Policies Procedures PDU Credit Chart Sample Application/Log Form V15.1

Transcription

1 Policies Procedures PDU Credit Chart Sample Application/Log Form V15.1

2 Congratulations on earning your CPE credential! When you became certified, you showed your commitment to the Estimating profession. Your journey, however, has just begun. Holding a Certified Professional Estimator (CPE) credential requires that you actively demonstrate your dedication by remaining up-to-date with the rapidly changing Construction Estimator profession through continued professional development and renewing your certification. To maintain your CPE designation, the American Society of Professional Estimators Certification Program requires all certified estimating professionals to recertify every three years by accumulating a minimum of 90 hours (30 hours/year) of education and expanded estimating experience. Among the choices for earning professional development units (PDUs) are the following: Continuing education Instruction / Teaching On-the-job growth and experience Professional Organization Membership and Activities Authorship / Publishing As a Certified Professional Estimator, you have access to all ASPE online forms and applications on the national ASPE Web site. You will find: Individual Professional Development Plan Form Record/Activity Log Form Professional Development Unit (PDU) Value Chart Certification Renewal Application These forms are located under the certification tab on the home page at We recommend that you enter your activities into the log form and maintain a folder to hold any backup documentation that may need to be referenced at a later date. By entering your activity and filing your documentation, your participation in our audit process will be streamlined and simple. While we do not require that you send documents as proof of completed activities when you submit your application, the ASPE Certification Committee conducts random audits of certification renewal applications to verify compliance with recertification requirements. We highly recommend that you keep all supporting documents for reference until the audit period has been completed on your application. Should you be selected for an audit, you will be notified after submitting your certification renewal application. We hope you find the information in this handbook helpful. Contact Information If you still have questions after you have reviewed this handbook, please contact your regional ASPE Certification Committee Representative or the Society Business Office: 2525 Perimeter Place Drive, Suite 103 Nashville, TN Phone: talisha@aspenational.org Web Site: {n} - V15.1

3 Introduction...2 Contact Information...2 Why Recertify?...4 Certification Cycle...4 Certification Renewal Notification...5 Needs Assessment...5 Defining Estimating-Related...5 Defining Professional Development Unit...5 CPE and Fellow Renewal PDU Requirements...5 Certification Renewal Categories...6 Continuing Education/Training Category...6 Authorship/Presentation/Teaching Category...6 Professional Organizational/Leadership Category...7 Other Professional Activities Category...8 Multiple Designations...9 Completing and Submitting Application...9 Certification Renewal Application Fee...9 Re-instatement (Suspended Status)...9 Re-activation (Expired Status)...10 Certification Renewal Audit Procedures...11 Lifetime Certified Status...12 Address/ Changes...12 Name Changes...12 Duplicate/Replacement Certificates...12 Questions or Comments...12 PDU Credit Chart...13 Sample Activity Log Record Form...15 Sample Renewal Application...16 For Applications and Forms mentioned in this Handbook, please visit the Certification portion of the ASPE Web Site, V15.1

4 Recertification is an essential part of an accredited certification process. It keeps certified estimating professionals updated on developments in the profession and ensures that their knowledge remains current. It is what distinguishes professional certification from other types of learning and development activities. When you renew your certification every three years, you show your continuing competence and commitment to the estimating profession. There are many ways to meet your certification renewal requirements, some of which you may already be doing! This handbook will provide resources for you to learn about the types of activities that can help you meet recertification requirements. You must renew your designation every three years. The Certification Renewal cycle begins the first August following your initial notification of having the CPE status. Therefore, your initial certification cycle may be slightly longer than three years. Your cycle dates will begin August 1 and end three years later on July 31. The cycle period runs concurrent with the ASPE fiscal year (August 1 to July 31). Credits accumulated in the year of expiration will apply to the next renewal cycle. For example: Initial Certification: The candidate earned his initial CPE status on November 20, His cycle dates will be from August 1, 2008 to July 31, 2011 The first expiration date for his Certification will be July 31, First Renewal Cycle: The CPE submits his Renewal Application with PDU log sheets prior to their expiration dates to the Society Business Office. In this example, the expiration date is July 31, 2012 (Cycle dates were August 1, July 31, 2011.) The CPE is issued a new certificate with the expiration date of July 31, 2015 provided that all the requirements have been met. The cycle dates for the next certification renewal cycle will be August 1, 2011 to July 31, It is strongly recommended that the Certification Renewal Application along with the appropriate fees be submitted to the Society Business Office (SBO) by the suggested submittal date listed on the expiration notification letter. The renewal must be received by the Society Business Office by the close of business on the day of expiration. The SBO will verify the application is complete and that the minimum requirements have been met. The CPE will be notified of audit selection or any deficiencies. A new certificate will be issued to cover the next three years if all renewal requirements have been met. All terms and conditions of Certification Renewal, as listed above, will apply to each successive three year cycle. Your certification expiration date appears on your certificate and cycle dates are provided with your certificate. Notification of expiration s will provide cycle dates as well. You must earn your recertification credit hours during the current certification cycle. 4 - V15.1

