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My Beef with USGBC and GBCI

Good Morning Readers. Maybe it's the gloom of the impending Hurricane, but I've got a beef to pick with USGBC and GBCI (Green Building Certification Institute)!

As some of you may know, LEED AP professional certification is a valuable tool to have as a green building field worker. I have worked within two LEED project teams now and purchased $90 worth of study materials from USGBC and gave myself 2 months to prepare for a combined exam- which allows me to test for a Green Associates' designation and then a LEED AP, Building Design and Construction specialization. The whole exam takes about 4.5 hours and separate test is 100 questions.

After studying the USGBC-published study guide, the LEED 2009 manual, and over 500 pages of supplementary reading- I went to a computerized testing center last week to finally take my LEED exam.

Before I even submitted my exam, I knew I had failed. More than half of the questions were not anything similar to the study questions, and they were extremely specific rather than topic related, to determine if I had an understanding of the concept. There were excruciatingly detailed equations- which is ridiculous because in a real life situation I would not need to have memorized the 50 + equations listed within the LEED guide. On top of that, the candidate handbook said that while you should know what Acronyms like ASHRAE mean, everything will be spelled out for you because the test is not intended to trick you, simply test your real-life knowledge and understanding.

Well I'm on the other side and I can tell you that's boloney! NOT ONE acronym was spelled out, nor a single unit of measure. I had several questions wanting to know how many flushes had to be done in a building that was x volume if I had air changers that were y big. And how long will that take? I'm sorry but that is not related to green building concepts, that is a specific question that an engineer would be more likely to calculate than an outside LEED professional.

Someone made a point to me that why would GBCI take my money and pass me once, when they could take my money twice? Understood. But one of the goals of the LEED program is to create awareness and market transformation. If you charge $90 for self published study materials that do not prepare an applicant for an exam, an annual membership fee, and $300 per combined exam, which is designed to be challenging and confusing and I am sure most people are stumped on the first time- what exactly about that cost is accessible? As a recent college graduate, I would not have even pursued this certificate if my employer hadn't encouraged and even paid for my first exam. There are small discounts for current students, but a current student wouldn't likely be eligible to even apply for the exam application! USGBC/ GBCI: your methods will NOT sustain your goals!!

Anyway, you need a 170 to pass either exam- and having scored a 169 on both portions, I am back at square one. I have ordered some test study materials from Kaplan, and am already registered to take the exam again in December, because I still believe in the ideal mission of the organization. However I sincerely hope they restructure their exam and even more severely hope that any of you out in cyberspace truly understand what to prepare for before you make this huge investment!

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