Recertification SOP¶
Status: Draft, pre-formation. Adopted on board approval of the certification program.
Scope¶
This SOP covers how the Guild supports members through the recertification windows of their externally-issued Ganjier-program achievements — the Certified Ganjier (CG) credential (which drives Certified Member status and Full Membership tier subscription) and the GPS L1 milestone badge (display only). It also covers how the Guild handles lapse and reinstatement on the Guild side: profile attributes, subscription tier transitions, public-directory listing, CE ledger.
The Guild does not set the recertification cycle, requirements, or fees of the underlying Ganjier-program achievement. Those are the Ganjier program's. This SOP describes only the Guild's role: tracking, supporting, and reflecting verification status.
Two flows, very different consequences¶
| Achievement | Guild treatment | What lapse means at the Guild |
|---|---|---|
| Certified Ganjier (CG) | Verified as a credential. Drives Certified Member profile role + Full Membership tier subscription + public-directory opt-in + post-nominal + voting rights + co-op eligibility. | Subscription transitions from Full Membership tier back to Community Education tier (with proration / refund). Public-directory listing removed. Post-nominal disabled. Co-op eligibility ends. Member becomes a Student. |
| GPS L1 milestone badge | Verified for display only. Does not change subscription tier, role, or unlock Certified Member benefits. | The GPS L1 badge is removed from the profile. No other change. Member remains a Student on Community Education tier. |
Higher Ganjier tiers (CG-Specialist, Master) are acknowledged but not separately tracked in the Guild's recertification flow at this stage. When the Ganjier program publishes the cycles for those tiers and the Education & Certification Committee adopts a verification SOP, this document is updated.
Member-facing timeline (CG credential cycle)¶
This timeline applies to the Certified Ganjier recertification cycle. The GPS L1 milestone badge follows a simpler flow described separately below.
Counted from the member's verification anchor date (the date the Guild first verified the CG credential, refreshed at each subsequent verification).
| Window | Days before cycle end | What the member experiences |
|---|---|---|
| T-180 | 180 | First reminder: "Your CG credential cycle ends in 6 months. Here's your CE ledger and gap analysis." |
| T-90 | 90 | Second reminder + recommended programming list. Annual ethics attestation prompt if not already current. |
| T-30 | 30 | Final reminder: explicit list of what's missing (if anything). Direct link to the Ganjier program's recertification process. |
| T-0 | 0 | Cycle ends. If the Ganjier program has already issued an updated CG credential and the member has supplied evidence, verification is refreshed and the cycle resets. If not, the member enters grace. |
| Grace | +1 to +90 days post-cycle | Subscription stays on Full Membership tier. Public-directory listing (if opted in) remains visible with a "Recertification pending" indicator. Internal directory unchanged. CE tracking continues. Voting rights preserved during grace. |
| Lapse | +91 days post-cycle | Profile role drops Certified Member → Student. Subscription transitions Full Membership tier → Community Education tier in WooCommerce, with refund of the unused difference. Public-directory listing removed. Post-nominal disabled. Co-op eligibility ends. Internal directory entry remains. CE ledger preserved. Any historical GPS L1 milestone badge stays. |
| Reinstatement | Any time post-lapse | Member supplies updated CG credential evidence; verification refreshes; profile role restored to Certified Member; subscription upgrades back to Full Membership tier with proration; member can re-opt-in to the public directory. |
GPS L1 milestone cycle¶
If the Ganjier program defines an expiration on the GPS L1 milestone badge, the Guild reflects it. The flow is intentionally lighter:
- T-30 reminder: "Your GPS L1 milestone badge is set to expire on [date]. To keep it on your profile, supply updated verification when the program reissues."
- T-0: if no updated verification is on file, the GPS L1 milestone badge is removed from the profile. No other change — the member remains a Student on Community Education tier with all Student benefits intact.
- Reinstatement: at any time, the member may resupply verification to put the badge back.
Operational steps¶
Step 1 — T-180 reminder¶
Triggered by a daily Moodle + guildcommerce-core-plugin cron that scans member profiles for verification anchors approaching 180 days.
Each affected member receives an email (via Klaviyo) and a portal notification containing:
- Verification anchor date and credential type (GPS L1 or CG)
- CE ledger PDF export (auto-generated from the ce-ledger module)
- Gap analysis: hours earned by category vs. category minimum required by the credential's cycle
- A short list of upcoming Guild programming that fits remaining gaps
- Annual ethics attestation status
Records: recert.t180.sent flag stamped on profile with timestamp.
Step 2 — T-90 reminder¶
Same data + a stronger CTA. If gap analysis shows zero missing hours, the email is congratulatory; if gaps remain, programming recommendations are highlighted. If annual ethics attestation is overdue, the email leads with that.
Records: recert.t90.sent flag stamped.
