The Minnesota Association of School Business Officials has established a voluntary certification program for all MASBO members and nonmembers. The program, designed to train current and prospective school business officials, offers practical information to assist members in excelling in their profession. Furthermore, the program is designed to advance the professionalism of school business officials to ensure a base of knowledge for all school districts.

The program consists of: 1) the MASBO Institute, 2) 11 three-hour courses, and 3) additional elective credits from MASBO professional development offerings:

MASBO Institute – 30 hours
Certification Courses – 33 hours
Additional MASBO CEs – 27 hours
Total – 90 hours

The MASBO Institute starts the certification program as a prerequisite. The MASBO Institute requirement could be waived for qualifying individuals with seven or more years of experience in school business. The MASBO Institute is a week long training that highlights school finance and management topics, and is offered once a year. The certification courses cover more in-depth training on similar school finance and management topics.

The additional CEU’s can be attained through any MASBO conference or workshop. Topics covered at these conferences will provide additional information not covered at the Institute or certification courses.

Further details are available on the FAQ document.

Enrolling and Earning Your Certification Designation

STEP 1:  Submit Your Program Application
The MASBO Institute is a prerequisite for applying for the certification program.  This requirement is waived for qualifying individuals with seven or more years of experience in school business.  If one of these prerequisites are met, a program application can be submitted, along with a $50 application fee.  Once the application has been received, it will be reviewed and notification on the approval will be sent to acknowledge acceptance into the program. 

• PDF Application
• Electronic Application

Please note that an application must be received and approved for certification courses to apply toward a certification designation.

STEP 2:  Attend Certification Courses and Other MASBO Events
After the application has been approved, all certification courses will apply toward the certification designation.  All courses must be taken within five years.  Each course requires a separate registration and payment, which is the responsibility of the participant.  

The courses are intended to cover major points about their respective topics, offer an opportunity for questions and discussion, and provide resource information for future use. Some of the courses are presented as webinars, and some are presented as in-person sessions.  Anyone can sign-up for a certification course but priority will be given to participants in the certification program and Active MASBO members.

This schedule allows for all of the certification courses to be offered over the next two years, and you have five years to complete the program. There are four courses that will be held as webinar sessions only.  The remaining seven will be held in-person, but also will be recorded to be viewed on-demand.  In addition to the technical content of the courses, an equally important component of this program is to develop professional relationships with presenters and other course participants.  To help foster this connection and networking, for anyone enrolling in the program after October 1, 2021 there is a requirement to attend at least four courses in-person.   

In addition to the certification courses, 27 credits from other MASBO events are required.  These additional credits can be taken any time during participation in the Certification Program, and may involve any combination of in-person or virtual events.

Tracking Your Credits

Your professional development credits are tracked in the MASBO Learning Center. After you attend a MASBO event, your credits are automatically entered into your member account profile. You also have the ability to enter other non-MASBO professional development activities into your account profile, too.  To view your credits, log into the Learning Center and click on the "credit tracker" tab.  This will provide a list that you can view or download to verify your progress.

Certification Completion

• View details on completing the certification program
• Monitor your progress through the program using this tracking form
• Certification Completion Form

Recertification

A MASBO certification designation lasts for a period of five years. For renewal, during that period members must accumulate 150 hours of credit from MASBO, ASBO, or other qualifying professional development seminars given by other entities.  

• View Recertification details and requirements
  
• Apply for recertification

Thank You, Voluntary Certification Program Sponsor, The PFM Group