What are
the definition of PDH, LU and CEU?
Professional Development Hour (PDH)
is defined as one contact hour of instruction, presentation or study.
The term PDH is commonly used in the engineering community. The maximum
PDH for a seminar that starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. with an hour
lunch is eight (8). Short breaks are permissible as long as a minimum
of 50 minutes of presentation/participation/study per hour is undertaken.
If there are no breaks, or there are breaks of less than 10 minutes per
hour, no additional time may be claimed. PDH cannot exceed the actual
contact clock hours. Round off PDH to the nearest half hour. No activity
under a half hour will be accepted for credit. For example, a qualifying
activity of 30 to 49 minutes would be reported as 0.5 PDH and an activity
of 50 to 70 minutes would be reported as 1.0 PDH. PDH is sometimes called
PDU (Professional Development Unit).
Learning Unit (LU) is used by American
Institute of Architects 's Continuing Education Systems (AIA/CES) and
is based on a 60-minute hour. Time beyond 60 minutes is recorded in quarter
hour increments (e.g., 1 hour 45 minutes = 1.75 LUs). Credit should be
stated as an AIA/CES Learning Unit hour (AIA/CES LU). In order for programs
to qualify for Health , Safety and Welfare (HSW) credit, providers must
demonstrate that 75% of the content specifically addresses one or more
HSW-related issues. Programs that qualify for HSW credit are identified
as “AIA/CES Learning Unit (HSW)?or “AIA/CES LU (HSW).?
Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is
a nationally recognized and uniform unit of measure for continuing education
and training. One CEU is awarded for each 10 contact hours of instruction
or study. When a sponsor of PDH activities fully follows the requirements
of the International Association for Continuing Education and Training
(IACET) in awarding CEU’s, 10 PDHs will be credited for 1 CEU. However,
one should be aware that some organizations may advertise CEU credit without
having met the requirements of the IACET. In addition, some organizations
report one CEU of credit for each contact hour of instruction, which is
equivalent to one PDH only.
How do
I convert CEU to PDH or LU?
1.0 CEU (Continuing Education Unit)
= 10 PDH's or 10 LU's.
1.0 PDH (Professional Development Hour) = 1.0 Clock Hour (minimum 50 minutes).
1.0 LU (Learning Unit) for architects = 1.0 PDH for engineers.
What
kinds of activities are qualified as PDH activities?
Determination of qualifying activities must be made by the licensee in
the states that do not pre-approve courses or activities. With the broad
range of opportunities to earn PDH, it is up to the licensee to determine
whether the activity qualifies under the Board’s requirements. The following
activities are usually acceptable to the state boards:
- Completing
online courses or correspondence courses on topics related to licensee's
professional practice (a test is required at the end of the course).
- Completing
or attending seminars, in-house training programs which relates to the
licensee's professional practice.
- Attending
technical or professional society meetings when a topic related to the
licensee's professional practice is presented as a principal part of
the program.
- Teaching
a course for the first time or if substantial time has been spent in
updating material if previously taught.
- Completing
management or ethical courses which relate to the improvement of one's
business or profession.
For additional
information on typical qualifying and non-qualifying PDH activities, please
your state board website.
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