Guidelines for Obtaining CEUs

A Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is defined as "ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction." (IACET)

• To provide a credentialed certification process whereby individuals gain recognition for efforts of meeting national standards.
• To ensure practitioner competence while enhancing the quality of client care through education.
• To provide quality continuing education activities which conform to national CEU standards.
• To maintain permanent records of course completions and CEU earnings.

The American Electrology Association, through the International Board of Electrologist Certification (IBEC) and the Office of Continuing Education (OCE) has determined the following policies.

• Recertification is necessary at the end of each five-year period.
• Two recertification options:
• Retake the AEA/IBEC Certified Professional Electrologist (CPE) examination at the end of the fifth year. No early retakes possible; late retakes will be treated the same as an original take.
• Earn a minimum of 75 contact hours (or 7.5 CEUS) from AEA/OCE approved events within the five-year recertification period. There will be no CEUs earned retroactive to the exam nor a carry-over of excess earnings into the next recertification period.

CEU criteria and standards were established according to "Criteria and Guidelines for Quality Continuing Education and Training Programs: The CEU and Other Measurement Units" as published by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), 1998 Edition.

How To Earn Continuing Education Units

Opportunities to earn Continuing Education Units can be found in the following events and resources.

• AEA Continuing Education resources.
• AEA annual conventions.
• AEA affiliate state association seminars.
• Approved CEU Event Calendar.
• AEA/OCE approved non-affiliate state, regional or national educational events.
• Electrology school seminars or workshops for graduate electrologists (not student classes).
• Local community college or university adult studies if not taken for academic college credit.
• Local hospital or Red Cross events.
• Home study courses which provide a means to assess learning (exam). The AEA Journal of Electrology offers a self-guided home study program. OCE maintains and updates a list of additional pre-approved home study courses that is available from an insert in the EW and from the OCE office. These home study courses must be completed and submitted within the current five-year certification period.

Obtaining AEA Approval Of An Event

All AEA sponsored events MUST be submitted to the Chairman of the Continuing Education Review Committee (CERC) for approval prior to the event, and before any promotional materials are distributed. If an event is "AEA approved" participants need only to register their CEU earnings. All data intended for entry into the OCE computer data base must be submitted to the OCE/CERC within 30 days following the event.

Each independent (non AEA sponsored) event must be approved within 90 days after the event, or it may be disallowed. After 90 days, up to 180 days (6 months), there is a late fee. After 180 days, it is not accepted. There is a maximum of 1.0 CEUs allowed per event. Please allow 90 days for clerical processing/computer entry of events.

AEA Approval Criteria

• The event must have a direct or indirect relationship to electrology.
• Continuing education events must focus on increasing knowledge and skills in the areas of electrology and directly relate to the health and allied health fields.
• The question to ask is: "Will this event improve my professional status as a competent electrologist?"

Print and send this form for obtaining CEUs to:

Continuing Education Review Committee

Vickie Widmyer, CPE
718 Summitview Ave
Yakima, WA 98902
Phone: 509-961-0435
Email

If you are interested in taking the CPE Exam for certification/recertification, the CPE Test Bulletin including a Registration Form for the exam is available in PDF format. Download now.