Frequently Asked Questions about Continuing Education

What is AIA/CES?
What is my annual requirement?
How does AIA/CES Work?
What is a learning unit hour (LU hour)?
What is an AIA/CES Registered Provider Program?
What are Self Reported Activities?
How are transcript records kept and how may they be accessed?
Are there any deadlines for reporting activities?
How does “health, safety, and welfare” (HSW) tie into CES?
Am I supposed to add my LU hours and HSW hours together to meet the requirements?
Can I self-report HSW hours?
As a new AIA member, am I required to earn LU hours?
Are associate, allied, IDP, and emeritus members required to earn LU hours?
What is the AIA/CES Non-compliance Policy?
Need to access your personal CE transcript?
Continuing Education Self-Report Forms

What is AIA/CES?
It is a continuing education system developed by the AIA to emphasize learning and record participation in professional learning activities. AIA/CES enables architects to keep current, master new knowledge and skills, plan for the future, and responsibly meet the role society entrusts to a professional. The program also allows members to fulfill a requirement for AIA membership and meet any state mandatory continuing education requirement. In this role, the program has the potential to be a primary force in the improvement and revitalization of our profession.

What is my annual requirement?
All active AIA members must successfully complete 18 learning unit (LU) hours each year, with at least 8 of the 18 LU hours relating to health, safety, and/or welfare (HSW).

A member who fails to meet the annual requirement will be given a one-year grace period. Any credit earned in the following year will apply toward the deficit. During the first nine months of the grace period, members are able to report retroactively any activities that were completed in the previous year.

A member who exceeds the annual requirement may carry up to 18 LU hours (including eight hours of HSW) over to the next year. Carryover credit can be used for one year only; it is not cumulative. Only the number of credits needed to fulfill the annual requirement for the following year may be carried over. Extra credit may not be carried past the one-year limit.

NOTE: Most state licensing boards do not allow carryover and deficit credit. States have strict continuing education time frames, and credits must be earned within them.

How does AIA/CES Work?
Members can earn LU hours by attending programs offered by AIA/CES registered providers or through self-reporting independent activities and research.

What is a learning unit hour (LU hour)?
The AIA records continuing education credit in learning unit hours (LU hours). A one-LU hour activity is equal to one contact hour. An LU hour is not a continuing education unit (CEU). One tenth of a CEU (.1) is equal to one contact hour, which is equal to one LU hour. In other words, one CEU is equal to 10 contact hours or 10 LU hours.

The Continuing Education Unit (CEU) was created by IACET as a measurement of continuing education. While others may use it, the term CEU it belongs to IACET and the conversion given here refers to IACET’s guidelines. All state licensing board credit is measured in the contact hour regardless of what acronym used to describe it. Whether it’s CEC, PDH, CE, or CEU, all state licensing boards consider one contact hour equal to one hour of credit.

What is an AIA/CES Registered Provider Program?
The AIA has developed a network of more than 2500 educational providers made up AIA Chapters, affiliate organizations, firms, manufacturers, universities, non-profit organization, and government agencies. CES Registered Provider Database. These educational providers offer more than 25,000 programs each year.

Programs offered by AIA/CES providers are filed with AIA/CES Records in Oklahoma. Within 14 days of a program’s conclusion, AIA/CES providers verify and report the program attendees to AIA/CES Records. For non-AIA members the AIA/CES Provider will provide a certificate of completion upon request. The complete activities are then posted on AIA member’s transcripts.

What are Self Reported Activities?
If a program is not offered by an AIA/CES Registered provider, members have the option of self reporting the program or activity. The intent of this activity must educational in nature and new knowledge in reference to their practice of architecture. Members must indicate whether the activity they are reporting is self-designed or a structured self-reported program:

Self-Designed Activity. This type of learning activity is organized by the member specifically to meet his or her individual needs. A self-designed activity frequently involves more than one type of medium or method, such as research, reading, interviewing subject experts, listening to audiotapes, and/or viewing videos. To determine what qualifies for self-reporting, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Is this a planned learning activity?
2. Is this activity intended to be educational or operational?
3. Are you acquiring new knowledge or are you sharing your knowledge with others?
4. How will you apply this new knowledge to your practice? This method is not acceptable for health, safety, and welfare (HSW) credit. Some state licensing boards will not accept this type of reporting for mandatory continuing education (MCE) requirements. (Recommended minimum of three hours)

Structured Self-Reported Program. This is a structured activity offered by an organized, third party, non-CES provider. Documentation of attendance/participation will usually be required as a supplement when reporting this activity to meet a state licensure requirement.

