Continuing Education Unit Policy

Approval Date: 1.8.2023

 

For questions about any items in this policy please contact us at info@iaabc.org

1. Purpose and Participants

1.1 Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide consistent, clear guidelines that can be applied by the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) Education Program when determining Continuing Education Unit (CEU) requirements for IAABC members and IAABC credential holders and whether to approve or deny CEUs. 

1.2 Participants

The following program participants will be engaged during the CEU process. Roles are not mutually exclusive; one individual may hold multiple roles separately or simultaneously:

1. IAABC members, defined as those individuals who are currently members in good standing of the IAABC, regardless of whether they have passed a credentialing examination
2. IAABC credential holders, defined as those industry professionals who have taken and passed an IAABC credentialing examination and are currently in good standing within their credential approval period
3. Industry professionals, defined as those professionals in the field of animal training and behavior consulting who seek out continuing education to enhance their capacity to perform their roles and responsibilities
4. Education providers, defined as any individual or organization, public or private, that offers continuing education aligning with the IAABC Core Competencies which maintains, increases, or develops the knowledge, skills and abilities used by industry professionals to provide services for their clients, the public, and the profession
5. Event hosts, defined as an individual or organization hosting an educational event presented by an education provider
6. The IAABC Education Program, defined as the staff and volunteer members of the IAABC who administer the intake, approval, generation, distribution and tracking of CEU credits

All IAABC members and credential holders are eligible to be granted CEUs based on their successful completion of CEU requirements.

3.1 IAABC Non-Credentialed Members

IAABC members who do not hold a credential are not required to earn CEUs. 

3.2 IAABC Credential Holders

IAABC credentials are valid for a three year period beginning with the award date of the credential. Credentials must be renewed every three years in perpetuity on the anniversary of the award date in order to remain valid. Credentials that are not renewed become expired on the three year anniversary of the award or previous renewal date. Expired credential holders may no longer claim to be credentialed by the IAABC.

In order to remain eligible for renewal of their credential, individuals who hold IAABC credentials must earn at least 36 CEUs in the three year period beginning with the award date of the credential.

CEUs earned prior to the award/renewal date of the credential or after the three year anniversary of the award/renewal date are not counted toward the 36 CEU requirement.

For holders of multiple credentials, each individual credential has its own three year CEU period. However, CEUs earned in overlapping time frames may apply to more than one credential.

3.3 Exceptions to CEU Requirements

CEU requirements are waived for members of the IAABC with Emeritus status. 

3.4 Renewal Process and Grace Period

All IAABC credential renewals are contingent upon payment of any applicable fees.

IAABC credential holders who have submitted proof of 36 CEUs in a credentialing period are eligible for automatic renewal of their credential upon reaching their three year award/renewal date.

IAABC credential holders who have not submitted proof of 36 CEUs in a credentialing period are not eligible for automatic renewal of their credential upon reaching their three year award/renewal date, and their credential will expire automatically. 

The IAABC may grant a grace period for expired credentials to enter eligible CEUs (those CEUs earned during the applicable three year period) at its sole discretion. Granting of a grace period does not change the dates of the next three year credentialing period.

4.1 Tracking CEUs

It is the responsibility of the IAABC member or credential holder to obtain and track the required CEUs for each three year period. CEU codes must be submitted by the IAABC member or credential holder, or the Event Host if applicable, into the CEU tracker in the member portal in order to be credited towards credential renewal. 

Although the IAABC offers this CEU tracker as a member benefit, any technical issues or errors inherent in the use of technology do not constitute an exception to the CEU requirements. Credential holders are recommended to maintain an ongoing list of CEU codes in their own personal records.

4.2 CEU Earned Dates and Application of CEUs

CEUs may be used one time for the 3-year credentialing period to which they apply, based on the date the CEUs were earned. The earned date is dependent on the completion date of an educational event as determined by the IAABC, not the day of submission by an IAABC member, credential holder, or education provider into the IAABC CEU system. 

CEU earned dates are determined as follows:

 

CEUs apply only to the credentialing period that they are earned in and may not be rolled over into the next credentialing period.

4.3 Obtaining CEU Codes

IAABC CEU codes are distributed by event Hosts. An individual or organization hosting an educational event ("Host”) may request CEUs before or after the date of the educational event. If an IAABC member or credential holder needs a CEU code for an event they attended, they must reach out to the Host and ask them for the code or ask them to apply for a code. This individual request process does not guarantee that a code will be granted and does not constitute an exception to any IAABC CEU requirements, e.g. if attendance was not tracked by the Host, the code may not be granted. 

