NCB Improves Its Service
The NCBTMB office has experienced a drastic growth in the number of candidates seeking certification, and the staff has been challenged to keep up with the demand. After just six years of administering the examination, over 33,000 practitioners have been nationally certified. The NCBTMB office is continually working to provide better service to its candidates for national certification and its current certification population.
In the last quarter of 1997, the NCBTMB office staff began making the following customer service improvements:
Staff members were added to support the processing of applications;

A full-time Exam Manager was hired to support the development and administration of the exam process;

Payment processing was moved to an off-site financial institution for faster, more efficient processing;

The computer database was upgraded for year 2000 compliance;

Additional test centers were added to meet the demand of test takers nationwide;

Handbooks were revised to be more user-friendly;

The automated telephone service was updated; and

Office staff committed to a 24-hour response time for messages.

NCB has made a commitment to further strengthen its customer service initiatives. Look for these service improvements to be implemented throughout 1999:
Additional staff member hired to answer telephone inquiries;

Newsletters, provider lists, handbooks, and other print material will be posted on NCB's web site;

Recommendations for improvements from the Organizational Improvement Task Force Implementation are put in place; and

Strategic planning initiatings to map out future and direction of NCB are underway.

Future issues of Emerging Standards will have more detailed information about additional improvements.
For questions or comments, contact Beth Danner by mail, NCBTMB, 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300, McLean, VA 22102, by fax, (703) 610-9005, or by e-mail, bdanner@ncbtmb.com

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Why It Is So Important for Your Students to Have their own Candidate Handbook
It is important that each student wishing to apply for National Certification receive a complete copy of the Candidate Handbook. There is vital information regarding policies, procedures and deadlines that each candidate must be fully aware of prior to applying for the National Certification Examination. Did you know that the new edition of the Candidate Handbook, February 1999, outlines more than 7 major policies which affect candidates? These policies inform candidates about the confidentiality of their application and certification status, their eligibility to test, the number of times a candidate can take the exam to become successful, commenting on examination questions, appealing a decision, and many others. Some of these policies are highlighted throughout the newsletter, but please review a copy of the new handbook in its entirety for complete information.
Students may contact NCB directly at 703-610-0238 for their own copy of the Candidate Handbook or download it from the NCB web site at www.ncbtmb.com.
Schools may order a supply of handbooks directly from NCB at anytime by contacting Mary Downes at 703-610-0238 or by e-mail at mdownes@ncbtmb.com. To ensure that handbooks are readily available for everyone please order handbooks according to your graduation figures. Requests are filled as they are received. Expect to receive your handbooks about two weeks after the request.

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Important Message to Students
NCBTMB is no longer distributing the List of State Approved, Registered, Licensed or Exempt Training Institutions which previously accompanied the National Certification Examination (NCE) Candidate Handbook. NCBTMB does not endorse or approve any educational training institution or its program. This list of training institutions was created as a courtesy quick reference guide for locating a school registration code for you, the applicant, applying for National Certification. Unfortunately, some recipients of the list erroneously associated a form of approval by NCBTMB of the institutions appearing on this list. Therefore, the list has been permanently removed from publication in order to avoid any misperception that NCBTMB has an approval process for training institutions.
The removal of this list will in no way affect the eligibility criteria associated with the application process for the NCE. Candidates wishing to apply for National Certification will still be required to demonstrate the completion of a minimum 500 hour training program from an established massage training institution which is legally operating in its state and follow all other policies as stated in the current Candidate Handbook. Applicants should to contact their training institution administrator to obtain the school registration code assigned to their school. This registration code must be included on the application or applicants may experience a delay in processing.

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Approved Provider Corner
Since many of the recipients of this newsletter are Category A Approved Providers of Continuing Education, NCB is now going to have a regular feature in this newsletter to keep you updated on changes that will affect approved providers.

Update Application:
NCB has been revising all of its publications during this first quarter of 1999, and the Category A Approved Provider initial and renewal applications are no exception. These applications were redesigned for better clarity and organization.
Providers are reminded that approval status is valid for two years and that a renewal process is required. You will be sent information about renewing your status approximately 6 months prior to your current expiration date. The renewal process is similar in nature to the initial application process, so please allow adequate time for your application to be processed.

Approval Recognition:
Providers are reminded to only use the "authorized statement of approval" and official logo they were given when initially approved as a Category A Approved Provider. Providers may not alter the following statement in any way.

Name of Provider is approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) as a continuing education provider under Category A.

If you need additional copies of the logo sheet for use in your printed educational and promotional materials, please contact Kelly Koteen at 703-610-0215 or e-mail at kkoteen@ncbtmb.com.

New Course Offerings:
Providers are reminded that NCBTMB maintains a record of course offerings by an Approved Provider, and that upon offering a new course they must submit information to NCBTMB. The information includes the course description, course length and the qualifications of the new instructor. Please contact the continuing education department if you have any questions about this process.

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Are You Current in Our Database?
The National Certification Board makes every effort to keep the most current mailing address of its stakeholders. However, we need your help to do so. The number of returned copies of this newsletter has dropped, thanks to your assistance. We ask that you continue to contact us when your address changes. Don't forget to also update your phone, fax and e-mail addresses. Please remind graduates who have applied to NCBTMB to update their address by calling 703-610-0238 or by e-mail: mdownes@ncbtmb.com.

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Keeping Your Certification
Once you take and pass the National Certification Examination, you are Nationally Certified for four (4) years. During this four year certification period, each certificant is required to complete at least 200 hours of hands-on massage and/or bodywork experience. Keep all log books or appointment books for verification of these hours.
In order to renew your certification at the end of four years, you will need to meet one of the following two options for recertification. Both options for renewing your certification include completion of the 200 hour work experience requirement.

The options for meeting the recertification requirements are:
1. 200 hrs work experience and 50 hours of continuing education–each certificant wishing to renew by this method must complete at least 50 hours of appropriate continuing education. Please consult your Recertification Handbook for the definition of continuing education, the categories of continuing education, exact requirements for each and information about the ethics requirement.
Note: Continuing education credits will begin counting toward recertification the day after the certificant passes the National Certification Examination.

2. 200 hrs of work experience and the current form of the National Certification Examination–certificants may wish to recertify by taking and passing the current form of the NCE instead of meeting the continuing education requirements. The exam can be taken up to one year prior– but no later than the applicant's current expiration of certification. Please consult the Recertification Handbook for more details on this method.

If you need an additional copy of the Recertification Handbook, please contact NCB's Recertification Department at 703-610-9015 or you may access it under the heading of "Keeping Your Certification" on our web site at www.ncbtmb.com.

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Q+A: Why We Do the Things We Do
NCBTMB office staff answers bewildering questions

Q: Why doesn't anyone answer the phone at the NCBTMB office? I always have to leave a message.

A: The NCBTMB office currently has nine full-time staff members to assist the entire certificant population (about 33,000 people) as well as those who are applying to enter the national certification program (another 700 people per month). Staff support is provided from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday, Eastern Standard Time. On an average day, staff members receive about 400-450 telephone calls. So, if you can't get to a live person, it's because they are on the other line with someone else.
One of the customer service improvements that the National Certification Board (NCB) made in 1998 is the guarantee that phone messages will be returned within 24 hours. Leave a message and you will receive a return call.
Another improvement that is currently being implemented is the addition of another full-time staff member dedicated solely to answering telephone calls and fulfilling requests for information. NCBTMB is happy to welcome Mary Downes to the team! You can reach Mary directly at (703)610-0238.


Q: Why does it take so long to determine my eligibility? I sent all of my education information. How long does it take to evaluate my application?

A: It may seem that determining one's eligibility is a simple process, but NCB takes steps to ensure that every candidate who receives notification of eligibility has met all the requirements.
First, applications are sent directly to the bank for payment processing, then sent to the NCBTMB office. Once the eligibility department receives the application, all transcripts are verified to ensure all requirements have been met, a record is created, the testing company is notified, and the eligibility letter is mailed.
An average of 700 candidates take the National Certification Examination (NCE) every month. With this high number of applications coming to the eligibility department staff each month, it really does take about four weeks to process each application, and can take longer if the applicant does not completely fill out the application or enclose all the required materials. So, in order to do your part–use the check box section of the handbook to ensure all required materials are enclosed.

