Common Questions about the ISA Tree Risk
Assessment Qualification for Instructors
INSTRUCTORS
1. What are the requirements for becoming an ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification instructor?
Many measures have been taken to help ensure the high quality and consistent delivery of our qualification
program. Instructor excellence is a crucial component of the program’s success.
In order to become an ISA TRAQ instructor, you must first meet the eligibility criteria—subject matter
expertise combined with public speaking or teaching ability.
This will be followed by:
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an application/verification process
a review of the terms and conditions of the ISA instructor agreement
completion of core requirements
completion of practice requirements
If you would like further information about becoming an ISA Tree Risk Assessment Qualification instructor,
contact charris@isa-arbor.com.
2. How long will it take for a prospective instructor to complete all of the requirements of
training?
The length of time needed to complete the requirements to become an ISA Approved Instructor will vary
because of the number and type of requirements. We do know that individuals will be able to complete the
requirements more quickly if they are willing to travel to finish requirements.
3. How do we get enough instructors to launch the program?
When the program launches in April 2013, there will be six ISA-approved instructors. This quantity of instructors should be sufficient to cover the 10 courses that are allotted for the first three months following program
launch. During this same timeframe, we will be hosting two instructor training events that will result in a new
crop of approved instructors becoming eligible to teach this course.
INSTRUCTOR FEES
4. How is becoming an instructor equitable if the start-up costs could be as high as $8,500?
The figure $8,500 was discussed as the high end of what the total investment could be to become eligible
to teach TRAQ courses. We believe that some instructors may be able to meet all requirements for less than
that amount. We will analyze this estimate and the Instructional Techniques Course process in order to more
definitively communicate expected costs for prospective instructors.
International Society of Arboriculture
www.isa-arbor.com • p. 217.355.9411 • isa@isa-arbor.com
Although ISA cannot provide an iron-clad guarantee of it, we do expect that many instructors will be able to
recoup their investment in becoming a TRAQ-eligible instructor. Because each instructor will negotiate the
fee they charge on a course-by-course basis, they should be able to determine the timeline for offsetting their
investment in training.
PROGRAM FEES
5. Are Instructor fees included within the program fees?
The fees paid to instructors are established based on supply and demand within the market. As a reference point,
an instructor under the PNW TRACE program received $2,500 for a two-day, local course. When thinking about
instructor fees, it is important to note that the fees may be slightly different under the two business models.
In the Co-Host Model (Shared Revenue), ISA has identified a range that they think is an appropriate fee to pay
an instructor and have used this benchmark to determine the participant fees.
In the Contract Fee Model, the host is responsible for negotiating the instructor fee themselves. Different instructors
may be inclined to negotiate a deeper discount under certain circumstances, such as hosting an event in their home
chapter, which will result in the range of fees paid to instructors being wider under this model.
6. How are retakes processed and what percentage of the retake fees goes back to the host
(Instructor)?
ISA will reimburse Chapters and Associate Organizations $20 per retake candidate and will reimburse the
instructor $30 per retake candidate. Processing and scheduling retake exams will be handled through the ISA
headquarters office on a case-by-case basis.
All event hosts must allow for up to five retake seats at each course in addition to full-course participants.
INSTRUCTOR INSURANCE
7. Will instructors be required to hold their own liability insurance?
The recommendation from the insurance industry is that instructors would provide proof of their own professional
liability insurance through an Independent Contractor Agreement. ISA instructors will be required to carry a minimum of $1 million in professional liability insurance.
Even with this insurance in place, the host still maintains a liability for hosting the event and should have
appropriate insurance in place. Under the Co-Host Model, TRAQ events are covered under ISA’s public event
insurance. Under the Contract Fee Model, the host is required to carry their own public event insurance.
8. If we require professional liability insurance for instructors, how do we request proof and
to what extent are we committed to verifying their insurance?
ISA will develop a template for an Independent Contractor Agreement for use between the host and the
instructor. This document will include the insurance requirements and outline what information must be
shared in order to satisfy proof of insurance.
International Society of Arboriculture
www.isa-arbor.com • p. 217.355.9411 • isa@isa-arbor.com
GENERAL EVENT QUESTIONS
9. How will ISA select the Chapters or Associate Organizations that will host events immediately following the launch of the program?
The headquarters staff is currently working to develop a method for selection of host Chapters and Associate
Organizations. We don’t expect this to be a problem long-term, but it is possible that there could be more Chapters
and Associate Organizations interested in hosting events during the first 90 days than we can accommodate.
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The criteria for reviewing and approving requests for TRAQ events will includes, but is not limited to:
Geographic distribution of requests received
Instructor availability, including the ability to host back-to-back events
Instructor travel preferences
Regions where municipalities require a tree risk credential in their contracts and/or codes
Facilitating building the pool of instructors
Demand in a particular region
10. What is the plan to handle the launch of this program if demand exceeds the supply of
available courses?
We know that interest in this credential is very high for several reasons. The ISA staff is committed to doing our
best to help chapters offer enough programs to meet the needs of their members and credential holders, but resource
constraints might not allow us to offer as many courses as our Chapters and Associate Organizations might desire.
The program is like any other product or service on the market in the sense that the supply of available products will
be maximized to the best of our ability, but it is possible that demand will exceed supply in the first several months
following launch. This is often the case with new products, programs, or services that are offered inside and outside
of our industry. We ask for your patience and understanding as we work to match resources with needs.
11. Could courses be held back-to-back in order to reduce training process time?
We will attempt to accommodate back-to-back training courses and TRAQ courses when it is reasonable to do so.
This type of scheduling is generally advantageous and we want to be supportive of efficient use of financial resources,
but there are other factors that go into event scheduling. As much as possible, we will strive to adopt this scheduling
practice.
12. How long before the course start date will the educational materials be transferred to the
candidates?
Participants will receive all of their course materials a minimum of two weeks prior to the start of the course.
It is recommended that materials be distributed as soon as possible after the candidate’s application is approved,
but in some cases materials may not be distributed until the course has been filled or has met the minimum
participation threshold.
13. Who will be the primary point of contact at ISA for questions about TRAQ events?
If an instructor or prospective instructor has questions about the TRAQ program, they should contact Cindy Harris
at charris@isa-arbor.com.
International Society of Arboriculture
www.isa-arbor.com • p. 217.355.9411 • isa@isa-arbor.com