The end of course exam that is included as a part of some IFSI classes is considered a part of course completion. Whether the exam is approved by OSFM for certification or not, if the student fails the IFSI exam, the course is considered incomplete until the IFSI exam is passed or the course is retaken. IFSI will not send course completion notification to the Office of the State Fire Marshall until this is done. If for some reason the OSFM is taken and passed without completing the IFSI course requirements and exam, OSFM will not grant certification until the IFSI course requirements including IFSI exam with a score of 70% or above is attained and sent to OSFM.
No. Proboard certification is only included for classes taken after accreditation. If you desire Proboard certification for a past class, you will need to re-take the class.
The staff in the Curriculum and Testing office work very closely with Program Directors and Managers to ensure that state and national standards are included in the curriculum presented in the class as well as reflected in the exams taken at the end of courses. To receive approval from OSFM and Proboard for certification this must be documented and reviewed. The curriculum is reviewed and updated on a regular basis to be sure it continues to meet state and national standards.
Course completion or failure notification is sent to the student via the e-mail address on file with FSI. All students also have access to their student records and course/exam results through IFSI’s resource center. https://www.fsi.illinois.edu/resource_center/login.cfm
The login link at the top right corner of the IFSI website, or the resource center link at the bottom right corner of the IFSI website will help you get to your student account. Your driver’s license number will be needed to login to your account.
Exams will be graded as soon as possible. Factors to consider include transit time for course materials to arrive back in the testing office and
how many courses are being graded. Please allow up to 6 weeks for exam results. Results will be e-mailed to the student at the e-mail address provided
to IFSI, as well as posted in the Student section of the IFSI website Resource Center. Do not contact IFSI to ask if you passed, you will be notified as
soon as this information is available.
The Illinois Fire Service Institute (IFSI) has initiated a new process regarding certificates. We will now be issuing a certificate for any training taken through IFSI, regardless of the number of hours of the training. This certificate will not be mailed through the US Postal System, however, but will be available on the Student Resource Center. The certificates will include any EMS hours and site code, if applicable. There will no longer be a separate certificate just for this.
These certificates will remain on your course history and can be printed by you at any time that you need.
The automated e-mail you receive will advise Certificate or No Certificate. No Certificate means that you have not successfully completed some component of the course completion requirements. You must login to your student account in the IFSI system for your specific written or practical exam grade.
Any student completing a course must complete their initial required cognitive/written or practical certification examination and any retests within 12 months of the date of course completion and provide all required documentation. 2 retests of a cognitive/written exam will be allowed. If the 2 retests are failed, the student must take the course again before testing. Any student unable to meet the 12 month requirement must also retake the course.
A document explaining these steps is included here. Regional Testing is offered on a monthly basis (two days) at select sites. Please note, it is necessary to submit a request by the 15th of the month to be on that current month’s roster.
After exam results have been posted, students receive an email notification. If all course requirements have been completed, instructions are provided for accessing the certificate. If “no certificate” is indicated due to failure of an exam, the email notification will include instructions on how to submit a retest request online at the IFSI Student Resource center.
If it is necessary to reschedule an exam appointment which has already been confirmed by the Testing Office, or if any further assistance is needed, please contact the IFSI Testing Office.
If the course included an exam which the student does not pass or chooses not to take, no certificate will be granted. However, attendance in the course with hours will still show in the IFSI student central account. The student can print off their course history from the resource center and take this to their regional EMS office. To provide further documentation to your regional EMS office, the student can print the syllabus from the course information link on the IFSI website as well as the IFSI EMS CEU list with associated hours recommended by our regional EMS office.