5 accrue time towards credit courses in their programs. One CEU equals 10 PDUs. As a professional courtesy, the ASPE Society Business Office will send you reminder (s) before the end of the year prior to your expiration year. We will send the reminders to the address in your database profile, so you should make sure you update this file if your or mailing address changes. Please visit and log in to the online database (under the membership tab) to update your information or if you are a non-member CPE, please your changes to talisha@aspenational.org, and copy your regional Certification Committee representative. We will not change your certification cycle or the submission requirements in the event you did not receive reminders. At the start of each certification cycle, we encourage you to consider which activities and experiences will best help you to develop your professional skills. To make that easier for you, an Individual Professional Development Plan form is available at our website, In general, if an activity can be tied to the body of knowledge for our certification program and it adds to a person s knowledge of the construction estimating field, we award professional development units or credits. If the activity does not appear to be relatable to the Body of Knowledge, you may be contacted for more information about the activity. Defining Professional Development Units (PDUs): Professional Development: This is the way in which credits are earned towards certification renewal. One PDU is equal to one contact hour of minutes for seminars, workshops, training sessions, etc. Continuing Education Unit (CEU): This is the way that post-secondary institutions in the United States NOTE: For CPEs that are transitioning from the Point based renewal requirements to the PDU based renewal requirements, please keep in mind the following: Points are not equal to Professional Development Units. The time investment for the point system was not measured as it is in the PDU system. Since ASPE has converted to PDUs, activities in which you are currently participating for credit toward other credentials that you may hold, possibly can also be applied toward your CPE requirement. For Certified Professional Estimators (CPE): The ASPE Certification Renewal Requirements Program supports the ongoing professional development of ASPE Certified Professional Estimator and the maintenance of ASPE Certification. CPEs must accrue a minimum thirty (30) professional development units (PDU) per each year of the renewal cycle in at least two different categories. This equates to a minimum of 90 PDUs during each full renewal cycle. For Fellow Certified Professional Estimators (FCPE): The certification renewal policy was modified in 2008 for Fellow CPEs. Fellow Members of ASPE that were certified under the Continuing/Renewal Program are required to submit a renewal to maintain their CPE status. A. Fellow members (FCPE) who also meet the criteria for Lifetime CPE status no longer need to submit paperwork criteria. Those members will still pay the re-certification fee even though the re-certification paper process is waived. B. Should a Fellow Member of ASPE not meet the requirements for Lifetime CPE status, the complete renewal form must be submitted with the standard renewal fee every three years in order to maintain a certified status. 5 - V15.1