CEU credits may be generated from the following processes:

5.1 Generation of CEU Credits by an education provider 

1. An education provider creates and delivers an educational event. CEUs may be granted to the following types of educational events:
1. Academic classes (offered by an accredited academic institution, usually a college or university)
2. Online classes and webinars
3. In-person seminars and workshops

5.2 Self-generation of CEU Credits by an IAABC credential holder

2. An IAABC credential holder presents at a conference or other industry event with multiple presenters
3. An IAABC credential holder authors an article and/or book

CEUs will only be granted to educational events whose content covers one (1) or more of the current Core Competencies for which the applicant is seeking CEUs, with the exception of limited Professional Development Educational Events as detailed in section 6.3.

6.1 Professional Relevance

Educational content must be directly related to one's capacity as an industry professional to be eligible for IAABC CEUs. Content must have a primary focus on animal training or behavior, or a secondary focus on professional development in the behavior consulting field.

Educational content whose primary focus is the animal's physical health and wellness, licensed therapies, or nutritional status may qualify, but must be taught by a licensed veterinarian in order to be considered for IAABC CEUs. Courses falling under these Core Competencies are known as Wellness CEUs; these Wellness CEUs are limited to twelve (12) per recredentialing period.

Therapies and interventions that are not evidence based such as telepathic animal communication, energy work, and homeopathic therapy courses are not eligible for CEUs. The IAABC reserves the sole right of discretion, in consultation with its veterinary advisors, in determining which therapies and interventions are evidence based.

While content may reference specific products or services and include messaging that is promotional in nature, the educational event/publication must not be or appear to be primarily for generating sales of a product or service.

The IAABC reserves the right to request additional information regarding the validity of any content, including review of material when applicable. 

6.2 LIMA Compliance

Educational content must be based on current, scientifically valid principles and adhere to the LIMA model. The IAABC reserves the sole right of discretion in determining whether content adheres to LIMA.

The IAABC does not award CEUs for education specific to the use of aversive tools. Examples include, but are not limited to: prong collars, cattle prods, verbal or physical punishment tactics, electronic collars, and whips. 

6.3 Professional Development

Professional development educational events that fall under the Core Competencies, e.g. Consulting Skills and Ethical Responsibilities, may be used to fulfill any amount of CEU requirements except as otherwise noted.  Professional development educational events that fall outside of the Core Competencies but meet all other CEU requirements, e.g. Business Marketing, are allowed, but these Professional Development CEUs are limited to six (6) per recredentialing period.

IAABC education providers must have proven expertise in their subject matter.

7.1 Academic Qualifications

Courses, seminars and publications providing education on scientific topics must be taught by education providers with a correlated degree in that science: Applied behavior analysis, learning science, ethology, genetics, and biology courses, for instance, may only be taught by experts with degrees pertaining to those fields.

7.2 Professional Credentials

Other courses, seminars and publications, including those referring to and employing those sciences, may be taught by experts with the following qualifications: 

• IAABC Certified or Accredited Credential Holder
• CCPDT Certificant
• KPA Certified Training Partner
• DACVB Diplomates
• CAAB and ACAAB Behaviorists
• Practitioners listed on the ABTC register
• Those professionals holding an appropriate higher education degree in the subject matter they are teaching.

Qualifications are not the sole determining eligibility factor. The IAABC maintains high standards of education and reserves the right to further inquire about an educator’s experience and education regarding any individual CEU application. The IAABC also reserves the sole right of discretion in determining the level and type of professional credential required in order for an educator to be eligible for IAABC CEUs for any individual educational event. For example, an individual with a behavior-related credential may not be deemed qualified to deliver a professional development presentation on business accounting.

7.3 Recognized Educators

Expertise cannot always be measured by academic study or credentialings. Educators wishing to present educational events who do not meet the above criteria may apply for IAABC Recognized Educator Status by filling out an application detailing their education, experience, and professional capabilities.

Once approved, IAABC Recognized Educators may offer further education through IAABC by referencing their Recognized Educator Status. They do not need to reapply for Recognized Educator status every time.

7.4 Cancellation of Eligibility & Revocation

IAABC reserves the right to remove CEU approval and/or approval as a Recognized Educator from a provider or a program that has been found to violate the IAABC CEU policy. The IAABC may remove an educator’s approval for the following situations:

1. False CEU certificates are being issued to participants/attendees, including expired certificates from a previous instance of the educational event
2. False statements are made on the application revealed to be untrue by audit or participant report
3. Evidence of claiming IAABC endorsement, accreditation or credentialing in violation of Section 13
4. The event conducted is not the event approved by the IAABC Education Program

In the case of evidence of the above, the Educator will be notified via email and will have 20 business days to respond to correct the issue. The IAABC reserves the right to notify all relevant parties, including participants, of any violations. 

