“In the effort to lead change, the new NIC Executive Board created their strategic business plan to develop opportunities to become a national partner and promote uniformity and standardization in the beauty professions.”
The National Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) is a leader in testing administration and provides a national forum for networking and collaboration for its members and partners. In 1929, the National Council of Boards of Beauty Culture was established to develop a form of interstate exchange of ideas related to licensure, reciprocity, examination and administration methods. In 1936, the Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology was established to evaluate standards of beauty culture education, proper administration of state cosmetology laws and the promotion of true professional service to the public. The two groups merged in 1956 and became the National Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC), and today is the predominant national examination for the licensing of cosmetologists, barbers and related fields throughout the United States and Guam.
NIC has been recognized for their national exam throughout the years, however NIC had a substantial change in the leadership of the Executive Board at the 2019 annual conference. The new Executive Board embraced leading change and began building an organization recognized for developing strong relationships and supporting our partners (members and non-members) while providing legally defensible testing.
The Executive Board updated their vision to include:
- Provide a national forum to promote standards for consumer health and safety, and education for individuals entering the workforce.
- Promote and encourage reciprocity and standardization for the practice of cosmetology and related fields to increase workers mobility nationally and internationally
- Encourage consistency to provide opportunities for military service members and veterans to enter the workforce.
- Support and promote opportunities for the diverse populations entering the professions related to cosmetology, barbering, manicuring and esthetics.
- Encourage our partners to broaden education standards to support recidivism opportunities for individuals interested in working in cosmetology related vocations.
- Provide national written and practical examinations for entrance into the profession of cosmetology and related fields that are standardized, valid and legally defensible using psychometric principles.
In addition to the new vision, NIC is proud to launch the new logo that represents diversity, partnerships and collaboration around the world. NIC developed the new logo to reflect who we are today and to symbolize our future.
In the effort to lead change, the new NIC Executive Board created their strategic business plan to develop opportunities to become a national partner and promote uniformity and standardization in the beauty professions.
The plan includes:
Website: NIC developed a brand new website with a fresh new look with content that will provide better service to our customers. The NIC website can be found at www.nictesting.org.
Translated Exams: NIC is adding ten new written translated exams in the next year for candidates to have the ability to take the national written exam.
Written Practical Exams: NIC is in the process of developing a written practical examination for all license types.
National License Database: NIC is pursuing the development of a national licensee database for purposes of becoming a national repository for licensee’s information. The new database will be used to verify license status that will be available to states, licensees, associations and employers.
National Equivalency Credential: NIC is exploring the development of a national equivalency credential that would be available to candidates who are interested in portability of licensure. Candidates will be able to register through NIC to take the examination to obtain the national endorsement and will have the ability to request their national exam results be sent to any state or jurisdiction.
NIC is also focused on supporting our partners (members and non-members) on the topics of education and consumer health and safety in the cosmetology, barbering, manicuring and esthetics professions. We host mid-year meetings and annual national conferences to encourage networking among states and other jurisdictions. NIC embraces the opportunity to work with our partners, and our representatives are willing to attend board meetings, association meetings, and legislative hearings upon request to share national standards regarding education and consumer health and safety. We use our national forum to continue to share information and encourage best practices among states and other jurisdictions.
We are proud to become a contributor to The Stylist News and will be providing monthly updates on the projects identified in the strategic business plan and any future announcements. If you have questions or comments, you can contact us at [email protected].
Susan Colard worked in the regulatory field in the State of Washington for over twenty years. She was the administrator over six programs and was responsible for the oversight of the licensing and regulation of cosmetology, barber, manicure, esthetics, master esthetics, hair design, auctioneers, court reporters, combative sports, tattoo, and seller of travel programs.
During her regulatory career, Susan was a member of National Interstate Council of State Boards of Cosmetology (NIC) and was actively involved at the regional and annual conferences sharing her knowledge and expertise. Susan served on the NIC Executive Board for three years and participated in numerous committees regarding infection control. She retired from the State of Washington in 2018, and was recruited for the NIC Government Relations/Marketing Director position. Susan is assisting the NIC Executive Board with leading change and rolling out the new vision of establishing NIC as a national partner to member and non-member states, licensees, associations and employers.