6 You must accumulate 90 PDUs during the threeyear certification cycle. You can obtain credit hours through any combination of at least two of the following activity categories: Continuing Education / Training Authorship / Presentations / Teaching Professional Organizational Activities Other Professional Activities Please see the table beginning on page 13 for a quick reference list of possible activities to earn professional development units. The following information gives some insight into each of the main categories and activities. College and University Courses: ASPE accepts Continuting Education Units awarded through a post-secondary education provider. One CEU is equal to 10 PDUs. To receive recertification credit for college/ university coursework, you must pass the course with a grade of C or better. Conferences and Seminars: To calculate credits by attending a conference or seminar, take the following into consideration: Each session is awarded credit on an hour-for-hour basis. For example, a 75 minute session equals 1.25 PDUs. (One and one quarter hours). Sessions must be at least one hour in duration to be eligible for credit Credit may be given for a general (plenary) session if the presentation is at least one hour and is specifically construction or estimating related. Activities held while a meal is being served must be a least 1.5 hours in duration in order to be eligible for one hour of credit. Typically, six to eight professional development hours are awarded for attending all conference educational sessions during a one-day conference. Additional PDUs may be awarded for workshops if you provide additional information about them on your certification renewal log form. If a conference has been sponsored by ASPE National, the conference programs may list the awarded PDUs or credit hours. Video Conferences, DVDs, Web Casts, and Podcasts: Video Conferences, DVDs, Web Casts and Podcasts are accepted on a ½ PDU - per hour for educational time. They are considered passive learning activities (no active participation by the learner is required). E-Learning/Online Courses: E-Learning/Online Courses, which are training courses conducted on the web, are accepted on an hour-for-hour basis. E-Learning activities are interactive and include an assessment at the end of the online session. You must earn a passing grade of C or better to claim PDUs. Have you ever presented an Estimating or Construction related workshop or training session at your company, chapter or for another organization? Instruction and teaching or giving a presentation can earn several PDUs by meeting the following criteria: Instruction must include a formal presentation made within your organization or as an instructor of a course, workshop, seminar or conference session. The presentation must be at least one hour in length. 6 - V15.1

7 We consider the time you spend preparing for the workshop by awarding matching credit hours for the time that you teach. For example, if you give a twohour presentation, you will receive a total of four PDUs towards certification renewal. Credit is awarded only for the first time you teach the program. If you teach the same workshop again to different audiences, you will not receive credit again. Twenty credit hours are awarded for teaching a semester-long professionally related collegelevel course. Authorship / Publishing: Professional Development Units can be earned from: conducting primary research on an estimating related topic resulting in the writing of a white paper, writing a fact-based article or blog, making significant contributions to a published text/book, or performing a review of a technical paper written by a candidate for ASPE certification. If the article you write is published in Estimating Today or another nationally recognized publication, you can earn 4 PDUs per article published. White papers / Research based papers that are published in a scholarly journal or publication earn 5 PDUs per paper. If you make a significant contribution to a published book related to the profession, you can earn 30 PDUs. Co-authoring or serving as an editor for a published book will earn you 15 PDUs. A named contributor to the ASPE Standard Estimating Practice manual can earn 10 PDUs per edition published. If you create and publish a fact-based blog posts on subjects related to the Estimating field, you are eligible for recertification credit using the following criteria: Posts must be 700 words or more on an estimating related subject. Post must contain facts or data and cannot be an editorial or opinion piece. Post must be published on a site that is open to the public. You must provide links to the posts on your certification renewal log form. Each blog post will be awarded 1/2 PDU, with a maximum of 6 PDUs/year. A technical paper is required for every candidate enrolled in the Certified Professional Estimator s Program. It is necessary that each paper undergo a peer review by current and active CPEs. A CPE may earn renewal credits for each review of a technical paper at the rate of 4 PDUs/paper. There is a limited supply of papers available for review dependent upon the enrollment of new candidates. ASPE s Certification Program awards recertification credit in the Professional Organizational/Leadership category to people who support the Estimating Profession by contributing their expertise to organizations outside of their workplace. This category recognizes the importance of sharing your professional knowledge with the construction community. It is of utmost importance that certified members of ASPE be involved and participate at the local chapter level, regional level and national level. Examples of activities that could earn Professional Organizational / Leadership credits include: Participation in local ASPE chapter events/meetings and/or chapter sponsored activities. Participate as an active member of another industry related professional organization. Attend tradeshows that are related to the industry. Mentoring a less-experienced professional in a related profession. To qualify, the mentoring must be part of an established program (ASPE does not currently have an active mentoring program) with formal guidelines. Mentors have to meet all of the 7 - V15.1

