The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is designed to facilitate recording, accumulating and exchanging standardized information about individual participation and learning achievement in continuing education experiences.  The CEU concept is designed to accommodate a wide variety of continuing education opportunities.  The number of CEUs to be awarded can be determined only after the program has been designed and scheduled.

The CEU concept provides individuals with recognition for their efforts to update or broaden their knowledge, skills or attitudes.  Probably the two most common uses of a CEU record or transcripts by the individual learner are:

• To supply an employer or prospective employer with information on continuing education and training experiences pertinent to professional competence and,
• To provide documentation to registration boards, certification bodies or professional and occupation organizations of continuing education undertaken to maintain or increase professional competence.

An increasing number of companies and organizations now include copies of CEU transcripts in employee personnel files or add such information to their human resource inventory for use when personnel evaluation and promotions are being considered.

The continuing education unit is a standard of measure for continuing education or training. The criteria were developed by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). IACET defines the CEU “as 10 hours of learning contact with content of a learning activity (includes classroom, self-paced instruction, pre/post assignments, and/or homework in support of a learning outcome).”   In other words, one CEU equals 10 hours of instruction included in a specified continuing education program or activity.

The number of contact hours of instruction and appropriate CEU to be awarded are determined prior to conducting a learning experience.  The award can only be made after the purpose and intended learning outcomes, requirements for satisfactory completion, content and content level, format, instructional methodology, instructional staff and time schedule of the program have been established.  A decision to award CEUs cannot be made after the program or activity has been offered.

The 60-minute clock is used as the contact hour in all continuing education experiences.  Only the number of complete instruction hours is considered in assigning CEUs.  To determine the number of contact hours, count the hours in the program and subtract refreshment breaks, lunches and other activities not directly part of the instructional experience.  The following are not included when calculating the number of instructional contact hours for any continuing education experience:

• Meeting time devoted to business or committee activities;
• Meeting time devoted to announcements, welcoming speeches or organizational reports; and,
• Time allocated to social activities, refreshment breaks, luncheons, receptions, dinner and so forth.  Time devoted to a luncheon or dinner presentation, integral to the continuing education experience may be included in calculating instructional contact hours.

The requirements for satisfactory completion must be established prior to the offering of the program or activity through mutual agreement of the program coordinator and program instructor.  Requirements may be based on the ability of participants to demonstrate what they have learned or some predetermined level of attendance (at least 90%) or a combination of performance and attendance. If CEU earnings are based on attendance, they should be documented by such means as earnings records, attendance rosters or sign-in sheets.

The IACET has issued 10 basic criteria for the continuing education unit. They are:

1. Organization: The provider must have a training unit or department administering education units.
2. Responsibility and Control: The provider, through its department, has a review process that ensures the IACET CEU criteria are met.
3. System for Awarding the CEU: The provider has a system in place to identify learners who meet requirements for satisfactory completion.
4. Learning Environment and Support Systems: A learning environment and support services, appropriate to the continuing education or training goals and learning outcomes are provided.
5. Needs Identification: Each learning program is planned in response to identification needs of a target audience.
6. Learning Outcomes: The provider has clear and concise written statements of intended learning outcomes based on identified needs for each continuing education and training learning program.
7. Planning and Instructional Personal: Qualified personnel are involved in planning and conducting each learning program.
8. Content and Instructional Methods: Content and instructional methods are appropriate for the learning outcomes of each learning program and provide opportunities for learners to participate and provide feedback.
9. Assessment of Learning Outcomes: Formal processes or procedures established during learning program planning are used to assess achievement of the learning outcomes.
10. Post-Program Evaluation: each learning program is evaluated.

IACET has issued information for each of these criteria. Excerpts of its information follow:

“Sponsors use two basic approaches in determining which courses, seminars or topics to offer. They can develop courses and market to potential audiences or identify needs of specific audiences and develop courses to meet those needs. It is important to view the educational needs of the audience as problems or issues and to plan accordingly to address those problems or issues.” IACET defines an educational need as “something that individuals should learn for their own good, for the good of their organization or profession, or for the good of society.”