Q: I included all of the required materials with my recertification application, which said not to enclose copies of certificates or transcripts. After mailing the application to your office, I received a letter saying that my application was not complete because my ethics documentation was not included. Do I have to send supporting materials?

A: NCBTMB's recertification program is based on an honor reporting system. We ask that you collect all of your work experience documentation and certificates of completion and/or transcripts over the four-year period. We also ask that you complete the work experience and continuing education sections of the application in the Recertification Handbook. The ONLY supporting documentation you need to send, in addition to the application, is the verification of the two hours of ethics education. The NCBTMB office has received many questions about this issue and has responded by making the new edition of the Recertification Handbook much clearer to understand and use.

Have you ever wondered why the NCBTMB office does the things it does? NCB Connection now offers this forum for certificants to ask the bewildering questions.
Submit your question for "Why We Do The Things We Do," to Beth Danner, Marketing & Communications Manager by fax:(703) 610-9005, by e-mail: bdanner@ncbtmb.com, or by mail: 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300, McLean, Virginia, 22102.

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Certification Update
Since the National Certification Examination (NCE) was first administered in 1992, 33,000 individuals across the United States have become nationally certified. What was 1998's impact on this number?
In 1998, the total number of test-takers was 8,588, compared to 6,986 in 1997. This means that and additional 1,602 candidates took the NCE in 1998. Of the 8,588 examination candidates, 7,902 passed the NCE while only 686 failed. This reflects a national pass rate of 92 percent.
Likewise, there were 7,243 nationally certified practitioners due to recertify in 1998. Of those, 2,593 have already recertified, over 500 people did not submit the required documentation and are being processed now and extensions have been granted to several others for extenuating circumstances.
The National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCETMB) is offered continually throughout the year. The examination is administered electronically at over 180 sites by ASI, our testing company.

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What Happens To My Application Once I Mail It?

First 2 Weeks
Application goes to the bank and NCB's accounting department.Then staff receives applications in batches of about 100 each day.

Weeks 3-4
Staff mails applicant the receipt of application verification form on the same day we receive application.

Staff reviews each application and verifies all documentation. Approximately 25-35 applications are reviewed each day.

Eligibility is determined and applicant information is entered in the database.

Weeks 4-6
Eligible Candidates:
Applicants will receive a letter of eligibility containing the testing window and testing reservation information.

Candidates will have 3 months to make test reservation and take the examination.

Denied Candidates:
Applicants will receive a letter of denial. The letter will state the items missing from the application or the reason the application was denied. If you receive a letter of denial, the process may be delayed beyond 4-6 weeks.

Tips To Follow To Minimizing Your Chance of Being Delayed
1. Send application, documentation and payment directly to the bank address.
2. Enclose official school transcript. (no photocopies)
3. Enclose notarized copy of your certificate or diploma.
4. Complete and sign the application form.

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Incomplete Applications
All incomplete applications will be denied eligibility. Official school transcripts MUST accompany your application for eligibility. Schools concerned with security problems may issue their transcript to students in a sealed envelope for security. Please also note: sending your application by express mail, federal express or other overnight carriers will not speed your application. All money must be processed at another site first. Therefore, sending applications to the office only slows down your application process. Ensure your application process goes smoothly, check for these commonly missed items:
Completed application form
Payment by credit card, money order, personal checks or certified check
Official transcript
Notarized copy of certificate or diploma

Please send completed applications to:   
NCBTMB, Attention: Eligibility Dept.
c/o First Union Bank
PO Box 85080
Richmond, VA 23285

Here is an example of a preferred type of official transcript and the pertinet information NCBTMB looks for a transcript:

1. School name, address and phone number
2. Official school seal or logo
3. Start and ending/graduation dates
4. Authorized and dated signature of administrator/director
5. Course title, hours and grade

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Seated Massage Anyone?
Are you looking for a local opportunity to contribute something to the profession but only have a limited amount of time? Check out this volunteer opportunity. NCB is looking for local Nationally Certified therapists to demonstrate some on-site seated massage at the following events. These are the currently the available opportunities for on-site massage demonstrations:

NCBTMB
8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300
McLean, VA 22102
703-610-9015 … 703-610-9005
1-800-296-0664 (totally automated line)
e-mail: mswiscoski@ncbtmb.com