8 program requirements and be a mentor for at least six months to claim PDUs. Leadership roles within a national or international construction related association. This would include being elected as a member of the National Board of Trustees of ASPE. Chairing and/or serving on a national committee of a construction related association. Serving ASPE on a recognized committee would be included. Serve on a board or committee at the local ASPE chapter level or for a related local level association. Key planner or program director for an ASPE Regional Conference. Attending conferences (includes conventions, summits, annual meetings, etc.) for the profession (either ASPE or related association). Participate in ASPE sponsored surveys. Note:that you can only claim credit on the amount of time you spent completing your survey responses. When entering on your record log, please cite the survey in which you participated. As in all categories, we recommend that you save the documents that prove you participated in an activity. Professional Membership: You can earn certification renewal credit for being an active member of a national or international Construction related professional association or society. Examples of professional associations or societies include (but are not limited to): AACEi (Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering International) SAVE International PCEA (Professional Construction Estimators Association) U. S. Green Building Council Earn one PDU (per association) for an entire year of membership. When entering your hours for this activity, you can only claim credit for the time your professional membership occurred concurrent with your certification renewal cycle. Certifications/Licenses: Earning an industry related exam based credential from another organization will earn three PDUs per credential with a limit of nine PDUs per year for credentials held concurrent with your certification renewal cycle. Finding areas of development that reach beyond your immediate peer group is an area that ASPE tries to encourage among its members. An estimator should exhibit an understanding of the wider construction industry. This knowledge can be gained in a number of ways. Here are some examples of how PDUs can be earned in this category: Being an expert witness before a court of law, arbitration, and/or mediation. Media interviews that promote the profession of estimating. Earning an Award of Professional Excellence (name of award, date awarded and purpose must be stated on log form) Develop exam questions (item writing) for ASPE s purpose or directly for the Certification Program. PDUs apply to accepted questions only. Volunteer activities for job training related to our Body of Knowledge for the purpose of certification. Your explanation of activity should include a paragraph of which Body of Knowledge items were targeted and how the job training relates. Serve as a test proctor for ASPE Certification Testing. Other Activities or Learning Experiences: An Estimator at various levels of his/her career needs to exhibit an understanding of the wider construction industry. The other activity or learning experience option must demonstrate that the activity has promoted a higher understanding or knowledge base to the certified member. On-the-Job Experience: This knowledge can be gained by participation or job duties that look at Business Management and Strategy or Department Leadership. These are 8 - V15.1

9 types of activities that will increase your knowledge of your organization s operations. Here are some examples of how PDUs may be earned : On-the-Job (First time work experience) examples: Did you participate in the development of your organization s strategic plan? This is an excellent way to gain knowledge of overall operations. Did you contribute to defining the mission, vision, values of the organization? This requires you to understand the very core of the organization s purpose. Did you have input into the organization s budget? Not just developing the Estimating Department budget, but incorporating it into, and understanding, the budget at the organizational level. Did you develop company policies or procedures that contain competencies that are to be applied organization-wide? You should be aware of your certification cycle and submit a completed renewal application before your certification cycle ends. We highly recommend that you re-certify early so that you have time to submit new activities in the event that some submitted activities are not accepted for credit. Each person holding a CPE credential has access to all the forms and applications necessary via the ASPE Web site, Your ASPE Certification Renewal Log Sheet allows you to record your activities as they are completed and you should keep a current documentation file. Your documentation file will not need to be submitted with your application. It should be kept in case you are selected for audit at which time you will need to submit backup for the activities claimed on your application. There are many other examples of on-the-job activities that would qualify as First-Time Work Experience. Think of those that require you to be part of a cross-functional team or partner with other leaders in your organization - those are likely the ones that will meet this requirement. Other Activities or Learning Experiences: To claim the possible 10 PDUs offered in this area, you will need to submit an explanation that provides for the activity description and how the activity relates to the profession and how it has improved your skill level and/or understanding of the ever changing construction industry. This option is not limited to On-the-Job first time experiences, but any that you feel have contributed to your job performance are welcomed. ASPE s certification program is open to estimators that meet the minimum requirements. Several members hold their Certified Professional Estimator (CPE) credential in multiple disciplines. Once the secondary CPE is achieved, it is cycled to match the expiration of the primary issued certification. Only one renewal is required to satisfy both the primary and secondary discipline certifications issued by ASPE. The re-certification application fee is $150.00, if paid by your certification expiration date. Make this payment when you submit your application. You can pay the application fee with Visa, Master Card, or American Express credit cards or you may pay with a check. 9 - V15.1 The application and activity log should be sent to: ASPE - Certification 2525 Perimeter Place Drive, Ste. 103 Nashville, TN talisha@aspenational.org Fax: You have the primary responsibility for keeping your certification current. Since the Society Business Office sends periodic reminders of certification expiration dates, please keep your address current. However, failure to receive reminders is not grounds for missing your cycle end date or expiration date. Your certification expiration date is displayed on your certificate. The Society Business Office also provides certified members expiration dates on monthly reports sent to your Chapter President.

