Q: We are struggling with our CEU practices. There is confusion on the definition of CEU, who can offer them, what differentiates a CEU offering from a non-credit offering, etc. We are also interested in best practices in awarding CEUs including how to verify that they actually attended for both in person and online offerings. Any information you can share with me on this topic would be appreciated.
A: 1. Anyone can offer a CEU. The question is, who will accept that CEU as valid? If a company offers CEUs for internal training, then that company will obviously accept that CEU as proof of continuing education. It may not be accepted elsewhere. So, the issue becomes whether the entity requiring the training accepts the CEU as valid. In this case, it is valid for employees of the company, and possibly for others.
2. Some professions require that CEUs meet specific standards of their profession. Nurses, for example, must earn their CEUs from providers that have been approved by their professional association.
3. IACET has established standards for CEUs, but these are not universal standards. What’s more, IACET does not “own” the term, CEU, so they have no control over the quality of CEUs offered by other institutions. They basically have influence only on IACET members. What this means is that all CEUs are not created equal, and the bottom line is that if an individual’s organization will accept the CEU as valid, then it is valid for that instance.
4. Some professions might NOT accept some CEUs. Even if they meet IACET standards. They may have their own unique requirements for training within their profession.
5. An organization or institution does not have to be an IACET member in order to grant CEUs. LERN offers CEUs, but is not an IACET member, for example. It is questionable whether membership in IACET actually increases the perception of value of the CEU by people seeking continuing education. It is more likely that if their institution or organization will accept the CEU, then that’s all that is of concern.
LERN has recently introduced a different way to document continuing education — the International Learning Unit (ILU)®- It differs from the CEU in that in order to earn it, learners must pass a test and demonstrate mastery of the content with a score of 80% or better. This method of documentation is not based on “seat time” or hours of instruction, but rather on outcomes and demonstration of competence. In the information age, the measure of one CEU for 10 hours of instruction is no longer appropriate because seat time is not equivalent to competency.
We would be happy to provide you with more information on the ILU if you are interested – there is no cost to an organization to use the ILU. Many organizations offer both the CEU and the ILU, particularly professional associations.