As with so many things, it is what you make of it.
BICSI isn't perfect, in many ways it started just as a retirement plan for displaced AT&T folks. But saying that you are in the security industry, but not "involved" in the Structured Cabling Industry anymore is almost a joke. But it does explain why, we don't allow "Security" contractors to do their own cabling.
Currently our prefered national vendors are all multi-discipline shops. Each of them have several RCCD's on staff. They are all required to be certified by the manufacture of multiple cabling systems, multiple NVR systems, and multiple Access Control systems. Relative to the cost of maintaining those certifications, my guess is that the cost of maintaining their RCDD's isn't even noticed.
Without "involvement" in the Structured Cabling Industry, how will you know when the ever increasing use of PoE, at higher and higher power levels, will require you to modify your cabling practices to avoid excessive temperature rise in cable bundles, which in turn can affect performance. I'd also guess that your unaware that UL is proposing new labeling for Category rated cables that reflect their ability to carry power without dissipating excessive heat. Would it surprise you to know that UL has a standardised testing methodology for this?
Don't get me wrong, I have my share of "that was stupid" stories. Like the time I went to the exhibit floor on a vendor's free pass, and later found that I had been awarded full credit for that conference. But that seems to be changing. Four or five years ago, there seemed to be a complete lack of technical information at the conference. Every session just seemed to be a variation on the theme of "We are BICSI, We are Cool". But this last September, I was glad to have one of my coworkers there, because there were so many tracks I found interesting.
This last year, I noticed that they have started scanning badges as folks go into the various sessions. If I recall, the registration packet warned us to have our badges scanned at least once a day. Each day of attendance is worth 5 CEC's. I'm sure you can still "game" the system, but you, your company, and ultimately your customers are the ones that lose out.
As for the required CEC training credits, ANY bonafide training relevant to YOUR sector of the market is eligible for credits. You just need to take the extra step of submitting the relevant information about the training to BICSI. Granted, it's much easier just to take the pre-approved classes, but if you choose to do that, don't whine about the lack of relevance.
With just a little bit of effort, you can find FREE, online, training to more than satisfy the requirements. But if you want relevance to our sector of the industry, each of the IPVM courses should be good for 12 CEC's.
Cheers,