Continuing CEP EducationContinuing Education Requirements for CEP Designees To protect and enhance the reputation of the Certified Equity Professional (CEP) designation, CEP designees are required to complete and report 30 hours of industry-related continuing education (CE) every two years in order to continue using the CEP designation.
Looking for Continuing Education Opportunities? Click here for a list of on going courses and educational opportunities. Topics in this section:
Continuing education is a common practice for many professional certifications. The continued growth in numbers of CEP designees is a testament to the increasing professionalism and the respect the designation has earned within the industry. The CE requirement is a logical step for ensuring that the CEP designation remains the preeminent symbol of knowledge and integrity within the equity professional field. The field has become increasingly complex and the pace of change so rapid that the CE requirement helps to ensure that the skills and knowledge of CEP designees continue to be current and are viewed as committed to ongoing professional development.
CEP designees are required to report 30 hours of qualifying continuing education activities every two years. They will be notified of the Continuing Education reporting dates shortly after passing the Level 3 exam. Reports are due on December 31 but they can be submitted any time during the year. At the end of every two-year reporting period, CEP designees are required to track CE hours and submit the Continuing Education Reporting Form to the CEPI. CEP designees are given broad latitude in selecting qualifying continuing education activities in order to fulfill the requirements. CEP designees can choose the content provider, the format and the subject area of educational activities, using qualifying-activity guidelines established for the continuing education program. If a CEP designee does not submit the CE report by the due date, their name will no longer be listed in bold on the CEPI website, and they will no longer be considered an "active" CEP. In addition, they should no longer use the CEP designation.
Examples of qualifying CE activities
Activities that do not qualify for CE units CEP designees should participate in activities that support their jobs, but some of these are not considered continuing education under the continuing education requirement. Programs and events that provide content that is more informational than educational or is related to a company product would not qualify for continuing education credits. Examples include:
Day-to-day job activities do not qualify as continuing education. If your job includes training or presentations to employees on equity compensation related topics, the actual training time or presentation time is not continuing education. However, the work that you performed to create the training material or the presentation may be counted as continuing education in some cases. Please contact the CEPI if you are involved in this type of work and want to apply your preparation work towards your continuing education. If you are not sure if an activity can be considered as continuing education, contact the CEPI at cepi@scu.edu.
CEP designees will determine the number of hours earned using guidelines set forth above. The two primary criteria for qualification are that the activity must (1) have educational content on an equity compensation-related topic and have an industry focus; and (2) be relevant to equity compensation professionals and further the successful functioning as a CEP designee. You can use the following guidelines to help evaluate an activity:
If you are not sure if an activity can be considered as continuing education, contact the CEPI at cepi@scu.edu.
1 CE unit = 1 hour of educational activity A continuing education hour is defined as an hour of educational activity. Continuing education credit is given on an hour-for-hour basis, excluding meals and breaks. To calculate the number of credits hours you will receive, total the actual number of hours you spend in qualifying educational sessions. For example, an equity compensation-related conference begins at 9 a.m. on a Monday and ends at noon on Wednesday. Tuesday afternoon is a social event, so there are no qualifying hours from that segment. Excluding breaks, there are 5 hours of educational content in a track in a full day and 2.5 in a half-day. Any one person can obtain a maximum of 10 CE credits for this conference (5 hours on Monday, 2.5 on Tuesday, 2.5 on Wednesday). For University & College courses, 15 continuing education hours will be given for each credit hour of a one-semester course or 12 hours for each credit hour of a one-quarter course. For example, if you complete a 2 credit-hour semester course, you will be credited with 30 CE hours (15 X 2 = 30 hours). If you audit an equity compensation-related course, you can obtain 10 continuing education hours. Courses for equity compensation administration software do not count for continuing education credit. CEP Institute volunteer hours can be documented and applied towards continuing education credit. It is possible to earn up to one credit hour for every hour volunteered, depending upon the nature of the volunteer activity. In the event that the appropriate forms are not filed at the end of the reporting period or an activity is found to be disallowed for the purpose of CE credit, you will receive a notice and a six-month grace period will be allowed for making up the credits. Decisions on disallowed credits can be appealed by submitting a written request to the CEP Institute.
The CEP recertification process makes complying easy and straightforward. You simply record your activities on the Continuing Education form and submit the form once you have reached the 30 hour requirement. All courses will be subject to audit, so please retain attendance information and be prepared to submit verification. The report is due on December 31 but can be submitted at any time before the due date. The CEPI grants a grace period until March 1 for submitting the report. For example, if your CE units are due December 31, 2006, you can submit the report by March 1, 2007 and it will still be considered on time. CEPs can FAX or mail the completed form to the CEPI. The form must be accompanied by the $100 administrative fee. If the form is submitted past the grace period, a late fee of $100 is assessed and must accompany the form.
CEP designees are required to report 30 hours of qualifying continuing education activities every two years. If you received your CEP designation in 2005, your first 30 hours of CE will be due on December 31, 2007, and your next 30 hours will be due December 31, 2009. If you receive your CEP designation in 2006, your first 30 hours will be due December 31, 2008, and your next 30 hours will be due on December 31, 2010. If you are unsure of your due date, contact the CEPI. It is the responsibility of the CEP designee to submit the CE report before the due date. The following table gives some examples of due dates for CEP designees:
CEPs who received the designation before 2003 should contact the CEPI at cepi@scu.edu. The CEPI has a two month grace period for submitting CE reports. For example, if a CEP designee has a due date of December 31, 2008, he/she can submit the report by March 1, 2009 and still be considered on time.
If you cannot meet the reporting deadline, you may request an extension of your CE due date. The extension applies only to the current CE requirement. The extension moves the due date one year. For example, if your CE units are due December 31, 2008, an extension would change the due date to December 31, 2009. However, your next 30 hours of CE would still be due on December 31, 2010. To request an extension, submit the Continuing Education Extension Request Form (pdf file). There is a $50 administration fee for filing the extension.
CEP designees who fail to submit the CE requirement will be considered "inactive" and will no longer be listed in bold on the list of CEP designees which is currently maintained on the CEP Institute website. In addition, CEP designees may opt to go on inactive status at any time. If a CEP designee has been inactive for less than three years, to be reinstated he/she may submit the "past due" continuing education requirements and the appropriate filing fees. For example: A CEP designee did not submit 30 hours of continuing education that were due on December 31, 2004 and therefore became "inactive" on January 1, 2005. In 2007, he/she wishes to return to active status. In order to reactivate the designation, he/she may submit all past due continuing education - 30 hours due on December 31, 2004 and 30 hours due on December 31, 2006 - and the past due filing fees - $300. Upon reactivation, the next 30 hours of continuing education will be due December 31, 2008. If the designee cannot submit 60 hours of continuing education, or if he/she wishes to discuss alternatives to reactivating the designation, he/she must contact the CEPI. If a CEP designee has been on inactive status for over 3 years, he/she must retake the Level Three Exam to reactivate the designation. Contact the CEPI for registration information.
$100 refiling fee. The fee also includes the membership dues for the CEP Society. If you file outside the grace period (ie more than 60 days beyond the due date) there is a $100 late fee that must be submitted. For any questions on CE requirements, please contact the CEP Institute at cepi@scu.edu. |
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