IRPE Examiners are people who want to:

• Develop their leadership skills
• Understand how to uncover critical gaps in any organization
• Make Iowa more competitive by helping Iowa organizations improve

The Board of Examiners also includes Coaches and Judges. Coaches have advanced understanding of the  Criteria and evaluation process and help Examiner Teams develop effective feedback to applicants. Judges use the Examiner Team reports to determine which applicant organizations have achieved award level/role model status.

Examiners who want to progress in their development may use the various roles as a progression path: Examiner, Team Leader, Senior Examiner, Coach, and Judge.

To be accepted as an Examiner, a person must agree to follow the Board of Examiner Code of Conduct, commit to the time needed to complete the evaluation process, and pay the appropriate fee (some scholarships are available). For more details, download 2009 IRPE Examiner Registration file (left side of this page). Registration Deadline is June 18, 2010.

The time commitment, from August through November, includes the following:

• Orientation training  1 Day
• Independent Review  30-40 hours
• HELP Week (team consensus)  4 Days
• Site Visit (if appropriate) 3-4 Days

Examiners are also expected to adhere to the IRPE evaluation process and use their best communication and team skills to help their Examiner Team reach its goals. Computer skills are helpful since much of the documentation is computer based.

Fees:   New Examiners  $475; Returning Examiners  $275

The training used for Examiners is interactive and uses a “learn by doing” method. The evaluation process involves multiple stages and we have found that the most effective approach is to deliver “just enough & just in time” training followed by direct application and coaching.

The Examiner Training is part of the evaluation process and includes the following:

• Orientation - All Examiners participate in a one-day Orientation session to understand how to evaluate a written application including understanding the Criteria, writing feedback comments, and scoring.
• Independent Review - All Examiners are given about one month to review one written application (up to 50 pages) and submit a completed scorebook. A single applicant review is estimated to require 40-50 hours. This is independent work that is supported by a coach and team leader.
• HELP Week - All Examiners participate in a 5-day HELP (Helping Examiners Learn & Prepare) Week session. During HELP Week, Examiners work in teams to develop a consensus assessment scorebook of their IRPE applicant. This session is a combination of training and applying the training in a team setting with the help of a coach.
• Site Visit – Some Examiners will participate in site visits to higher-scoring applicant organizations. Site visits consist of preparation work, interviews, document reviews, and revision of team consensus scorebook. This will require 3 to 4 days. Since site visits involve a visit to the applicant organization, many see this as the most rewarding part of the process.