If the IAABC chooses to remove approval of CEUs that were already earned by an attendee and the removal was due to no fault of the attendee, the CEU credits will not be revoked from the CEU log. The IAABC may revoke CEU credits from IAABC members and credential holders if the IAABC determines that they were obtained through fraud or deception.

8.1 Attendee/Participant CEU Calculations by Type

Lecture or Workshop - Attendees/participants will receive 1 CEU per hour of lecture or workshop time.

Animal Training – This is defined as an attendee working individually with a live animal under the immediate direction and supervision of the event presenter or their designated assistant. It can also include a small group of attendees working together, under the immediate direction and supervision of the event presenter or their designated assistant, with set goals to be achieved and approved by the presenter. Attendees/participants will receive 1.5 CEUs per hour of hands-on animal training time.

Homework is defined as work completed by the participant outside of the lecture portion of an eligible learning event, and must require data gathering, research and/or review of course materials. Homework must be reviewed by the event presenter or their designated teaching assistant, and must achieve a "pass” or passing grade to earn CEU credit. Attendees/participants will receive 1 CEU per two hours of Homework time

Correspondence is defined as work completed by the participant under the auspices of a reading-based educational course proctored by an education provider. Correspondence work must include a formal learning evaluation (e.g. test, quiz) by the education provider or their designated teaching assistant, and must achieve a "pass” or passing grade to earn CEU credit. Attendees/participants will receive 1 CEU per 30,000 words of material. 

8.2 Limitations on CEU Credits from Educational Events

Break and meal times must be deducted from the event times specified on the CEU application.

Single-speaker educational events regardless of length will not be granted more than 25 CEUs.

No educational event regardless of length and number of presenters will be granted more than 36 CEUs.

Education providers or event Hosts may apply for CEUs by filling out the CEU Application form on the IAABC website and submitting any required fee. The code will be delivered to the applicant upon approval by the IAABC Education Program. Education providers should communicate with their event Hosts to ensure that applications are not duplicated.

9.1 IAABC Education Program Reviewers

The IAABC education program is composed of volunteer IAABC members who are appointed by the Executive Director to solicit, review and approve applications for IAABC CEUs. The Education Program bases its decisions on the IAABC CEU policy as well as professional knowledge of the subject matter and familiarity with the industry. 

9.2 Confidentiality of the Approval Process

Application materials submitted by applicants for IAABC recognition are confidential, subject to disclosure within the IAABC when necessary to comply with the assessment criteria. When reviewing an application, IAABC reserves the right to seek expert advice and relevant information from external sources, provided such information is maintained in confidence by the IAABC Education Program and the external source.

9.3 Duration of Validity

All ongoing, on demand or repeated events will be approved for a term of three years. If additional instances of a repeated event are scheduled after the approval of the initial application, they will receive default approval during the three-year approval term. 

At the expiration of the term, hosts must request renewal and update any changes to the course at that time. 

After three renewals or nine (9) years, Hosts must confirm that educational materials in the event have been reviewed and revised in order to remain current with advancements in behavior science and technology.

The Host of any educational event is required to track attendance and may only distribute CEU codes to IAABC members or credential holders who have been verified as attendees. Purchasing or enrolling for an educational event is not sufficient evidence of attendance.

10.1 In-Person Events

For in-person educational events, the Host should maintain an attendance log for all those attending. The IAABC reserves the right to request and audit attendance logs as a condition of participating in the IAABC CEU process.

10.2 Virtual Events

To verify attendance for webinars or online educational events (whether live or previously recorded), Hosts shall either give two (2) code words during the lecture or provide participants with a multi-item quiz regarding the presented material that does not have easily researched answers. Participants must submit the code words correctly to the Host or receive a passing grade on the quiz for verification of attendance. After such proof has been received, the Host may provide Members with their Approved CEU Form.

For webinars or online educational events that are live, Hosts may take attendance during the first and last fifteen (15) minutes of the educational event to verify attendance. Hosts may also submit alternative methods for verification of attendance to the IAABC before the educational event.

Hosts will provide to attendees a pre-approved  "event code" that IAABC members and credential holders may enter into their user accounts. Attendees should also receive an official Approved CEU Form provided by IAABC that should include the IAABC logo, host name, education provider name, educational event name, date and location, and participant name. A Host signature (digital or physical) is also required. 

For live events, the IAABC recommends that such forms be provided within the final three (3) hours of the educational events in order to prevent attendance fraud.

