Frequently Asked CEU Questions

OCSLHA   Fall, 2008

What is the difference between MDE SB-CEUs and ASHA CEUs?

MDE SB-CEUs represent one method of earning professional development credit for renewal of a Michigan Teaching Certificate.  By signing up for SB-CEUs at the beginning & ending of a workshop and paying the SB-CEU fee, the sponsoring organization creates (or adds to) a participant transcript.  This transcript documents all of the SB-CEUs that the participant has earned through that sponsoring organization.  If you are audited when you go to renew your Michigan Teaching Certificate, the sponsoring organization can print off a copy of your transcript documenting all of the SB-CEUs that you earned there.  It is also a good idea to keep the workshop Certificate of Attendance and agenda for each workshop that you are earning SB-CEUs, in case there is an unforeseen problem with the sponsoring organization’s transcripts in the future.  At this time, OCSLHA offers MDE SB-CEUs for county-wide workshops.

ASHA CEUs represent one method of earning professional development credit for maintenance of ASHA certification.  By registering and paying for ASHA CEUs, ASHA will maintain a transcript documenting all of the ASHA CEUs that the participant has earned.  If you are audited when you go to renew your ASHA certification, your ASHA CE Registry Transcript will be your verification of attendance, so you won’t need to submit any other evidence of attendance.  It is still a good idea to keep the workshop Certificate of Attendance and Agenda even if you are earning ASHA CEUs, in case there is an unforeseen problem with ASHA’s CE Registry in the future.  At this time, OCSLHA does not offer ASHA CEUs for county-wide workshops.

Do I have to earn MDE SB-CEUs in order to renew my Michigan Teaching Certificate?

No.  You may renew your Professional Teaching Certificate with either 18 MDE SB-CEUs or 6 semester credit hours, or a combination of the two (3.0 MDE SB-CEUs = 1 semester credit hour).  If you hold a Teaching Certificate other than the Professional Certificate, check with the educational institution that originally issued your certificate to determine how many MDE SB-CEUs you require.

Do I have to earn ASHA CEUs in order to maintain my ASHA Certification?

No.  You may maintain your ASHA certification with either 3 ASHA CEUs or 30 Certification Maintenance Hours (CMHs).

What are Certification Maintenance Hours?

The Certification Maintenance Hour (CMH) is 60 minutes that you spend in a professional development activity as a learner or participant. CMHs are accumulated through participation in non-ASHA CEU activities for the purpose of maintaining your ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence.  OCSLHA workshops are one method of obtaining CMHs for ASHA certification.  If you choose to use CMHs to maintain your Certificate of Clinical Competence, you will be responsible for obtaining and keeping documentation, such as a Certificate of Attendance and an agenda (or university transcript) that will verify your completion of the activity.  If you are randomly selected for audit, you will be required to report your activities and submit verification of attendance for each activity. CMHs are not considered to be approved by ASHA for any purpose other than meeting the professional development requirement for maintaining ASHA certification. CMHs are not maintained on the ASHA CE Registry.

The activities you choose will be acceptable as long as 1) they occur during your assigned 3-year maintenance interval and 2) you have determined that they are related to the science or contemporary practice of audiology, speech-language pathology, or the speech/language/hearing sciences, and that they will enhance or lead to the acquisition of the knowledge, skills, and competencies necessary to practice independently in your professional practice setting. You will not need to obtain prior approval from ASHA if you choose to participate in non-ASHA professional development activities. When choosing non-ASHA CEU activities, ask yourself the question, “Would my clients, my peers, my allied health professional colleagues, my employer, my professional Code of Ethics recognize this activity as appropriate professional development that will add to or enhance the knowledge and skills needed to practice in my particular practice setting in my specific area of practice?” If the answer is no, then you should not consider using the activity for ASHA certification maintenance.

Can my MDE SB-CEUs be counted toward my ASHA certification requirements?

Yes.  MDE SB-CEUs can be counted towards ASHA certification requirements as CMHs.  Participants are responsible for obtaining and keeping documentation such as a Certificate of Attendance and an agenda that will verify completion of the activity.

Can my attendance at OCSLHA workshops (without earning MDE SB-CEUs) count toward my ASHA certification requirements? 

Yes.  You may accumulate all 30 of your required Certification Maintenance Hours (CMHs) through participation in non-ASHA CEU activities (such as OCSLHA workshops). Remember, however, that non-ASHA CEU activities are not documented on the ASHA CE Registry. You will need to keep your own records of these activities (Certificate of Attendance and agenda) in case you are audited.  You must also be able to document the following information on every activity in which you participate and earned CMHs:

Can my CMHs or ASHA CEUs be counted toward my MDE Teaching Certificate renewal?

No.  Only MDE SB-CEUs or university semester credit hours can be counted towards MDE Teaching Certificate renewal.

For additional information about ASHA certification maintenance, go to http://www.asha.org/certification/maintain-ccc.htm