Certification Maintenance Program Details

AICP Commission Plan for Certification Maintenance

On Friday, April 13, 2007, the AICP Commission approved a plan for Certification Maintenance. All three motions in this document passed unanimously. Here are the details of the program:

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1.0 Certification Maintenance Program II: Program Details

1.1 Certification Maintenance (CM) Requirements for Certified Planners
Within each two-year period, AICP certified planners will be required to engage in at least 32 credits of eligible professional development activities. Each two-year period begins on January 1.

No minimum number of credits need be logged per year so long as 32 qualifying credits are logged in during each two-year reporting period.

A four-month grace period, beyond the two-year reporting cycle, may be used to complete the Certification Maintenance credit requirements. Any credits used in a grace period cannot be double counted towards the next reporting cycle. A maximum of 16 excess credits can be carried over to the next reporting cycle.

If AICP Certification Maintenance requirements are not met within four years, an AICP member will lose AICP certification and will be obliged to seek recertification in order to retain the AICP credential. See Section 1.5 for exemptions and waivers.

1.2 Achieving CM Credit Requirements
Thirty-two eligible credits will be reported in a two-year period and will be achieved in the following way:

All 32 credits may be earned from APA, APA-sponsored, PAB graduate degree courses, or registered providers.

• Volunteer, unpaid planning instruction may qualify when carried out through these mechanisms. Certification Maintenance credit may be earned only once for teaching a particular course or seminar or for presenting a professional paper. The amount of credit equals the length of the presentation in hours plus one hour for preparation.
• Qualifying credits that satisfy the continuing education needs of another professional association can be counted for both Certification Maintenance and the other association's continuing education requirements.
• Faculty holding tenured or tenure-track positions in an accredited university may qualify for CM credit for the publication of an article in a peer-reviewed journal approved by APA/AICP and using a double-blind review process. The amount of credit is four hours per article.

A minimum of 1.5 credits will be on the topic of ethics. These credits cannot be carried over to the next reporting cycle.

A minimum of 1.5 credits will be on the topic of current planning law. These credits cannot be carried over to the next two-year reporting cycle.

1.3 Non-Qualifying CM Activities

• Time spent in business meetings of APA leadership, whether at the national, chapter, or division levels, will not be eligible for CM credits.
• Time spent in mentoring activity will not be eligible for CM credits.
• Time spent in volunteer activities will not be eligible for CM credits.
• Teaching for a salary, fee, or honorarium will not be eligible for CM credits.

1.4 Standards and Requirements for Provider Registration
Educational providers including APA and its components will be required to register with APA/AICP in order to become qualified professional development providers. This means that the providers and all their eligible educational offerings will be reviewed and, upon approval, will be entered into the online directory of approved credits that all members may access. These courses will also be entered into the APA/AICP online educational calendar so that all members may become aware of these approved programs.

After their content has been reviewed and approved, there will be a registration fee for all educational providers.

To be a registered CM provider, providers must assure that their activities:

• are designed to meet a specific planning-related training objective.
• are led by one or more experts on the subject. An expert is a professional who has made a contribution to the profession through practice, teaching, research or publications; completed works that proclaim individuality and mastery of the principles of planning taught; and whose work demonstrates outstanding quality and professionalism.
• are designed to teach subject matter appropriate in depth and scope and at a level beyond a planner with at least two years of professional planning experience.
• are non promotional in nature.
• address demonstrated educational needs.
• communicate a clearly identified educational purpose or objective.
• use learning methodologies and formats that are appropriate to the activity's educational purpose or objectives.
• use evaluation mechanisms to assess an activity's quality and relevance to its purpose or objectives.
• include a mechanism of recording attendance of each AICP member.

1.5 Exemptions and Waivers

1.5.1 Retired Members
Retired members, as defined by APA, will be exempt from Certification Maintenance requirements. See the "Definitions" section below.

1.5.2 Special Exemptions
Special exemptions may be granted for personal or hardship reasons. Documentation may be required for individuals seeking CM inactive membership status. While various circumstances may qualify, the following list is representative of those in which a temporary inactive membership status may be granted:

• Parental leave. An inactive membership status of six months may be granted for the birth or adoption of a child.
• Military service leave. An inactive membership status may be granted to members on active duty who are deployed overseas for either Temporary Duty (TDY) or Permanent Change of Station (PCS), or to members of the Armed Forces Reserve or National Guard who have been mobilized or deployed.
• Health. An inactive membership status may be granted for reasons of ill health.
• Care leave. An inactive membership status may be granted to members who need to stay at home to care for another person.
• Foreign residency. An inactive membership status may be granted to members living outside of the U.S. for up to one year.
• Other reasons for inactive membership status will also be considered on a case-by-case basis.

1.5.3 Inactive Membership
AICP members will not be required to pay AICP dues during the period in which their membership is inactive. However, during this period, AICP membership will be inactivated and the AICP credential cannot be used. Members with inactive membership status must remain members of APA and will be required to pay APA dues; they must also abide by the AICP Code of Ethics. Inactive members must reinstate AICP membership within four years and pay 20 percent of back dues owed since beginning inactive membership status. Anyone who has been an inactive member for more than four years will be required to retake the AICP exam and reenter the Institute following new member procedures. Members who wish to apply for inactive status must do so prior to the expiration of their membership.

1.5.4 Waivers
Most Certification Maintenance requirements may be waived for unemployed members during the period of unemployment. However, AICP and APA memberships must be paid and active, although they may be paid at the reduced unemployed rate. Unemployed members may continue to use the AICP credential so long as they obtain at least 25 percent of the required CM credits.

Planners practicing part time will be required to meet the full obligations of Certification Maintenance, unless granted inactive membership status.

1.5.5 Hardship for Members in Active Practice
The Commission directs staff to continue to examine possible situations in which active members face extraordinary barriers to high-quality, accessible, affordable course offerings. Staff will examine the option of development of a personal professional development plan by individuals in such situations and will examine the feasibility of offering credit for such programs provided they are reviewed and approved according to the criteria established by AICP.

1.5.6 Planners Practicing Entirely Outside of the U.S.
Planners practicing entirely outside the U.S. will be exempt from taking registered CM courses but will still be required to maintain certification through professional development, through a mechanism similar to the personal professional development plan described above. AICP members who belong to another planning organization with a rigorous, APA-approved credential program, and who must uphold Certification Maintenance for two organizations, will be able to satisfy AICP requirements through the host country's requirements so long as 32 credits are maintained over a two-year period.

1.6 Definitions

1.6.1 APA Programs
APA offers many educational programs throughout the year. These programs focus on the professional development of practicing planners and qualify for Certification Maintenance credits. Such APA programs include, but are not limited to, APA chapter conferences and programs (including sections), APA division training programs, the APA National Planning Conference (sessions, workshops, symposia, mobile workshops), PTS Workshops, AICP Symposia, APA and AICP audio conferences, APA National Independent Study (e.g. APA audio tapes, CD-ROMs, or online courses), Tuesdays at APA, and APA's L'Enfant Lecture.

1.6.2 APA-Sponsored Programs
An APA component may be considered the primary sponsor, and therefore registrant, of a program if all of these conditions are met:

• The APA component has contributed at least one-third of the total direct costs of the program (not including consumables such as food and beverages) or the activity is principally marketed under the APA brand.
• The APA component has contributed significantly to the development of the program (for example, topic and speaker identification; assistance with conference logistics).
• The APA component has participated in the marketing of the program.
• The APA component will receive economic benefit commensurate with its financial and in kind contributions.

1.6.3 CM Credit
One CM credit is equivalent to one contact hour of training.

1.6.4 PAB Graduate Degree Courses
PAB graduate degree courses have the same status as APA Programs and include those offered by PAB-accredited graduate programs but do not include PAB undergraduate degree courses or any courses offered through extension programs, professional development centers of accredited universities, or similar entities. Such entities are invited to apply through one of the other qualifying mechanisms.

1.6.5 Registered Provider
A registered provider is a provider of continuing education that has been approved for providing qualifying CM courses.

1.6.6 Retired Member
The current definition of a "retired" member is this: "You must have been an APA or AICP member continuously for 10 or more years, be 65 or older, and completely retired."

1.7 Appeals Process
The first level of appeals of any decision by APA or an APA component denying credit for any submitted activity shall be to the Executive Director and CEO of APA or a designee. Appellants have one opportunity to submit additional materials supporting the applicant's appeal request. Additional materials supporting denial may also be submitted. APA staff may reverse the initial denial if the determination can be made that the additional supporting materials submitted by the provider (1) clearly demonstrate how the activity meets CM criteria and (2) clearly and accurately refute the initial denial. Otherwise, the appeal will proceed directly to the Executive Director and CEO of APA or a designee.

Any second level appeal of the Executive Director's decision will be based entirely on the record submitted and will be based on a decision of a three person panel of AICP members: one member shall be appointed by the Executive Director; one member shall be appointed by the applicant; and one member shall be selected by the other two. The meeting will be held via teleconference with only the three panel members participating, and their decision shall be based on application of CM criteria and the written materials submitted to the Executive Director as part of the first level appeal. The panel's decision is final.