In some cases, event Hosts may have the opportunity to submit CEU codes into the CEU tracking system for direct application to the attendee’s CEU record. The IAABC member or credential holder must still receive a copy of the Approved CEU Form so that their personal records may be updated.

In the event that a CEU application is denied, the applicant may appeal to the IAABC Board of Directors by writing to the Board President at president@iaabc.org. The applicant must submit evidence and information in support of the application in writing to support the appeal. The IAABC Board of Directors may, at its sole discretion, request additional information prior to ruling on the appeal. 

Any appeals will be considered at a regular meeting of the Board of Directors. Approval of an appeal requires a 2/3 majority to pass. 

If the appeal is not granted by the IAABC Board of Directors, the applicant may not reapply for CEUs for the same educational event unless the educational event content has been significantly altered.

13.1 Limitations of IAABC Education Program Approval

The Education Program reviews educational events based on meeting the requirements of the IAABC CEU Policy. IAABC does not accredit, endorse, or certify any specific educational event, nor does IAABC approval validate the content of the event. Education providers may not embellish or misrepresent the status of a course/educational event by stating the content therein is verified, approved or certified by the IAABC. In addition, IAABC logos may not be used to represent education that has been approved for IAABC CEUs.

13.2 Approved Wording

Educators may reference approval by the IAABC Education Program in their marketing materials. The approved language is as follows.

13.2.1 Pending Approval

"This [type of program] is pending approval for ____ hours of IAABC Continuing Education Units.”

13.2.2 Approved

"This [type of program] has been approved by the IAABC for ___ hours of Continuing Education Units.”

Although variations on this wording are acceptable, no language should indicate that the IAABC plays any role other than as the approver of CEUs for IAABC credential holders.

 

IAABC members and credential holders may apply for CEU credits in some limited circumstances. 

Self-generated CEUs are earned by the individual participating in self-guided research and education with the goal of developing instructional material for other industry professionals or for the improvement of the industry in general. Repackaging current techniques or foundational level material does not qualify for self-generated CEUs. All self-generated CEUs are credited with the intent of supporting proactive scientific inquiry on the part of the participant. 

Academic education may be credited for CEUs, but in many cases academic institutions will or cannot apply for IAABC CEUs themselves. Therefore, IAABC members and credential holders who undergo formal academic education may submit applications for CEUs from academic programs that they have completed.

14.1 Self-Generated CEU Credits from Public Presentations/Lectures

Educators can earn 1.5 CEUs per hour of public presentation/lecture at a conference or other industry event with multiple presenters. The presentation must meet the subject matter and scientific qualifications outlined under eligibility. 

Animal training classes or general educational services regularly offered to the general public as part of a credential holder’s animal training and/or behavior consulting business do not qualify for CEUs.

An educator may only request CEUs once per presentation/lecture regardless of the number of times/locations in which it was presented.

14.2 Self-Generated CEU Credits from Publications

14.2.1 Authoring Articles

Authoring an article published in an animal industry or peer-reviewed publication which meets the subject matter and scientific qualifications described below may qualify for 2 CEUs.

An "article” is defined as a researched piece of work, approximately 1000 words or more, with references, quotes and citations. An animal industry publication is defined by the IAABC as the distribution of printed or electronic reproductions by an industry organization for sale to the public or as a benefit of paid membership.

An author may only request CEUs once per article regardless of the number of publications in which it was published.

14.2.2 Authoring Books

Authoring a non-fiction book that is instructional in nature and adheres to LIMA may qualify for CEUs as listed below. Book publication date must be within the Member’s three year credentialing period.

12 CEUs may be earned for a book whose target audience is other animal behavior professionals.

8 CEUs may be earned for a book aimed at the general public.

4 CEUs may be earned for one or more chapters in a multi-authored book.

14.3 Applying for Self-Generated CEU Credits

IAABC credential holders may apply for self-generated CEUs by filling out the CEU Application form on the IAABC website and submitting any required fee. The code will be delivered to the credential holder upon approval by the IAABC Education Program.

14.4 Limitations on Self-Generated CEU Credits

The IAABC recognizes the importance of learning from other industry professionals. Therefore, no more than half of CEUs credited towards a credentialing period, i.e. eighteen (18) CEUs, can be earned from a credential holder’s own work as detailed in sections 14.1 and 14.2.

14.5 Academic CEUs

IAABC credential holders may apply for CEUs from academic courses delivered by institutes of higher education by filling out the CEU Application form on the IAABC website and submitting any required fee. The code will be delivered to the credential holder upon approval by the IAABC Education Program.

Education from trade schools or other professional programs does not qualify as academic education and must be obtained through the general CEU process upon application by the education provider or event host.

 

Addendum

CEU Credit Limitations by Type