10 Applications for certification renewal that are received by or postmarked the same day as the expiration date are considered on-time submissions. If you fail to submit your complete renewal application by the last day of your certified status, your credential will be placed in suspended status for up to 6 months. While your credential(s) are in suspended status, you will not be able to represent yourself as certified. Your name will not appear in our Directory as a Certified Professional Estimator and the Society Business Office will not be able to verify your credentials to your current or potential employers. However, once you successfully submit your renewal application and appropriate fee for a late submittal within 6 months of the expiration date, you will be reinstated. You will be able to submit your Certification Renewal application during this 6 month period and retain your credential(s) by paying a fine of $75 (in addition to the regular certification renewal fee of $150). The time spent in suspended status will not change your cycle dates. If you fail to recertify by the end of the 6-month period during which your credential(s) are in suspended status, your status will be changed to Expired (Revoked). Once your credential(s) expire, you will need to apply for Re-Activation. Effective August 1, 2014, the ASPE Certification Program adopted the Re-Activation Policy as a replacement for Amnesty. Although we will no longer allow for extensions, we will review hardship cases with extenuating circumstances (i.e. serious health conditions, termination of employment, etc. ) In hardship cases, individuals may be permitted to use their credential(s) while in suspended status but will expire upon the conclusion of the hardship time granted and all regular certification renewal requirements, policies, and procedures will apply. If you would like to inquire about your own hardship request, please send a description of your hardship to the Certification Committee Representative for your region. Once you have submitted your request, you will receive a response from the Certification Committee Chair. The Certification Committee for the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE) adopts a reactivation program for the Certified Professional Estimator (CPE) credential. Those who have failed to maintain the requirements of their Certification and have had their CPE status revoked, may apply to the reactivation program (The Reactivation Program replaces Amnesty effective 08/01/2014). This program applies to lapses not greater than three (3) years from the last expiration date. As applicable to the certification process, the Certification Committee may offer those individuals a one-time only reactivation program. Reactivation is defined as: to render active again. These acts of omission shall include, but not limited to: failure to apply for certification renewal; personal illness; family medical or maternity leave; being out of the country for work assignments or military service; and performing work assignments not related to estimating. Participation in the reactivation program may be granted by the Certification Committee after review of the application for reactivation. The request for participation in the reactivation program will be considered and voted on by the Certification Committee and must be approved by a simple majority. Decisions of the committee may be appealed by the applicant per the guidelines of the ASPE Certification Appeal Processes. The reactivation program requires applicants to submit proof of successfully meeting the PDU renewal requirements during the first 12 months of the program. The reactivation program allows participants the use of the CPE credential during the first year and shall extend for a full cycle of 3 years if sufficient PDUs are provided by the enrollment anniversary. Once reactivation is granted in full by the Certification Committee, the applicant's certification cycles will reset and start over with the 10 - V15.1

