These procedures recognize that sponsorship of a non-credit continuing education program by an academic department implies some measure of quality control guaranteed by Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC). Please note that on the SIU Carbondale campus, only Conference and Scheduling Services is authorized to award CEUs.
SIU CEU/Professional Development Application
Basic Definition of the Continuing Education Unit (CEU)
A CEU is defined as ten contact hours of participation in an organized non-credit continuing education activity under (1) responsible, competent sponsorship, (2) capable academic direction, and (3) qualified instruction. A program must meet these three criteria to be considered for CEU certification.
The CEU contact hour requirement represents a sufficiently small amount of participation in continuing education so that it will be possible for an individual to accumulate a substantial number of such units over a limited period of time. Following are three examples of situations where the CEU could be awarded and how the appropriate number of CEUs to be assigned would be computed.
Short‑term education program (conference, institute or workshop)
- Three‑day institute
- Contact hours: 18 (6 hours a day for 3 days)
- Outside assignments: 6 one-hour assignments (estimated by program coordinator)
Total contact hours: 24
Total CEUs = 2.4
Class such as a 16-week refresher course
- Contact hours: 16 (1 hour a night for 16 nights)
- Outside assignments: 16 one-hour assignments (estimated by course instructor)
Total contact hours: 32
Total CEUs = 3.2
Internet‑based Class
- Contact hours (electronic or otherwise): 6
- On‑line assignments: 26 one-hour assignments (estimated by instructor or facilitator)
Total contact hours: 32
Total CEUs = 3.2
The criteria and guidelines for awarding the CEUs set minimum contact hours for awarding them. At our discretion the University may require more extensive standards such as submission of papers and/or passing tests. An individual must be present at 80% of a conference or course program in order to satisfactorily complete it and be awarded CEUs.
In some instances, the CEU can be awarded for completion of individual study, correspondence or Internet‑based courses. Assignment of CEUs will then be based on the instructor/department’s judgment of the average number of hours of work required to complete the course. The total of these hours would then be divided by 10 to calculate the correct CEU total.
Purposes of the CEU
- A uniform unit of measure for continuing education and training
- A nationally recognized unit of measure
- A concept that can be used by different sponsors
- A concept useful in a variety of learning formats
- Criteria by which the quality of learning activities are judged
- A systematic means for program development and delivery
- Criteria by which educational sponsors are evaluated
Across the country, CEUs are assigned to the following types of non-credit programs by sponsoring units:
- Intensive non-credit courses, seminars, or workshops in technical and professional areas, especially in continuing professional education programs.
- Training programs focusing on new technologies, techniques, information or development in specialized fields.
- Programs to be used in partial fulfillment of certificate or licensing requirements or to renew existing licenses.
- Programs sponsored by associations or societies in collaboration with an academic department.
Criteria for Determining Program Eligibility
At SIU Carbondale programs must meet the following criteria if they are to award CEUs. These are criteria that continuing education administrators and academic review committees generally agree identify sound programs. The CSS review committee will use these criteria when reviewing each application.
- Planning: The program or course must be planned in response to the educational needs of a specific group. Input must be available from the target group as well as from experts in the field.
- Purpose: A clear statement of the program or course purpose and goals must be prepared before initiating the program.
- Performance: Specific performance requirements for awarding CEUs must be established prior to the start of the course.
- Records: Within the program there must be a system for verification of satisfactory completion of courses for programs attended by individuals and for the transmittal of such data to the office maintaining permanent records.
- Presenters: The instructional personnel are well qualified by education and/or experience. If instructors are not SIUC faculty or academic professionals, their qualifications should be specified on the CEU application.
- Evaluation: Evaluation procedures determined during the planning process are used to measure the effectiveness of the program design and operation.
Occasionally, professional associations and other clientele groups will request that university academic and administrative units co‑sponsor programs and award CEUs for participation. In general, these requests will not be granted unless the above criteria are met.
To request CEUs:
SIU CEU/Professional Development Application
Additional copies can be obtained by contacting:
Conference and Scheduling Services
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
1255 Lincoln Drive - Mail Code 6705
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
Phone | 618-536-7751
Continuing Education Units and Professional Development Hour Approval Process
Departments seeking to make requests should follow these steps:
The first step is to complete the CEU/PDH application and submit it to the CSS office for approval, four weeks prior to when the conference, seminar, course, etc. is scheduled to begin. Applications are reviewed by the Assistant Director of Conference and Scheduling Services. After application approval and the CEU/PDH set-up fee are received the process is complete. After the program takes place the sponsor will be required to submit a list of participant names and addresses with the CEU/PDH fees for only those wishing to receive CEU/PDHs. CEO will record this information and send official CEU/PDH certificates to participants. A permanent record of the program and participants is maintained by the SIU Conference and Scheduling Services office.
The academic coordinator of a non-credit continuing education program who wishes to have CEU/PDHs awarded must complete the following procedures at least four weeks (longer if your brochure or other promotional material lead time is greater) before a conference, seminar, course, etc. is scheduled to begin. When applying for CEU/PDHs, please use this form
SIU CEU/Professional Development Application
- Complete the application form requesting the awarding of CEU/PDHs, paying particular attention to the number of actual contact hours and hours spent on outside assignments in order to calculate correctly the number of CEU/PDHs to be awarded.
- Obtain the signature(s) of the head(s) of the sponsoring unit(s). This may include signatures from University and non‑University program sponsors.
- Submit the form for CSS review and approval to:
Conference and Scheduling Services
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
1255 Lincoln Drive - Mail Code 6705
Carbondale, Illinois 62901
