Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide consistent, clear guidelines that can be applied by the International Avian Trainers Certification Board (IATCB) when determining whether to approve or deny applications for Continuing Education Units (CEUs).
Eligibility and Calculation of CEUs
Educational Events
CEUs may be granted to the following types of educational events or learning events:
- Academic class (offered by an accredited academic institution, usually a college or university)
- For degree courses taken through accredited colleges, 5 IATCB CEUs will be granted for each college semester credit hour and 3 CEUs will be granted for each college quarter credit hour. No more than 30 CEUs will be awarded for accredited college courses in a single certification period.
- Tele-class (both live and taped)
- Online class
- Seminar (live – not videotaped)
- Learning Course
- Workshop
- Conference
CEUs will only be granted to learning events whose content covers one (1) or more of the current knowledge domains defined for certification already held by the applicant. Learning event content must be based on current, scientifically valid principles. The IATCB reserves the right to request additional information regarding the validity of the content. Knowledge domains can be found in the Candidate Handbook (http://ptcny.com/clients/iatcb/).
As an Attendee/Participant
Attendees/participants will receive 1 CEU per one hour of in-class lecture time.
As a Presenter
Presenters can earn 1.5 CEUs per hour of presentation/lecture, when the learning event meets the subject matter and scientific qualifications outlined under eligibility. Animal training classes regularly offered to the general public as part of a Certificant’s animal training and/or behavior consulting business do not qualify for CEUs.
As a Workshop Coach or Mentor
Coaches and mentors in approved educational events will be granted 1 CEU per hour of in-class lecture attendance during the event.
Publications
Authoring Articles
Authoring an article published in an animal industry or peer-reviewed publication which meets the subject matter and scientific qualifications described below may qualify for 2 CEUs.
An “article” is defined as a researched piece of work, approximately 1000 words or more, and should include references, quotes and citations where appropriate. An animal industry publication is defined by IATCB as printed or electronic reproductions distributed by an industry organization for sale to the public or as a benefit of paid membership.
An author may only request CEUs once per article regardless of the number of publications in which it was published.
Authoring Books
Books covering one or more of the knowledge domains defined for the certification may be granted CEUs for a certification already held.
12 CEUs may be earned for such a published book whose target audience is animal behavior professionals.
8 CEUs may be earned for such a published book aimed at the general public.
Other Eligibility
Awards of CEUs for other types of events or publications may be granted at the discretion of the Board.
Limitations on CEU Credits
Multi-speaker learning events lasting more than three (3) days in length will not be granted more than 30 CEUs.
Single-speaker learning events regardless of length will not be granted more than 20 CEUs.
No more than one-third of CEUs earned in a certification period, i.e. 20 CEUs, can be earned from a person’s own employment as a consultant, teacher, coach, or mentor, for presenting or attending seminars, workshops, lectures, etc. The same rule applies to authoring books in a single certification period.
For degree courses taken through accredited colleges, 5 IATCB CEUs will be granted for each college semester credit hour and 3 CEUs will be granted for each college quarter credit hour. No more than 30 CEUs will be awarded for accredited college courses in a single certification period.
Presenters may apply and receive CEUs only once per presentation, per certification period regardless of the number of times they may present the same presentation within that certification period.
CEUs are awarded and available for application to re-certification only during a single certification period. Once CEUs are used to gain re-certification any balance of CEUs held by the certificant is lost.
Application and Verification of Attendance for CEU Credit
Application for CEUs
An individual or organization hosting a learning event (“Host”) may request CEUs prior to the date of the learning event using the IATCB CEU Request Form. This form is available for download on the IATCB web site (http://www.iatcb.org).
If the Host did not request CEUs, a Certificant may request CEUs for a learning event they attend or have attended using the IATCB CEU Request Form.
All ongoing/on demand courses will be approved for a term of three years, from 1 January to 31 December starting on 1 January of the year of application/approval.
Verification of Attendance
If a host provides a Certificate of Completion, a copy may be submitted by the attendee as proof of attendance when applying for CEUs.
In all other cases a host must request an Event Attendance Form from IATCB and the applicant and host must sign the form.
The Certificate of Attendance/Completion or Event Attendance Form should be emailed to ceus@iatcb.org.
Please note that all CEUs MUST be claimed with two (2) months of the event. Submissions will not be accepted after this period!
CEUs and Multiple Credentials
When Certificants have multiple credentials, e.g. CPBT-KA and CPAT-KA, CEUs earned will be applied to both credentials.
Appeal for Denied CEUs:
In the event that a CEU application is denied, the applicant may appeal to IATCB Board of Directors at info@iatcb.org. The applicant must submit evidence and information in support of the application in writing to support the appeal. The IATCB Board of Directors may, at its sole discretion, request additional information prior to ruling on the appeal. Approval of an appeal requires a 2/3 majority to pass. If the appeal is not granted by the IATCB Board of Directors, the applicant may not reapply for CEUs for the same learning event unless the event content has been significantly altered.
Updated 14 Jan 2024.