Description of Designations

"Learn about the home building business from the best source possible: builders and remodelors with years of field experience.

"Professional designations offer excellent opportunities to improve your skills, advance your career, and be recognized for your commitment to professional growth."


Professional Designations Offer Significant Rewards, Opportunities for Industry Pros.

Arguably the best investment any professional can make, time spent in the classroom or acquiring practical, hands - on training nearly always positively impacts a companys bottom line. Building industry professionals across the nation are taking proactive steps to enhance their business savvy, broaden their area expertise and increase their marketability -all thanks to NAHB's advanced professional education programs.

Currently the NAHB University of Housing offers more than a dozen professional designations aiming to improve your skills, advance your career, and recognize industry expertise and commitment to professional growth.

The benefits of earning a professional designation are abundant. Participants reap the rewards of staying up to speed on the latest developments in business, building methods and technology, while conveying to clients the know - how and professional dedication required to earn a designation.

Customers then can use these designations to identify and select professionals who have specialized in their areas of interest, knowing that a University of Housing graduate demonstrates superior training, practical experience and in - depth knowledge. And, to find an NAHB member with a professional designation, just visit the NAHB web site at www.nahb.org/designations.

Additionally, designation holders can take advantage of valuable networking opportunities throughout their enrollment, working closely with expert instructors and other professionals both within their field and outside their specific areas of expertise. Through these continuing education programs, participants develop a network of contacts throughout the nation that offers a ready - made sounding board for new ideas and challenges, without potential conflicts that might arise between competitors in the same local market.

Other benefits frequently cited by designates include leadership development, mentoring opportunities, reinforcement of existing knowledge and skills and an improved recognition of challenges and opportunities shared across their areas of specialization.

Earning a professional designation from the NAHB is a rigorous process, but according to NAHB statistics, builders and remodelers are eager to enroll in designation programs. In the past year alone, hundreds of professionals have completed advanced courses. In many of the programs, there are twice as many people in the process of earning their designations as those who currently hold them.

NAHB's commitment to offering industry professionals the best, most - extensive continuing education programs available is evident in the diverse array of available programs. Most designations cover industry basics such as business management and marketing techniques, along with specialized courses including aging - in -place programs, property management and more.

Through the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) University of Housing, industry professionals can earn professional designations in any one of 13 areas. For more information on specific designations, visit www.nahb.org/designations.



Designations Offered by The NAHB University of Housing

  • Certified Graduate Associate (CGA): Developed specifically for NAHB associate members (including suppliers of materials and financial services), the CGA program offers participants an opportunity to enhance their knowledge of the fundamentals of the home building industry. 
     
  • Certified Graduate Builder (CGB): An overview of key areas in today's home building industry, the CGB curriculum covers business management, financial strategies, marketing techniques, construction technologies, and more.
     
  • Graduate Master Builder (GMB): The GMB program allows industry professionals who have already completed either the Certified Graduate Builder or the Certified Graduate Remodelor course to more fully develop their skills, and provides in - depth instruction geared for experienced building professionals.
     
  • Certified Graduate Remodelor (CGR): An exclusive professional designation that emphasizes business management skills as the key to a professional remodeling operation, the CGR designation trains remodelers in project management, design estimating and job cost, along with other core skills relevant to the remodeling industry.
     
  • Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPS): Developed by the NAHB RemodelorsTM Council, in collaboration with the AARP, NAHB Research Center, and NAHB Seniors Housing Council, the CAPS program provides comprehensive, practical, market - specific information about working with older and maturing adults to remodel their homes for aging-in-place.
     
  • Certified New Home Sales Professional (CSP): The first designation available through the Institute of Residential Marketing (IRM), the CSP program is designed to help specialists in new home sales to enhance their professional image, increase their marketability in the home building industry and sell more homes.
     
  • Master Certified New Home Sales Professional (Master CSP): A more advanced designation that acknowledges additional educational achievements of CSP graduates, the MCSP program is open to professionals currently holding a CSP designation. Advanced courses such as ''House Construction as a Selling Tool'' and ''Essential Closing Strategies'' are targeted toward improving participants' sales and marketing skills and providing increased marketability in the industry.
     
  • Certified New Home Marketing Professional (CMP): IRM's mid-level professional designation, the CMP program recognizes the achievements of students who have completed four marketing-intensive core IRM courses: ''Understanding Housing Markets and Consumers;'' ''Marketing Strategies, Plans, and Budgets;'' ''Lifestyle Merchandising, Advertising, and Promotion Strategies;'' and ''Challenges of New Home Sales Management.''
     
  • Member, Institute of Residential Marketing (MIRM): The most prestigious designation bestowed by the Institute of Residential Marketing, the MIRM represents the highest level of achievement for professionals in new home marketing. MIRM graduates are required to complete all mandated coursework and submit a case study for approval before graduating from the program.
     
  • Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP): A specialized designation for developers, property managers, asset managers, and others working in the affordable housing industry, the HCCP program is the industry benchmark for education, experience and ethical standards for Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) professionals. The HCCP designation is the only nationally endorsed credential of its kind, and was created through a partnership of NAHB and the National Affordable Housing Management Association (NAHMA).
     
  • Certified Leasing Professional (CLP): Developed as a prerequisite to the CLP certification exam, the CLP program reviews and tests leasing agents for competency in key issues vital to quality property leasing, such as multifamily leasing and sales skills, communication skills, merchandising, customer satisfaction, fair housing, and ethics.
     
  • Registered in Apartment Management (RAM): The longest running and most well-respected program of its kind, the RAM program is a comprehensive educational curriculum developed to augment the professional skills of managers of apartments, condominiums and cooperative housing.
     
  • The Advanced Residential Construction Superintendent (ARCS) designation is designed for individuals who have already received their RCS Designation. The ARCS series delves into more specific topics in the rapidly-expanding world of residential construction supervision. 
     
  • The Residential Construction Superintendent (RCS) designation series is geared toward promising field superintendents, administrative personnel, associate members, trade foremen, builder members and anyone else wishing to excel in this position.  The Designation's eight courses cover issues and subjects identified by National Association of Homebuilder members as critical to a field supervisory job.
     
  • Advanced RAM: Designed to build upon the RAM designation and enhance the management skills of asset managers, property supervisors, and management company owners, the Advanced RAM curriculum includes modules encompassing operations, legal issues, personnel management, fair housing and more.
     
  • The Certified Active Adult Specialist in Housing (CAASH) is a professional designation, offered by the National Association of Home Builders, designed to improve the skills and knowledge of housing professionals who serve the active adult market.
     
  • The Graduate Master Remodeler (GMR) designation allows CGR designation holders to attain further recognition for their commitment to educational excellence and longevity in the remodeling industry. This is a new program designed to be the master level of the current CGR designation. It allows you the opportunity to take your CGR designation to the next level.
  • The Certified Green Professional™ (CGP) designation is designed to teach building industry professionals strategies for incorporating green building principles into homes using cost-effective and affordable options. Class work leading to the designation provides a solid background in green building methods, as well as the tools to reach consumers.