For members who self-report a structured activity, the AIA is not able to assist in acquiring any support documentation that may be required by a state licensing board MCE audit. To be eligible for credit, all self-reported activities must be planned educational activities that provide you with new knowledge that can be applied toward the practice of architecture. Members should complete the AIA/CES Self-Report Form and submit it to AIA/CES Records at the University of Oklahoma. Be sure to specify which type of learning activity you are reporting so the data can be entered accurately into your transcript. Title should be indicative of the program content. Members calculate LU hours for self-reported activities by reporting the number of hours spent in architecture-related learning. Think in terms of billable hours applied to learning.

How are transcript records kept and how may they be accessed?
Individual transcript records are updated daily on www.aia.org via the World Wide Web. Anyone with an active AIA membership number can access a transcript online. To access your individual transcript, go to www.aia.org/conted. You may then print out a copy of your CES transcript.

Official CES transcripts are available upon request. A hard copy of the transcript can be faxed or mailed to a member. The first request is free and for each consecutive request a fee of $10 per copy will be assessed. You may make your request in writing, by phone, or by fax to:
The University of Oklahoma
Continuing Education, AIA/CES, Room B-1
1700 Asp Avenue, Norman, OK 73072
Information line: (800) 605-8229
Fax: (405) 325-6965

Are there any deadlines for reporting activities?
There is a September 30th deadline every year. This deadline applies to any activity completed by within the previous calendar year. For example, an activity completed in December of 2004 would need to be submitted to AIA/CES Records no later than September 30th 2005. The deadline is not nine months from the date of completion; it is nine months from the end of the calendar year. Any activities submitted to AIA/CES Records after the September 30th cut off will be returned. This course of action applies to AIA Members and AIA/CES Registered Providers.

How does “health, safety, and welfare” (HSW) tie into CES?
The AIA requires members to earn 8 of the basic LU hour requirements in the area of HSW. The percentage of HSW content in any HSW-related activity must be a minimum of 75% to qualify a program or educational event for HSW credit. This accomplishes three goals:

1. To ensure that HSW-related programs have a real relevance to our members
2. To eliminate any question of whether the content of a program was actually HSW-related
3. To protect AIA members with state mandatory continuing education (MCE) requirements

Am I supposed to add my LU hours and HSW hours together to meet the requirements?
No. The HSW column on your transcript simply shows how many of your total LU hours are HSW-related. The annual requirement is 18 LU hours, of which eight must be HSW-related. Thus, if you earn eight hours of credit from an HSW-related activity, you will need only 10 more hours (of either HSW-related or non–HSW-related activity) to meet your requirement. Eight hours is the minimum requirement for HSW credit, but that number may be exceeded.

Can I self-report HSW hours?
Yes—but with restrictions. You may self-report any structured activity that is HSW related and receive HSW credit for it. In other words, the activity must be developed and presented to you by a third party organization. You cannot receive HSW credit for any self-designed activity. For example, even though code research is HSW in nature, if it is a self-designed activity, the AIA does not allow HSW credit for it. This policy was adopted to ensure quality control guidelines are enforced and to comply with state licensing board requirements.

As a new AIA member, am I required to earn LU hours?
New, first-time members of the AIA are not required to complete the annual 18 LU hours (8 HSW) during the calendar year that they join. Their requirement will begin January 1 of the following year. However, records are kept for those who submit their activities. Any credit received in the first year will not apply toward the following year’s requirement unless you exceed the 18 LU hour (8 HSW) requirements.

Are associate, allied, IDP, and emeritus members required to earn LU hours?
Associate, allied, and emeritus members are exempt from the CES membership requirement but are encouraged to participate for their own personal benefit and that of the profession. Records are kept for all members who report their activities. IDP interns and nonmembers may now use the AIA record-keeping services.

What is the AIA/CES Non-compliance Policy?
Members are considered in non-compliance with the AIA/CES requirement if they have not completed and reported their annual 18 LU hours (8 HSW) by December 31st of every year. Members in non-compliance have an opportunity to report missing continuing education credits for nine months into the next calendar year. During this period, members are considered “at risk” of membership termination for non-compliance with CES. At risk notifications will begin in February of each year. Members are contacted via mail, email, telephone and fax. If CES transcript records still indicate these members have not completed the annual CES requirements after September 30, they are then considered lapsed for non-compliance and cannot renew their membership for the following year until the audit is resolved.

Need to access your personal CE transcript?
It’s easy. Just go to www.aia.org - on the right you will see Member Login - type in your member number and password. Or go directly to the Transcript Center. Be sure you are current with your requirements: 18 for AIA membership (8 of the 18 must be a HSW and 1 must be a Barrier Free HSW).

Continuing Education Self-Report Forms
Continuing Education Self-Report Forms are available at www.aia.org.