RICS Associate: Quick guide

Introduction
This guide outlines the requirements of the Associate qualification, what you need to do and how long it is likely to take. It is not a replacement for the detailed candidate guides but will give you an idea of the commitment required from you.

Basic principles
The Associate qualification is achieved by supplying evidence of your day-to-day work for assessment. You select the evidence to demonstrate the skills and knowledge needed for the job, as defined by RICS. You then submit it electronically via the RICS Managed Learning Environment. It is assessed by trained assessors who are practitioners in your field of surveying.

About you
The eligibility requirements for Associate Assessment vary depending on your prior work experience and qualifications. You need at least four years experience in a surveying role before being ready for Associate Assessment. Certain qualifications can reduce the number of years experience. Visit www.rics.org/associate for more details. There are three main stages Registration you provide details of your academic achievements and work experience Assembling your evidence you assemble documents that show the nature and quality of your work Associate Assessment you submit your evidence for assessment and complete the online ethics module and test

You will benefit from discussing the Associate qualification with your employer. Ideally you should identify someone within your organisation who can support and encourage you throughout each stage (an Associate Supporter).

Stage 1

Registration

Registration is easy. Go to www.rics.org/associate and follow the simple online prompts. RICS needs information about you, your qualifications and your career to date. When you have supplied the information, the online system will tell you if you need to gain more experience, or can apply for assessment immediately. Time commitment (minimum) It takes up to 20 minutes to complete the registration with your personal details, qualifications and experience.

Stage 2

Assembling your evidence

This is the stage that will take time and effort. The various elements, with requirements, actions and likely time commitment, are explained below. You will assemble your evidence using the Managed Learning Environment (MLE). A detailed guide to using the MLE is provided in the candidate guide.

Competencies
Requirement RICS categorise surveying jobs by specialisms known as pathways. For each pathway RICS has identified the knowledge and skills (competencies) required to do the job. You will need to demonstrate six technical competencies, covering the key skills and abilities for your role. In addition, you will need to achieve eight mandatory competencies, which are the personal, interpersonal and business skills RICS Associates need regardless of their surveying job. Definitions of all the competencies are provided in the candidate guide. Actions Read the candidate guide, competency tables and definitions. Ensure you know which competencies you have to demonstrate. Identify the competencies you have already achieved and the evidence you could use to demonstrate your achievement. Identify any gaps in your knowledge/experience and plan the activities you need to perform to fill those gaps.

Time commitment (minimum) Initial planning will take about 7 hours. After the initial planning, if there are gaps in your knowledge/experience you should review your planned activities every six weeks to ensure you are making the necessary progress.

Evidence
Requirement A piece of evidence is simply an example of work you produce in your everyday role. Each piece is accompanied by an explanation called a commentary (see below). The evidence should substantially be your own work and be in the form of material you have produced, or to which you significantly contributed, in the course of your day-to-day work. It must also be recent see the candidate guide for details. You will need to submit 24 pieces of evidence in total four for each technical competency. You do not need to submit separate evidence for the mandatory competencies but the 24 pieces of evidence must show how you applied the skills covered by the mandatory competencies. Actions Identify evidence that meets the requirements for each competency. Check the candidate guide carefully to ensure your evidence meets the submission criteria. Prepare the evidence in a suitable format. Upload the evidence to the MLE. Link the evidence to one technical competency and any relevant mandatory competencies (in the MLE).

Time commitment (minimum) 12 hours (1/2 hour for each piece of evidence)

Commentary
Requirement For each piece of evidence, you must write a 300-word commentary. The commentary is fundamental to your success in achieving each competency. It shows how you have reflected on what is required and builds up a picture of what your work involves and how the competency has been achieved. Actions Prepare your 300-word commentary for each piece of evidence. Check the commentary against the technical competency table and mandatory competency definitions. Submit the commentary, against each piece of evidence, in the MLE.

Time commitment (minimum) 24 hours (one hour for each commentary)

Structured development

Requirement You must submit a record of structured development. This is a log and evaluation of the learning activities that have built up your skills towards the mandatory and technical competencies. For example, this could include reading an RICS practice standard, attending a training course, or being mentored on new tasks. Details are provided in the candidate guide. You must record a minimum of 48 hours structured development that you have completed in the 12 months prior to submitting for Associate Assessment. RICS assessors will expect your structured development to relate to a reasonable spread of competencies, and it should include a variety of activities and learning methods. Actions Plan and undertake learning activities relevant to the technical and mandatory competencies. Record each activity in the MLE o write a description of the activity describing how it was relevant and useful o write an activity review explaining the learning outcome. Link each activity to the relevant competencies (in the MLE).

Time commitment (minimum) Planning and recording: 1/2 hour for each activity undertaken

Stage 3

Associate Assessment

When you have assembled all your evidence, your commentaries and your record of structured development, you must identify and obtain a declaration of support from an RICS member. Details of the declarations required are provided in the candidate guide. Once this is complete, you can submit your evidence via the Managed Learning Environment for assessment. Two RICS trained assessors will review the submission and give you the result in approximately four weeks. During this time you will be unable to amend your submission: your access is locked until the assessors have given you the result. Time commitment (minimum) Set aside at least one hour to review everything and double-check it all against the guidance before you submit it for assessment.

Online ethics module

Requirement Before becoming an Associate, you must successfully complete the online ethics module to show your understanding of RICS ethical requirements. The module consists of an introductory course with learning materials and brief ethical scenarios for which you have to select the ideal solution out of five possibilities. It is important that you thoroughly study the module. The final test consists of 20 multiple-choice questions.

Actions Read the RICS Rules of Conduct and 12 ethical standards. Complete the ethics module. Complete the ethics test.

Time commitment (minimum) You should set aside at least three hours to read the modules, complete the case studies and reflect on them, and complete the test.

Results
RICS will notify you electronically of your result. A pass means you become an RICS Associate. If you are referred the assessors will notify you where you have fallen short and which pieces of evidence were unsatisfactory. You will then have the opportunity to resubmit new evidence to be assessed.