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The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is designed to facilitate recording, accumulating, and exchanging standardized information about individual participation and learning achievement in professional continuing education experiences. The CEU is intended to serve all interests in noncredit continuing education and training, whether public or private, individual, institutional, organizational, governmental, or societal.
Development of the CEU
In 1968, the National Task Force on the Continuing Education Unit was commissioned by the Bureau of Education (now the Department of Education). The task force included leaders in continuing education, such as the American Medical Association and American Nursing Association. Their work led to universal guidelines for continuing education and to the creation of the Continuing Education Unit (CEU). The International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) was created by the task force to provide both a forum for discussion of education standards and an organizational body to promote quality standards.
IACET is now an America National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Developer and its continuing education and training standard is ANSI approved.
The CEU Concept
The CEU concept is designed to accommodate a wide variety of continuing education opportunities. The number of CEUs awarded is determined only after the course is designed and the schedule established. The CEU permits flexibility in course length, methodology, or the format used in meeting the intended learner outcomes. Ten (10) contact hours of participation in a course is equated to 1.0 CEU.
The CEU concept informs regulatory, accrediting, and licensing agencies about acceptable practices in continuing education programs and courses, and is used as a measure for developing standards for continuing education.
ASHA and the CEU
ASHA's program for the approval and monitoring of CE Providers is modeled after the ANSI/IACET Standard. In 2005, ASHA received approval as an IACET Licensed Standards User (LSU). LSU designation formalizes ASHA CE's longstanding use of the copyrighted IACET CE standards as the basis of its own standards.
The CEU concept is applicable regardless of the educational level or experience of the learner; however, the CEU courses offered by ASHA Approved Continuing Education (CE) Providers are offered on the post-master's degree level of instruction and targeted to those professionals involved in work experiences at the post-master's degree level. The subject matter, level of technical content, course format, and instructional methodology may vary according to the provider of the course.
Course Participants and the CEU
The CEU concept provides individuals with recognition for their efforts to update or broaden their knowledge, skills, or competencies. Records of CEUs awarded provide a framework within which individuals can develop and achieve long-range educational goals through a variety of available options. Progress toward such goals, at the individual's own pace and possibly planned over a number of years, can be demonstrated and documented by official records of CEUs awarded. ASHA maintains a permanent CE Registry of all participants’ cumulative CEU courses.
The availability of permanent records and documentation permits individuals to maintain and transmit to others a record of their lifelong learning experiences. For example, individuals may use personal records of the number of CEUs earned for
- reporting maintenance or improvement of professional competence;
- documenting continuing qualifications for renewing a license, certification, or registration;
- presenting evidence of professional growth to meet changing career demands;
- recording preparation for a new career;
- demonstrating a conscious and persistent effort toward professional development and growth.
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association awards qualified speech-language pathologists and audiologists the Award for Continuing Education (ACE) when professionals accrue 7.0 CEUs within a 36-month period.
ASHA Approved CE Providers and the CEU
ASHA Approved CE Providers must meet strict administrative and program criteria. ASHA's Continuing Education Board (CEB) established a Provider Approval process in 1979 to approve providers of Continuing Education courses. Providers seeking approval must submit an application to the CEB. The approval process involves an initial review of the provider's ability to offer quality continuing education courses. Provider Approval is for a 5-year period, during which time ongoing monitoring takes place.
ASHA Approved CE Providers may offer CEUs for continuing education courses that meet the standards and criteria set forth by the Continuing Education Board. A decision to offer CEUs is not made after the program or course has been offered. Providers must submit Activity Registration Forms (proposed course content, format, speaker qualifications, learner outcomes, etc.) at least 15 days prior to offering a continuing education course and must submit an Activity Report Form within 45 days of the conclusion of each course for the review by the CEB.
Calculating ASHA CEUs
One CEU is offered for each 10 contact hours of instruction included in a specified continuing education course. The number of contact hours of instruction and the appropriate CEUs offered are determined prior to conducting the learning experience and only after the purpose and intended learning outcomes, requirements for satisfactory completion, content and content level, format, instructional methodology, instructional staff, and time schedule have been established and reviewed by the CEB.
The 60-minute clock hour is used as the contact hour in all continuing education experiences. Only the number of complete instructional hours is considered in assigning CEUs. For example, 1.7 CEUs are assigned for a learning experience with a total of 17, 17.50, or 17.75 contact hours. Any fraction or portion of an instructional hour calculated for the total course is disregarded.
Academic Credit and the CEU
There is no established reciprocity between CEUs and academic credit. By definition, the CEU relates only to noncredit professional continuing education experiences. Academic credit applies specifically to degree requirements; CEUs are typically not awarded for that purpose. Also, universities vary in the number of contact hours required to earn 1 credit hour, whereas providers of CEUs must adhere to the standard of 10 clock hours being equal to 1.0 CEU.
Contact Information
Additional information about ASHA's Continuing Education Program and its components may be obtained by contacting Continuing Education, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard #340, Rockville, MD 20850-3289; telephone, 800-498-2071.
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