“Learning outcomes are statements that specify what learners will know or be able to do as a result of a learning activity.”  (We ask you to submit an outline of the material to be presented in order to comply with these criteria.)

“Program evaluations are essential tools of program planners and instructors. Information provided by evaluations can help analyze strengths and weaknesses in how programs are conceptualized, planned and delivered.”

“The Continuing Education Guide: The CEU and Other Professional Development Criteria,” written by Louis Phillips and published by the IACET, is available for purchase. Should you wish to order a copy to have on hand as a reference, you can order it directly by visiting their https://www.iacet.org/online-store/product-details/?id=2059 or by calling 703-234-6274. This booklet costs about $30.

“Awarding certificates for attendance only has been a tradition in most continuing education and training programs. In an effort to counter critics who discount the value of CEUs because showing up and staying until the end is all that is necessary, IACET revised its requirement to include learner assessment in addition to attendance. Other professional development standards have followed suit and now require assessment of learning outcomes.” Though we do not require an assessment, it is in the interest of the program creator to evaluate what an individual has learned from the program. This enables the creator to assess whether the speaker and program has met its intended objectives as well as can show the value created by the program or allow of modification of future content. Assessments can take many forms. Assessment can come in the form of surveys before, during, or after the program, interviews, performance tasks, or even your traditional quiz or test. In the age of data, it is vital we use assessments to pinpoint the successes and failures of our programming in order to successfully plan for the future.

An NACM Affiliate may request an assignment of CEUs only for a program, seminar or event that it directly offers primarily to its members.

To request an evaluation of a seminar, conference or educational event, complete the online “Continuing Education Units Online Request” form. The online request form can be found at nacm.org under Resources and Volunteer & Affiliate Leadership Resource Center.

Once this form is submitted, the Education Services Department will review the content of your seminar and assign it a control number, the appropriate number of continuing education units, and determine whether the content is advanced enough to qualify for CCE recertification credits. The annual membership fee in the National Institute of Credit includes this service. An unlimited number of evaluations may be submitted in one year.

Evaluation of seminars, conferences and programs for CEUs is done as quickly as possible. The evaluation is usually done within a few business days of receiving a request. However, we cannot always guarantee a one or two-day turnaround. Requests should be submitted as far in advance as possible or at least 30 days in advance of the event date.

Requests can be processed more quickly if all of the following necessary information is received.

• the date and time of the event
• the topic(s) of the educational program
• indentified need for the learning program
• intended learning outcomes
• a description or outline of instructional methods and content
• how the program is being evaluated
• speaker(s) name, title
• speaker(s) biographical information
• whether we should assign one NACM control number or consider each part individually (Can a participant attend only part of the program? Can a participant register for the entire day and only the morning or afternoon? Are any sessions concurrent? If so, you need multiple control numbers.)

NACM also evaluates requests for CCE recertification points which apply solely to CCE holders.  Seminars with either advanced-level content or information about new concepts and laws qualify for CCE recertification. For example, a seminar on basic collections would not qualify for CCE recertification because a CCE is expected to have mastered this topic.  However, information about new lien laws, or new bankruptcy laws or techniques will qualify for CCE recertification.  Recertification value is awarded at the discretion of the NACM-Education Services Department.

The sponsor of an educational offering is responsible for maintaining the records for the event. Copies of the earnings records must be retained for seven years. Please be sure to retain one copy of each CEU record. The role of the Education Services Department is to review the educational content of a seminar and assign the continuing education units. In order to ease the responsibility of record keeping, members should be encouraged to register with the Education Services Department. Once a member is registered, he/she can send copies of earnings records to the NACM-Education Services Department to be added to their file. Any CBA, CCRA, CBF or CCE is registered with the Department, because registration is a prerequisite to the Professional Certification Program.

If someone attends an educational event that has not been preassigned CEUs, it can still be used for points on the NACM Career Roadmap. Education is education—it always counts without regard to the pre-assignment of CEUs. The attendee would need to save a copy of the program, showing how many hours of education were received, who the speakers were, and the topic and content of the program. The attendee may then calculate the number of CEUs that would have been assigned based on the one hour equals .1 CEU formula, and may claim these points on the Roadmap.

