometimes tempting for a certification committee to drift towards wanting to recognize excellence rather than competence in a role, and for the eligibility requirements to become unnecessarily high. Requirements should be reasonable and reflect the need-to-have, not the nice-to-have."

Both of these rules will be implemented with an effective date of October 1, 2014.

Going Fishing: Improper Use of the BCE and ACE logos

This morning I did a little googling (who doesn't from time to time, right?). I do it every week or so as a kind of fishing expedition.

Every couple of days I spend some time looking out over the web trying to find instances where the ACE, BCE, and ESA Certification Corporation logos have been used inappropriately.  Often this is fruitless (which reinforces my belief that overall most people in this industry are responsible and trustworthy), but it is an important task nonetheless.

I do this to protect you, the ACE or BCE.  Anyone who inappropriately uses the ACE or BCE logo is causing you direct harm.  Here's why:

As the ESACC certification programs continue to grow in popularity, seeing a certification logo will have an increasingly larger impact on the customer's purchase decision. Both the BCE and ACE logos connote that the individual has proven themselves to be sufficiently knowledgeable of entomology to take and pass a rigorous examination. And that is something to be proud of. Putting the ACE or BCE logo on your website is a great way to publicly declare to your customers your accomplishment.

When a non-ACE or non-BCE (including former ACEs and BCEs) use the logos or say that they are Associate-Certified or Board-Certified when they are not, it waters down the overall importance of the certification.

The ESACC has established very clear rules for the use of the logos. You are encouraged to read the document and put the ACE or BCE logo on your site. Essentially, here are the rules:

1) Except in very rare circumstances, the ESACC logo should not be used.
2) Any current ACE may use the ACE logo
3) Any current BCE may use the BCE logo
4) Failure to maintain certification results in a revocation of the right to use the logos

It is up to everyone to help enforce the policy.
All ACEs and BCEs are encouraged to report any logo abuse to the ESACC. We are a very small staff and cannot devote as much time as required to protecting our brand. If you come across a site where you suspect that the ESACC logos are being used inappropriately, please contact the ESA Certification Director immediately. You can report abuse anonymously and we will contact the appropriate people to enforce the logo use policy.

Thanks for helping to protect the integrity of YOUR certification.

State re-certification credits for Maryland

Great news for Maryland-based PMPs!

The ESA Certification Corporation just received notice from the Maryland Department of Agriculture Office of Plant Industries and Pest Management that taking and passing an ACE or BCE exam will qualify the applicant for state re-certification credits.

According to Ed Crow, the state entomologist in charge of licensing, certification, and training, "We will accept the completion of the examinations with a passing grade ... as satisfying our re-certification requirements for the license year in which the examination was taken. Each certification examination will satisfy the full re-certification training requirements for each of the pest control categories (below) that they have been approved."  This has been arranged for both the 2013-2014 and the 2014-2015 renewal years.

The ESACC Certification Exams will count for full credit in the following Categories:

• ACE Exam (MD course #149508),  Categories 7A, 7B, 7E, and 10
• BCE Qualifying Exam (MD course #149509), Categories 7A, 7B, 7E, and 10
• BCE Urban and Industrial Specialty Exam (MD course #149510), Categories 7A, 7B, 7E, and 10
• BCE Medical and Veterinary Specialty Exam (MD course #149511), Categories 1B, 7A, 8, and 10
• BCE Plant-related Specialty Exam (MD course #149512), Categories 1A and 10
• BCE General Entomology Specialty Exam (MD course #149513), Any Category
• BCE Regulatory Entomology Specialty Exam (MD course #149514), Categories 1A, 2, 3A, 9, and 10
• BCE Pesticide Development, Analysis, and Toxicology Exam (MD course #149515), Any Category

As proof of completion, the ACE or BCE simply needs to include a copy of their dated confirmation letter from the ESA or a copy of their certificate, as issued by ESA.

If you would like to have us pursue similar arrangement in YOUR state, contact the ESA HQ.