11 current cycle. Applicants will not receive any credit for previous certification cycles prior to the lapse for any reason. The time calculation for Lifetime status will begin anew. Should the CPE status lapse be for a period of more than three (3) years, then the Certification Committee will require the individual requesting reactivation to re-apply to the certification program as a new candidate. The following requirements must be met to apply for reactivation of the CPE credential: Completion of the Credential Reactivation Application Submittal of the Reactivation Fee * (see chart below) Time from Last Fee for Reactivation Expiration Date 12 months or less $ to 24 months $ to 36 months $ More than 37 Not eligible for months Reactivation must enroll into the program as a new candidate. Upon approval of the application by the Certification Committee, participants will receive a conditional 12 month reactivation of their CPE status. As part of the reactivation program, participants will be asked to submit the following at the end of the first 12 months of the program: Proof of 1 year of PDU requirements for the first year of reactivation status. (30 PDUs) Upon submitting proof of meeting the first year renewal requirements, the participant will be fully reactivated for the remaining two years of the three year cycle. The participant will submit a full renewal application on or before their designated expiration date. Failure to meet this requirement will result in termination of the participants CPE status and enrollment to the reactivation program. The participant will need to enroll as a new candidate. ASPE is a membership organization and as such, we are here to serve the membership. If you are experiencing difficulties that may prevent you from meeting the above requirements to reactivate your CPE credential, please include any information that you feel is appropriate in your statement for consideration to the Certification Committee. The Reactivation Program is a one-time only opportunity to reactivate your CPE credential and is not a complete forgiveness for lapse from the certification program. Failure to meet the requirements of the reactivation program or any future lapse of the CPE credential will not be eligible for reactivation and reapplication to the certification program as a new candidate will be required. Applications are available on the ASPE Web Site, * Upon participants enrollment acknowledgement through submission and acceptance into the reactivation program, fees for failure to successfully meet the requirements for reactivation are non-refundable under any circumstances and cannot be applied towards new candidate enrollment fees. A determined percentage of recertification applications are randomly selected for audit upon submission. If you are selected for audit, you will be notified when you submit your recertification application for review. The Certification Committee is required to conduct random audits to ensure the quality and integrity of our certification program. We recommend that as you enter your activities into your log form throughout your cycle, you save backup documentation that demonstrates you have completed an activity. Completing this step as you enter activities will make your participation in our audit process streamlined and simple. Since the audit selection process is completely random, you should keep all supporting documents for reference until the audit of your application has been completed. Should your application be selected for an audit, it will not be considered complete until documentation of requested activities has been provided within the 30 day time allotment. If the Certification Committee 11 - V15.1

12 determines that credits are not acceptable, you will have up to 120 days from the audit results to obtain acceptable PDUs. Any PDUs required from the audit that are not submitted and accepted within the 120 day period will render the renewal application as incomplete, and the CPE credential will be placed in suspended status (up to six months past the expiration date). Further information and instructions will be provided to you at the time your application is selected for audit. The Certification Committee will work with you to facilitate the audit process. The American Society of Professional Estimators Certification Program offers Lifetime Certifications to recognize CPEs who have demonstrated commitment and dedication to the estimating profession. Lifetime certificants are great leaders in our industry who encourage and motivate others to achieve excellence in the profession. Lifetime certifications are considered for certified estimators who have completed four (4) consecutive renewal cycles (your initial issue cycle is not considered a renewal cycle) and maintained continuous membership as a member in good standing during this time period. To apply for Lifetime status, complete the Lifetime Application and submit to the Society Business Office for verification and Committee approval. We send most of our certification reminders and correspondence in s, so please be sure we have the correct address for you. To make changes to your street address or address, log into your online profile (instructions provided on the Web site), If you are a non-member CPE, please your changes to talisha@aspenational.org and copy your regional Certification Committee representative. For security reasons, we require that you send us legal documents to allow us to make a name change. These legal documents include a driver s license, marriage license or other legal notification. Once we have made the name change, we will shred any legal documents you have sent us. Send your request for a name change in writing to the Society Business Office and include the following: The name under which you became certified Your home address Your address Your certification cycle dates Your certification number Your new name as you would like it to appear in our records (must be consistent with the legal documents provided). Any legal documents attesting to the name change. You may request duplicate or replacement certificates. To request a duplicate or replacement certificate, please submit an with Duplicate/Replacement Certificate in the subject line. Your full name and address must be included on the request. Thank you for being certified by the American Society of Professional Estimators (ASPE). The certification renewal process is a critical component of maintaining a professional program, and the Certification Committee is here to support you throughout this process. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us. talisha@aspenational.org Phone: Web: V15.1

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15 Sample Log Record Form Microsoft Word Table Form available at - Certification Tab {n} - V15.1

16 Sample Renewal Application Fillable form available at - Certification Tab 16 - V15.1