The UofCTS offers certification accreditation for experienced tile and stone professionals who have a minimum of two years, full time, on-the-job experience within their respective industries. Or for tile installers who want to learn the the industry tile installation standards and methods for the thin-set application that includes ceramic tile, porcelain tile (a type of ceramic tile), stone tile, glass tile, and other types of adhered tiles.

The UofCTS Certified Tile Specialist (CTS) program covers ceramic tile, glass tile, specialty tile, and related installation products.  The UofCTS Certified Stone Specialist (CSS) program covers natural stone, engineered stone, manufactured stone and related installation products.  The Complete Guide on Developing Tile & Stone Specifications with Architects course is one of the three required online courses for earning the CTS and CSS certifications and is now available to purchase for $300.00 per person per course.  

Before issuing a Certified Specialist designation, CTS and CSS candidates will have to take a Final Exam and pass it with a score of 80% or better. The UofCTS Certification Board will review and scrutinize the student’s Final Exam results and the results from the respective courses they took.  The UofCTS Certification Board must approve the student for the respective designation.  *Student must have spent a reasonable amount of time in each lesson of each course demonstrating that they reviewed every page of the course in addition to having passed the respective lesson and course.

The UofCTS Certified Specialist Program is an effective way to teach and update experienced industry professionals with product knowledge, industry standards, learning how to draft MasterFormat Architectural Specifications, learning proper selection and installation methods for tile and stone applications, and learning how to properly, clearly and effectively communicate with clients.  The Certified Specialist courses have been developed with an emphasis on preparing students for their dealings with clients in a consultative manner.  The training program builds confidence, enhances credibility with clients, and improves professionalism, which ultimately leads to more sales.  In addition, companies that have certified professionals on their staff are more likely to avoid costly job failures.

In order to be eligible to display the acronym designating an individual as a UofCTS Certified Tile Specialist (CTS) or UofCTS Certified Stone Specialist (CSS) professional you must:

• Provide proof of at least two years of full time experience within the respective industry.  Must provide letters from employers.
• Achieve a passing grade on either the UofCTS’ courses, Understanding the Basics of Ceramic Tile or Understanding the Basics of Natural Stone.
  
• Achieve a passing grade on the UofCTS Installer Tile Specialist (ITS) Installation Standards Verification course and remain current.
• Achieve a passing grade on the UofCTS The Complete Guide on Developing Tile & Stone Specifications with Architectscourse.
• Pass the respective UofCTS Tile and Stone Certified Specialist Final Exam that includes 78 true false and multiple-choice questions and 5 essay questions.  **The prerequisite for taking the Exam is to first complete and pass the three respective courses and provide the verification of employment.
• Approval from UofCTS Certification Board after reviewing and scrutinizing the Student’s final exam results and their course results.  *Student must have spent a reasonable amount of time in each lesson of each course demonstrating that they reviewed every page of the course in addition to having passed the respective lesson and course. 

UofCTS Certified Tile Specialist (CTS) or UofCTS Certified Stone Specialist (CSS) Final Exam costs $300.00 USD per student.  You can order the UofCTS Certified Specialist Final Exam by clicking on the respective acronym:  CTS Exam or CSS Exam. ***The prerequisite for purchasing the Exam is to first complete and pass the three respective courses and provide the verification of employment.

Candidates who Purchase the respective Final Exam will get the following:

• 30 days access to each of the 3 respective courses that are associated with the CTS or CSS designation.  This will allow the candidate to prepare for the test by reviewing or retaking each of those respective courses that they have previously paid for and taken.
• Once the candidate is prepared within those 30 days of access, they can take the test.
• The test will be proctored via a cell phone app like FaceTime or WhatsApp or an online web conferencing app like Zoom or Skype.
• Final Exam that includes 78 true false and multiple-choice questions and 5 essay questions to be completed within 3 hours.
• UofCTS Certification Board will grade essay questions, will review student’s course results, and student’s qualifications to determine if they will be issued the respective certification.
• Upon approval from the UofCTS Certification Board, student will be mailed a certificate of accomplishment and the respective Certified Specialist pocket ID card.
• The designated Specialist will be required to renew their certification every two years by retaking the online UofCTS The Complete Guide on Developing Tile & Stone Specifications with Architects course for which they previously earned the Certified Specialist status.  It is very important that industry professionals review this material every two years in order to stay current with industry products, methods and standards that are continually changing and improving.

The UofCTS will issue a diploma and an ID card with the industry professional’s name and date in which he/she completed the UofCTS Certification program along with an expiration date. These cards can be presented to potential customers in addition to other credentials.  Having a UofCTS Certified Specialist designation will provide added credibility for tile and stone professionals and will give companies a competitive advantage over their competition.