NEW YORK, NY (December 1, 2005) - The Universal Accreditation Board (UAB) today announced 3rd quarter 2005 results for the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations.

Quarter Three Results

During the third quarter of 2005, 50 applications were approved for candidates to take the Examination, 49 candidates participated in Readiness Review, 45 advanced from Readiness Review and 46 completed the computer-based Examination. Of those 46 who took the computer-based Examination, 41 passed it and earned Accreditation - an 89 percent pass rate.

Quarter-over-quarter, the number of candidates taking the computer-based Examination increased 31 percent and the passing percentage increased 36 percent between 2005 and 2004. For the composite three calendar quarter periods, 145 candidates took the Examination and 99 passed in 2005, resulting in a 68.3 percent pass rate. This compares with 87 candidates who took the Examination and 61 passed in 2004, yielding a 70.1 percent pass rate.

"We're encouraged by the higher number of candidates taking the Examination and by the improvement in the pass rate we've seen this past quarter," said Blake D. Lewis, III, APR, Fellow PRSA and 2005 chair of the UAB. "Volunteers with the UAB and a number of the professional organizations participating in the UAB have been working with the local Accreditation volunteers to promote the credential and tune local activities supporting the Accreditation process. We will stay focused on our course of continuous improvement to build on these recent statistics to further strengthen the APR credential."

The Universal Accreditation Board, which was created in 1998, is a consortium of professional communications organizations including the Agricultural Relations Council, Asociación de Relacionistas Profesionales de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Public Relations Association), Florida Public Relations Association, Maine Public Relations Council, National School Public Relations Association, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Religion Communicators Council, Southern Public Relations Federation and Texas Public Relations Association. Each organization contributes resources and senior-level volunteer members who represent all segments of the public relations profession. The UAB oversees the public relations profession's professional certification program.

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The results include all candidate activity for the third quarter of 2005.