CERTIFICATION
Continuing Professional Development
Qualifying CPD Activities

It is anticipated that CPEAs will maintain the high standards of the profession in selecting quality educational programs to fulfill the CPD requirements. Audits which are performed as part of your normal job function are not considered CPD activities.

The following general criteria are to be satisfied in order for a continuing education program to be accepted:

1) The overriding consideration in determining whether a specific program is acceptable is that it shall be a formal program of learning which contributes directly to the professional competence of a CPEA.

2) Acceptable formal programs should:

• contribute to the professional competence of participants;
• state program objectives which specify the level of knowledge the participants should have attained, or the level of competence to be demonstrated upon completing the program;
• be developed by individuals qualified in the subject matter and instructional design;
• provide program content which is current;
• be on a professional level.

The following general subjects are acceptable as long as they meet other CPD program criteria:

• Environmental, health and/or safety auditing
• Environmental, health and/or safety management
• Environmental, health and/or safety science and technology
• Assessing environmental management systems and level of compliance
• Environmental, health and/or safety laws and regulations

Activities other than those listed in this guidance may be deemed acceptable if the CPEA can demonstrate that they contribute to professional competence.  Substantiating that a particular activity qualifies as acceptable and meets the requirements is the responsibility of the CPEA.

CPD credit will be awarded for whole hours only with a minimum of 50 minutes constituting 1 hour.  As an example, 100 minutes of continuous instruction would count for 2 hours; however, more than 50 minutes but less than 100 minutes of continuous instruction would count for only 1 hour.  Only actual attendance or acceptable self-study hours are allowable.  For continuous conferences and conventions when individual segments are less than 50 minutes, the sum of the segments should be considered one total program.  For example, five 30-minute presentations would equal to 150 minutes and should be counted as 3 hours.

Education

A maximum of 40 CPD hours may be awarded in the education category for each reporting period.  Educational activities include:

• Professional education and development programs, such as seminars and conferences, provided by national, regional and local environmental auditing organizations.
• Technical sessions at meetings of national, regional, state and local environmental auditing organizations and chapters.
• Formal in-house training programs.
• Programs of other sponsors (industrial, professional societies, etc.).
• College or university courses passed (credit and non-credit courses).
• Fifteen hours of CPD credit are awarded for each semester hour of college/university credit earned; ten hours of CPD credit are awarded for each quarter hour of college/university credit earned.
• Formal correspondence and self-study programs relevant to environmental auditing that include evidence of completion.

Publications:

A maximum of 12 hours may be awarded in the publications category for each year period (maximum of 24 hours per reporting period).  Generally, one full journal page of single-spaced print is equal to 2 hours of CPD credit, with the following limits on one publication:

• Books - 12 hours
• Articles - 8 hours
• Research papers - 8 hours

Contributions to publications should pertain to environmental auditing.  Published articles or books not related directly to environmental auditing are acceptable if CPEAs are able to demonstrate that these activities contribute to their professional audit proficiency.

Oral Presentations:

A maximum of 12 CPD hours may be awarded in the oral presentations category for each year period (maximum of 24 hours per reporting period).

• The hours reported for the first presentation will be based on the presentation time, plus credit for preparation time equivalent to three times the presentation time.
• Subsequent presentations of the same material may be reported as presentation time only, up to a maximum of 6 CPD hours in each year period.

Participation:

A maximum of 12 CPD hours may be awarded in the participation category in each year period for (maximum of 24 hours per reporting period):

• Participation as an officer or committee member in a professional industry organization related to environmental, health or safety auditing.  One CPD hour for each hour of qualifying participation will be awarded.
• Participation in a quality assurance or "peer" review.  One CPD hour for each hour spent on site will be awarded.  No CPD hours will be awarded for activities such as preparation time and writing the report.
• Audits that are performed as a part of your normal job function do not qualify as CPD activities.