Certification Requirements for Certified School Business Specialist (CSBS)
A Candidate seeking Certified School Business Specialist (CSBS) certification must be a
member in good standing of ASBO MD & DC for the past five years.
A Candidate currently must be working in a public or non-public school, or qualifying
organization (see Policies and Procedures) at the time the application for certification is filed and
approved.
For all candidates, a combination of education and years of school business experience equaling
5 years is required to apply for Certified School Business Specialist (CSBS) certification.
The position must be full-time, paid school business experience. The definition of school
business experience is an individual whose primary job responsibility occurs in school business
operations. The individual’s job must relate to the ASBO MD & DC components and
competencies and must be a minimum of 7 hours per day for 90 working days (or at least 630
hours during a fiscal year) spent in school business and/or operations areas of responsibility. Any
questions or clarifications related to the definition, they may be submitted to the Professional
Development Committee for review and action.
The Candidate also must be able to document their experience by supplying an official position
description for each position they would like considered towards meeting the experience
requirement. Positions submitted without an official job description will not be considered. The
following activities, for example, do not meet the school business management experience
requirement: general administrative, secretarial/clerical, office management and data input
positions within the school business management cycle.
At the time of application for certification, a Candidate must submit a letter of recommendation
from their Superintendent, Chief School Business Administrator, Board President, or equivalent
supervising administrator regarding the Candidate’s Integrity, Character, Ethical Behavior,
Efficiency and Competency on the job.
A Candidate must complete the required Foundations of School Business Management
curriculum coursework available at the time of application. Each level of certification requires a
minimum number of courses be taken in a classroom setting; certification may not be earned
through online courses only. Substitute courses must be approved in advance by the Professional
Development Committee (no more than two substitutions will be allowed for all certification
levels combined). Course credit earned under any certification level may be credited toward a
higher certification level; an individual does not have to take a course twice.
A Candidate must submit a completed Official Letter of Transmittal and an Application for
Certification Status on forms provided by ASBO MD & DC, including a signed Code of Ethics
statement. Each application will be evaluated on its own merits.
A Candidate may apply for a Provisional Certificate in any of the three levels of certification
(CMSBA, CMSBO, CMSBS) if all requirements for full certification are met with the exception
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of years of experience. The Candidate shall submit a completed Official Letter of Transmittal
and an Application for Certification Status on forms provided by ASBO MD & DC, in addition
to a written request for Provisional Certification. The holder of a Provisional Certificate may not
use the letter designation after their signature.
To receive full certification, a person holding a Provisional Certificate must complete the school
business and/or operations experience as stated under the requirements for the certificate. Full
certification will be granted when documentation is provided showing that the years of
experience requirement has been met.
Unlike many other certification programs, ASBO MD & DC requires substantial work
experience in school business management. This work experience must be complemented by
formal training courses specific to school business management, as well as by formal education.
Some college work is preferred for a CSBS designation and a four-year college degree or postgraduate work is required for CSBO and CSBA candidates.
The requirements for work experience and formal coursework are dependent upon the amount of
formal college education achieved by the Candidate at the time of application. For example, can
a four-year or advanced college degree will reduce the coursework and experience requirements
for certification. If a Candidate for certification has the following they must achieve the
requirements below:
High School Diploma or GED: a minimum of 96 contact hours (see below for how to
compute contact hours) in school business management seminars and courses, and a total of 5
years school business management experience which must include 3 years of school business
experience.
Associate's degree: a minimum of 96 contact hours in school business management
seminars and courses, and a total of 4 years school business management experience, which must
include 3 years of school business experience.
In addition to educational sources available through professional associations, a Candidate also
may use school business management or school business management-related coursework that
has been taken at an accredited community college, college or university. These courses may or
may not be a requirement of the Candidate’s formal degree program. The following is a list of
college courses that have been approved to fulfill the school business management coursework
requirements. Since the coursework requirement is measured in contact hours, the applicant
must perform a simple calculation to translate college credit hours into contact hours. To convert
credit hours into contact hours simply multiply the total number of credit hours by 8 to determine
contact hours. For example, a 3 credit hour college course would equal 24 contact hours (3 credit
hours x 8 = 24 contact hours). Note: An Official, Sealed College Transcript must be provided
by the educational institution that indicates the number of credit hours earned and the grade
earned for approved college courses. Only those courses that received a passing mark are
acceptable.