Step 3 — T-30 reminder¶
Final pre-cycle email. Plain-language list of:
- Hours short by category (if any)
- Ethics attestation status
- The exact Ganjier-program URL or contact for recertification
If the member has authorized data sharing in their profile, the Guild also pushes their CE summary to the Ganjier program at this point (one-shot per cycle, member-controlled).
Records: recert.t30.sent flag, optional recert.cesync.sent flag if the member authorized sharing.
Step 4 — Cycle end (T-0)¶
Daily cron checks each verification anchor expiring today. For each:
- If updated credential evidence is on file (member supplied a refreshed Credly URL, certificate ID, or program lookup token within the last 30 days) and Membership Committee staff have re-verified, the verification anchor advances to the next cycle. Done.
- Otherwise, profile enters grace state at +1.
Step 5 — Grace (T+1 to T+90)¶
Profile attribute recert_grace = true. Effects:
- Public-directory listing (if opted in) gains a "Recertification pending" indicator
- Post-nominal display is preserved
- Voting rights are preserved (don't disenfranchise during grace)
- Member receives a courtesy reminder at T+30 and T+60 grace days
Step 6 — Lapse (T+91)¶
Daily cron scans grace profiles past day 90. For each CG cycle:
- Profile role transitions from Certified Member → Student
- WooCommerce subscription transitions from Full Membership tier → Community Education tier (downgrade with prorated refund of the unused Full Membership portion, per the Guild refund policy)
- Public-directory listing is removed (Students aren't eligible)
- Internal directory entry persists
- Post-nominal display is disabled
- Co-op eligibility ends; if the member is currently a Co-op participant, the Co-op separately handles the impact under its own bylaws (the Guild does not unilaterally remove a member from the Co-op; it only revokes the eligibility gate at the Guild side)
- Credential-gated voting rights revert to Student-level
- CE ledger is preserved unchanged
- Any historical GPS L1 milestone badge stays on the profile
- Member receives a single notification: "Your CG credential recognition has lapsed. You remain an active Guild member as a Student on the Community Education tier. To restore Certified Member status, supply updated credential evidence and we'll re-verify and upgrade your subscription back."
The member stays subscribed to the Guild throughout — the change is a tier downgrade, not a cancellation.
Records: recert.lapsed_on timestamp, recert.previous_credential archived, WooCommerce subscription change record.
Step 7 — Reinstatement¶
Any time after lapse, the member can request reinstatement by supplying updated CG credential evidence through the member portal.
- Membership Committee staff re-verifies through the Ganjier program's verification channel
- If verification clears: profile role transitions Student → Certified Member; subscription upgrades Community Education tier → Full Membership tier in WooCommerce with proration; verification anchor reset to today; CE ledger continues from where it was; member is re-offered the public-directory opt-in; co-op eligibility reopens.
- If verification fails: member stays at Student on Community Education tier; written reason and appeal pathway provided
There is no waiting period for reinstatement. There is no Guild-side fee for reinstatement beyond the prorated Full Membership tier dues for the remainder of the current billing cycle. Any fee charged by the Ganjier program for their own re-credentialing is between the member and the program.
CE-hour categories and thresholds¶
The Guild's CE ledger tracks all members. CE thresholds for the CG recertification cycle are the Ganjier program's, reflected here:
| Category | CG (24-month minimum) |
|---|---|
| Ethics | 4 hours |
| Sensory | 4 hours |
| Cultivation / processing | 4 hours |
| Hospitality / retail | 4 hours |
| Elective | 4 hours |
| Total minimum | 20 hours |
Plus annual ethics attestation.
For Students (with or without GPS L1 milestone badge), there is no Guild-imposed CE-hour requirement. CE tracking continues so members can demonstrate their development; if and when they later earn CG, the prior CE history can count toward the first CG recertification cycle within the Ganjier program's published acceptance window.
Appeals and disputes¶
If a member disputes a CE-hour ledger entry, a verification outcome, or a lapse decision, the appeal pathway runs through the Membership & Ethics Committee per appeals-and-revocation.md. Default standard: any appeal filed within 30 days of the disputed action receives a written committee response within 30 business days.
Records and retention¶
| Record | Retention |
|---|---|
| Verification record (per cycle) | 7 years |
| CE ledger (per member) | 10 years or duration of membership + 3 years, whichever is longer |
| Recertification reminders sent | 3 years |
| CE-sync authorization records | 7 years |
| Lapse and reinstatement events | 7 years |
Privacy and data sharing¶
The Guild does not push CE data to the Ganjier program without member authorization. Authorization is a one-time per-cycle setting, opt-in by default-off, set by the member in their profile. Members can revoke authorization at any time. Authorization is logged with a timestamp and the IP from which it was set, per the Guild Privacy Policy.
The Ganjier program may have its own published recertification documentation requirements; the Guild's CE export PDF format is designed to satisfy those requirements but the member is responsible for submitting it (unless they've authorized direct sync).