PSIA-AASI’s Certification Standards help you learn how to apply the fundamentals of great skiing or snowboarding AND effective teaching so you can become a great instructor.

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PSIA-AASI certifications represent a standard of consistent competency in three zones: beginner/novice, intermediate, and advanced/expert. Earning a PSIA-AASI certification validates your training from the world’s top snowsports education association and affirms you’re a professional in the snowsports industry.

You can pursue PSIA-AASI certifications for Level I, II, and III in five disciplines:

Adaptive

Alpine

  • Certification Standards: Alpine

Cross Country

Snowboard

Telemark

PSIA-AASI specialist credentials are assessment-based certificate programs. Achieving the credential’s learning outcomes means you have met the assessment criteria. A Level I certification is a prerequisite for specialist standards.

Children’s Specialist

Freestyle Specialist

Performance Guides provide the details for successful and unsuccessful performance contributors, as they relate to the assessment criteria of the national standards.

Alpine 

Children’s Specialist

Cross Country

Snowboard

Freestyle Specialist

Telemark

Adaptive Alpine

PSIA-AASI is currently updating all certification standards to meet the changing needs of our snowsports education environment. The updated certification standards are built on the Learning Connection framework to give you the skill sets that make a great instructor – people skills, teaching skills, and technical skills. You can apply these skills to a variety of technical and tactical decisions based on your student’s ability, motivation, and more.

Read more about the Learning Connection in the Teaching Snowsports Manual or in this article, “Fundamentals Drive Consistency” from the Spring 2019 issue of 32 Degrees.

Learning Connection

You’ll find similar and consistent language being used in all of PSIA-AASI Certification Standards, which use the Learning Outcome framework. This is important because the learning outcomes clearly explain what you’ll  be able to do and show  after you successfully complete your certification assessment!

  • Learning Experiences: These are the training experiences – or tasks – you’ll do to achieve the learning outcomes. These are not requirements; they are suggested approaches to help you develop as a professional ski or snowboard  educators.
  • Assessment Activities: This term describes how your examiner will assess your knowledge and understanding in a given subject area.
  • Assessment Criteria: This term explains and gives you a a clear description of levels of achievement — the standards outlined in the certification standards that detail learning outcomes and how you demonstrate you have met the learning outcomes. All  examiners and divisions are using the exact same criteria.
  • Assessment 6-point Scale: All assessment criteria that is described above will be measured by using  this 6-point assessment scale…
    1. Essential elements are not observed or not present.
    2. Essential elements are beginning to appear.
    3. Essential elements appear, but not with consistency.
    4. Essential elements appear regularly at a satisfactory level.
    5. Essential elements appear frequently, above the required level.
    6. Essential elements appear continuously, at a superior level.

Please contact if you have any questions. Best of luck to you on your education and certification journey!

Certification Resources