A More Connected Approach to NAA Designation Education in 2027

If you have earned an NAA designation, think for a moment about the letters after your name.

They tell a client, colleague or fellow auction professional something about you before you ever explain what they stand for. They say: This person invested in becoming better at what they do.

That commitment is why NAA is strengthening not only how members earn designations, but also how designation education supports continued professional growth.

Beginning in 2027, designation education will be integrated throughout the year alongside specialty-focused events and communities. This connected approach will bring learning and networking closer together, helping members apply what they learn, build relationships and continue growing within their areas of practice.

Most designation courses will be paired with the NAA event that most closely matches the specialty. AMM will lead into Advanced Marketing Summit (previously called Digital Marketing Summit) in February, BAS into Benefit Auction Summit in August, AARE into Real Estate Summit in October, and ICAP will be offered before Conference & Show.

CES and PVS will be offered virtually as pilot programs, creating additional opportunities for participation and greater flexibility for members pursuing designation education.

As part of this transition, this December will be the final Designation Academy in its current Las Vegas format. Designations are not going away; the experience is being enhanced to provide more connected learning opportunities throughout the year.

The new model expands access. Because NAA Summits move around the country, the designation courses paired with them will move too, giving members in different regions more opportunities to participate over time. The CES and PVS virtual pilots will also help NAA learn how added flexibility can make designation education more accessible for members balancing travel, time and scheduling considerations.

The model also creates a stronger learning experience. Earning a designation should be more than completing a class. A member who has just invested in becoming a stronger benefit auction professional, marketer or real estate auction professional can move directly from the classroom into a community of people working in that same specialty—

people to learn from, exchange ideas with and call long after the event ends. In other words, members can learn with the people who do what they do.

Pairing designation coursework with a related event also allows members to gain more value from a single trip by combining focused instruction, specialty education, professional networking and event participation in one experience.

NAA will evaluate these pilots, listen to members and refine the model as needed. Member participation and experience will help shape what comes next.

But there is a bigger issue here than where or how a course is offered: a designation has value only as long as those letters mean something.

Earning one shows you met a professional standard. Maintaining one shows you remain committed to it.

Our profession keeps moving. Technology changes. Clients expect more. Regulations shift. Better practices emerge. The knowledge that made someone excellent ten years ago cannot simply be put on a shelf.

When designation holders stay current, they protect more than their own credibility. They protect the value of the credential for everyone who carries those same letters.

That is the standard worth building around—and worth maintaining.