Continuing Education Units (CEU)
About ceus
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
or activity has been designed and the schedule has been established.
It 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 transcript 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.
What is
a CEU?
The continuing education unit is a standard of measure for continuing
education or training. The criteria was developed by the International
Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). IACET
defines the CEU "as ten contact hours of participation in
an organized continuing education experience under responsible
sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction."
In other words, one CEU equals ten 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:
- Time for study, assigned reading and other
related activities outside of the classroom or meeting schedule;
- Meeting time devoted to business or committee
activities;
- Meeting time devoted to announcements, welcoming
speeches or organizational reports;
- 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;
- General sessions of meetings, conferences
and conventions. However, specially organized courses, workshops,
or seminars held in conjunction with such meetings qualify.
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 80%) 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 National Education Department
The National Association of Credit Management
8840 Columbia 100 Parkway
Columbia, MD 21045-2158
Telephone: 410/740-5560
Fax: 410/740-5574
E-Mail:
