Outreach Categories

Category 1 — Individual CEUs

Program Criteria for Awarding Individual CEUs

• The non-credit activity is planned in response to an assessment of an educational need for a specific target population and is aligned with the University mission.
• The non-credit activity is actively sponsored and directly coordinated by at least one UAH academic/business unit.
• The program has been approved and processed through the CPS Outreach Office for the awarding of Individual CEUs following the established CPS guidelines.
• There is a statement of learning objectives and rationale.
• The program content is well organized, presented in a sequential manner, and clearly documented.
• The activity is of an instructional nature and provided through an appropriate method of delivery.
• The instructional personnel are well qualified by education and/or experience, and such qualification is appropriately documented.
• The registration process for program participants to provide the necessary data for reporting and transcript maintenance is pre-arranged and coordinated through the CPS Outreach Office. (Fees will apply, unless waived by Provost and/or CPS Dean.)
• Participants are asked to evaluate the program and a summary of the responses are maintained for recordkeeping.
• There is provision for assessment of learning of each individual participant appropriate to the materials presented (i.e. level of attendance, quizzes, projects, classroom participation).
• Individual attendance must be appropriately documented and provided to CPS for recordkeeping. (Partial CEUs may not be awarded.)
• Sponsors may not select to issue CEUs to some, but not all, participants who meet the established criteria.
• Approved CEU programs should normally be offered for no less than four contact hours (0.4 CEU credits).

A permanent record is maintained of the program and for individuals who are eligible to receive the program's respective CEU awards. Individual CEUs recognize formal, organized continuing education non-credit instructional activities that comply fully with national guidelines for administrative and program matters, and which award CEUs or other recognized units to individual participants.

Category 2 — Institutional CEUs

Program Criteria for Awarding Institutional CEUs

• The activity is a planned educational experience with a written statement of purpose.
• The activity is sponsored by a University academic/business unit qualified to determine the quality of the program content and to select and approve the resource personnel utilized.
• Record of attendance, required for institution reporting use, and a file of program materials are maintained by the academic/business unit, and reported to the CPS Outreach Office. Attendance records may be in terms of a validated headcount.

Participants are not awarded CEUs but a permanent record of the program and a validated headcount of attendance is maintained and reported. Institutional CEUs recognize formal, organized continuing education non-credit instructional activities that respond to the needs of participants, which represent a substantial investment of time and resources by the University, but which are not designed to comply fully with all CEU criteria. This category often includes personal and community development educational activities.

Category 3 — Outreach Only

Outreach Only is a residual category for all non-credit activities which are not Categories 1 or 2 but which contribute to the outreach mission of the University, involve commitment of time and resources, and are officially sponsored by the University.

Individual and Institutional CEUs are not awarded but a permanent record of the program is maintained and reported. These activities may or may not register individual participants; only a validated headcount is required for record-keeping. Evaluation is at the discretion of the responsible faculty/staff member of the sponsoring University academic/business unit.