Beginning in the mid 1970s, the profession began the process of developing the steps necessary to establish the credentialing of health educators. In 1978, the Workshop on Commonalities and Differences on the Preparation and Practice of Community, Patient and School Health Educators was conducted, which initiated a process for consensus building of data collection and discussions.

The goal was to clarify the role of health educators and to establish standards of professional practice. This led to the agreement on the responsibilities and competencies of health educators. The 1978 Workshop on Commonalities and Differences recommended the formation of a planning committee, which became the National Task Force on the Preparation and Practice of Health Educators (NTFPPHE). The Task Force was charged with the responsibility of developing guidelines for professional preparation that would apply in all health education settings. This group formulated and enacted the Role Delineation study that determined the role of an entry-level health educator encompassed in Areas of Responsibility and Competencies for Health Educators and published as A Framework for the Development of Competency-based Curricula for Entry-level Health Educators (1985).

The NTFPPHE became known as the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC) and was incorporated in 1988 as a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. NCHEC initially had a part time volunteer executive director and in 20 years has grown to a current staff of 6 full time paid staff including an executive director.

NCHEC have over 9,000 active CHES/MCHES.  The CHES exam was revised in April 2011 to reflect the updated Competencies and Sub-Competencies which resulted from the HEJA project.  After seven years of policy development NCHEC implemented an advanced-level certification, the Master Certified Health Education Specialist.  On October 15, 2011 the MCHES exam was offered for the first time simultaneously with the CHES exam. 

Cleary, HP. (1995). The credentialing of health educators: An historical account 1970-1990. Allentown, PA: NCHEC.

National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC). (1985). A framework for the development of competency-based curricula for entry-level health educators. New York: Author.

National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC). (1996). A competency-based framework for professional development of certified health education specialists. Allentown, PA: Author.

National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC), Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE), American Association for Health Education (AAHE). (2006). A competency-based framework for health educators. Allentown, PA: Author.