Remember that participants are rewarded for attending NACM locally sponsored events with participation points in addition to CEUs. For example, if participants attend a one-hour educational seminar sponsored by a local NACM office or CFDD chapter, they earn .1 CEU and 2 participation points for that event. The total earning is 2.1 points on the NACM Career Roadmap. (If this same event is a non-NACM sponsored event, it is worth only .1 CEU.)

Historically, webinars have never been eligible for continuing education unit (CEU) credit because they do not meet the International Association of Continuing Education & Training’s (IACET) standards to which NACM adheres.

IACET standards require that three elements be met to qualify for CEUs:

1. the event sponsor must be able to confirm a participant’s attendance during 90% of the offering, and
2. the event sponsor must be able to validate a participant’s success in achieving the advertised learning objectives, and
3. the event sponsor must maintain the records of a participant’s success/CEU award for 7 years.

To maintain the integrity of the IACET CEU guidelines, NACM has created a new category of webinars called Webcast Plus. If you, as the sponsor of a Webcast Plus session, elect to take the extra steps outlined above, participants may earn CEU credit in addition to participation points.

How to host a Webcast Plus event:

• At the end of each session, a code must be verbally shared only with participants and each participant must pass a quiz. We recommend that the first question of every quiz ask for the session code. The purpose of this code is so that it confirms that the participant stayed until the end of the session.
• Staff or speakers may create the quiz questions, which may be true/false, multiple choice, or a combination of both question types.
  • For a 1-hour session, there must be at least 5 questions, one of which is to ask for the session code.
  • For a 1.5 to 3-hour session, there should be at least 7 questions, one of which will ask for the session code.
• As the event sponsor, you are welcome to create your own quizzes and event codes.
• Additionally, as the event sponsor, you will be responsible for providing evidence to each attendee of their CEU earning, which can be accomplished by an email, letter or certificate to satisfy this criterion.
• For our records, please submit to us a copy of the roster/grades after the quiz has been closed.
• As the event sponsor, you are also responsible for retaining the evidence of participation and CEUs earned for 7 years because participants may request copies of their earnings record from you for 7 years.

We will be pleased to manage the quiz portion of your offerings in exchange for a small administrative fee of $95 per session.

Here are step-by-step directions if you elect for us to manage the quiz:

• Submit the Online Control Number and CEU Request Form. Be sure that you’ve talked with your session speaker so that quiz questions are prepared in advance.
• Submit questions with answers and the preferred event code that will be used to validate attendance in at least 90% of the session to NACM via email at Education_info@nacm.org.
• Once NACM receives the quiz questions, an invoice will be sent to the sponsor for $95 (per session).
• The speaker must be given the code which will be verbally delivered (not printed on the slides) to the participants in order to meet the 90% attendance requirement. (I can provide you with a code or you can provide the session code to me.) Codes should be simple but unique to each session and must be more than someone’s initials or the session date. Codes should not be shared with those who did not attend the entire session. An example of a session code is ATL43.
• NACM’s will create the quiz in the exam site with the questions provided. The quiz will always include one question which asks the attendee to enter the end-of-session code.

• The speaker is required to offer the ability for people to ask questions.
• At the very end of the session, the speaker will verbally deliver the code. The session code may not be printed on the handouts or slides.

• The event sponsor will send a list of participants to the NACM Education Director, which must include each participant’s company name, company address and participant email address.
• NACM’s Education Director will use this information to set up an account for each participant in the exam site, and then enroll each participant into the session quiz.
• Once all of the steps above have been completed (quiz questions and participant list received) the NACM Education Director will email each participant their login information and let them know that the quiz is ready to take.
• The participant will be allowed 5 business days in which to complete the quiz, with no extensions. (We have to close the quizzes.)
• To earn CEUs, the participant must score at least 70% on either one of their two quiz attempts. If a score of 70% or higher is not achieved, the participant will not earn CEUs for the session.
• The NACM Education Director will provide written confirmation, via email, to each participant who earns CEUs. 
• After the quiz has been closed, you will be provided a record of participant CEU earnings via an excel spreadsheet.
• The information will be imported into our database so that we can store it and therefore be reflected in each participant’s online account.