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Accounting (general accounting, cost accounting, managerial accounting)
Contracts (Contract administration, negotiations and/or management, cost/price analysis)
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Economics (managerial, macro, micro)
Ethics (business or professional ethics)
Finance (business or governmental)
Law (business law, contract law, government contract law, legal environment of business
management, organizational theory and behavior, public administration, project
management)
7. Personnel (personnel management, performance appraisal, employee development)
8. School business management and materials management (school business management,
materials management, inventory control, operations research)
9. Transportation (physical distribution, traffic management, logistics)
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ASBO MD & DC recognizes that there are numerous opportunities for applicants to receive
quality school business management or school business management-related coursework.
Documentation is required for all coursework submitted for consideration. Acceptable forms of
documentation of coursework taken through an industry association include: copies of
certificates of attendance and certificates of completion. This documentation must include the
name of the course, the date and location of the course, the organization that provided the
course, the duration of the course (contact hours) and must be in the name of the applicant.
The Candidate must:
1. Meet all general requirements for certification.
2. Complete the minimum number of contact hours in school business management
seminars and courses, or attain a formal degree from an accredited community college,
college or university. An official, sealed transcript from the college or university is
required and must be sent directly to ASBO MD & DC. ASBO MD & DC will not accept
a student copy of the transcript; nor will it accept a copy of the college diploma.
3. Have five years of school business and/or operations experience, with at least two
consecutive years in one district or qualifying organization. All experience must be
obtained within the previous ten (10) years of submitting an application for certification.
4. Attend a minimum of 10 ASBO MD & DC Foundations of School Business Management
certification courses.
5. Take at least 3 credit hours of school business management coursework or 6 credit hours
of school business management-related coursework. Coursework taken as part of a
formal degree program may be applicable toward meeting this requirement. All
coursework must be obtained from an accredited college/university and completed within
the previous ten 10 years of submitting an application for certification.
6. Meet the requirement of 60 contact hours of school business training. Training includes
attendance and participation at regional and national school business management
conferences, seminars, webinars and classroom training events. All school business
management training must be completed within the previous 10 years of submitting an
application for certification. Only coursework and training completed and experience
obtained within the previous 10 years of submitting an application for certification will
be applicable toward meeting the minimum eligibility requirements. This ten year
limitation does not apply to formal degrees earned by the applicant. Formal degrees are
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applicable toward meeting the minimum requirements for certification regardless of the
year in which they were earned.
7. Publish one article in ASBO Matters New Journal, ASBO Connects, or other suitable
professional publication.
8. Complete a minimum of 10 Foundation courses or all of the current existing Foundation
courses at the time of application. One course must be taken from each of the core areas
of school business in the ASBO MD & DC curriculum.
Certification Renewal Requirements
All certificates shall be valid for five (5) years from the date granted. All CSBA, CSBO, or
CSBS certificates will be renewed upon completion of 60 contact hours of continuing education
every five years.
ASBO MD & DC awards 1 contact hour for each classroom hour of education or training; each
full day of classroom training earns a maximum of 8 contact hours. Major school business
industry events such as international/national/regional conferences and meetings are also
recognized by ASBO MD & DC and are eligible for coursework/training credit. Specifically,
applicants may receive 24 contact hours for full attendance at the ASBO International Annual
Conference & Products Exposition and 16 contact hours for attending the ASBO MD & DC
Annual Spring Conference and other international/national conferences. Chapter and regional
meetings are also eligible for coursework/training credit. However, chapter business meetings,
social luncheons, vendor presentations, reverse tradeshows and chapter
networking/entertainment events are not considered to be educational in content and do not meet
the requirement for continuing education. Applicants may also earn credit for on-line and webbased education/training. On-line training programs earn 1 contact hour for each hour, however,
if the on-line training requires self-study and reading assignments in addition to on-line
instruction, those additional hours may not be included in the total contact hours earned for the
on-line training. Interagency training is also applicable for credit as long as the training is on a
school business-specific topic and can be properly documented via an agency transcript or
completion certificate.
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