Maintaining Certification (CEUs/CPDs)
What are CEUs/CPDs?
Continuing Education Units (CEUs)/Continuing Professional Development (CPDs) help members of professional associations maintain, improve, and broaden their knowledge and skills and develop the personal qualities required in their professional lives. CEUs and CPDs are interchangeable terms used to describe the process of credentialed professionals maintaining and broadening their knowledge base throughout their careers.
They can be achieved by obtaining and developing a wide range of knowledge, skills and experience, which are not normally acquired during initial training or routine work, and which together develop and maintain competence to practice.
Why CEUs/CPDs?
The Continuing Education Unit (CEU)/Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program, in support of the APMP Certification Program ensures that those who hold an APMP signature certification demonstrate ongoing commitment to professional growth and development. This is a criterion of all high-end professional associations and organizations.
The purpose of APMP’s CEU/CPD program is to:
- enhance the ongoing professional development of those certified.
- encourage and recognize individual learning opportunities.
- offer a standardized and objective mechanism for attaining and recording professional development activities.
- sustain the APMP as a globally recognized certification credential that meets international standards.
Maintaining Your APMP Certification
Each level of APMP certification requires that you maintain your credentials through ongoing professional development, measured in Continued Education Units (CEUs) or Continuing Professional Development (CPDs).
Certified members have two years to earn the required number of CEUs/CPDs as described in the chart below. Upon completion of CEUs/CPDs, your certification is renewed another two years (and the count of CEUs/CPDs resets to zero). CEUs/CPDs must be obtained and maintained every two years. Please look below and see how many CEUs/CPDs you need for the highest level of APMP certification you have. If you have Foundation Level, you’ll need 20 CEUs/CPDs, Practitioner, Professional, and Capture Practitioner need 40.
| APMP Certification Level | Required CEUs/CPDs to Maintain Certification |
| Foundation Level (CF APMP) |
20 CEUs/CPDs |
| Practitioner Level (CP APMP) |
40 CEUs/CPDs |
| Capture Practitioner Level (CAP APMP) | 40 CEUs/CPDs |
| Professional Level (CPP APMP) |
40 CEUs/CPDs |
| Executive Summaries Micro-Certification (ES-M APMP) | 0 CEUs/CPDs |
| Bid & Proposal Writing Micro-Certification (BW-M APMP) | 0 CEUs/CPDs |
| Graphics Micro-Certification (GR-M APMP) | 0 CEUs/CPDs |
| Competitive Price To Win Micro-Certification (PW-M APMP) | 0 CEUs/CPDs |
How do I note my APMP Certifications when I have more than one?
- Once you have earned the Practitioner-Level Certification (CP APMP), there is no need to list the Foundation-Level Certification
- Once you have earned the Professional-Level Certification (CPP APMP), there is no need to list the Practitioner-Level Certification
- If you have earned the Foundation-Level Certification and the Capture Practitioner Certifications, it might look like this: CF CAP APMP
- If you have a Signature Certification along with Micro-Certifications, it might look like this: CP ES-M BW-M APMP (Signature Certification first, Micro-Certification(s) last)
How to Earn CEUs/CPDs
Continuing education is the core of your APMP Certification. You can maintain your APMP certification by earning CEUs/CPDs through APMP education, ATO training.
The CEU/CPD fulfillment is in place to increase and/or demonstrate your knowledge of current best practices and current industry trends.
| APMP Conferences (For example, BPC, BPC Europe, Women’s Virtual Conference (WVC), Capture and Business Development Conference (CBDC), AI Conference, Leadership Conference, etc.) | 1 CEU/CPD per hour of educational session attended |
| APMP Chapter Events | |
| Approved Training (Provided by APMP’s Approved Training Organizations (ATOs) that does not compete with APMP education conferences or programs. APMP’s Board of Directors determines what programs are competitive) |
|
| APMP Webinars | 1 CEU/CPD per webinar |
| Successful Completion of a Micro-Certification | 2 CEUs/CPDs per exam |
| Award Judges | 1 CEU/CPD per hour served as a judge for a maximum of 10 CEUs/CPDs |
| Volunteer Activities | 1 CEU/CPD per hour served as a volunteer for a maximum of 10 CEUs/CPDs |
| APMP Self-study Minimum one-hour commitment to self-study of APMP materials (e.g., researched APMP BoK to develop template; read Review Management chapter and created checklist). Please note that APMP is NOT able to provide CEUs/CPDs for self-study materials produced independently of APMP because we are unable to review all non-APMP-produced materials to ensure that they meet APMP Best Practices as referenced in the APMP BoK. |
Up to 3 CEUs/CPDs per three hours of study per 2-year period. |
Serving the profession as a volunteer leader.
Your time spent as an APMP volunteer leader can provide countless opportunities for professional (and personal) growth.
- You must remain in good standing throughout your tenure
- CEUs/CPDs are prorated in the case of partial years' service
- CEUs/CPDs per two-year cycle
| APMP Board of Directors | 20 CEUs/CPDs |
| APMP Chapter Board of Directors | 15 CEUs/CPDs |
| APMP Committees | 15 CEUs/CPDs |
| APMP Affinity Group Leaders | 15 CEUs/CPDs |
| APMP Mentor/Mentee (with a letter from the mentor/mentee for verification) | 5 CEUs/CPDs |
| APMP Subject Matter Expert | Up to 10 CEUs/CPDs |
Contributing content.
Preparing for and presenting educational content for APMP audiences is a wonderful way of earning CEUs/CPDs.
- Content must be related to our industry specifically and follow the APMP Body of Knowledge
| APMP Educational presentation/webinars | 10 CEUs/CPDs |
| Educational presentation/webinars outside of APMP, covering APMP BoK topics (audience 30+ participants) |
3 CEUs/CPDs |
| Book written/published (covering APMP BoK topics) | 15 CEUs/CPDs |
| Article/column/blog published that follows APMP’s Body of Knowledge (print and/or online) | 5 CEUs/CPDs |
| Podcast/video published that covers an APMP BoK topic | 5 CEUs/CPDs |
Other activities.
| APMP may consider other efforts and experiences as qualifying toward earning CEUs/CPDs as long as they relate to APMP’s Body of Knowledge, such as external programs that help you in your profession, including conferences, seminars, webinars, etc. 1 hour = 1 CEU/CPD | 1 CEU/CPD (Maximum of 3) |
If you have a question about whether a program qualifies for CEUs/CPDs, please reach out to APMP director of certification Kimberly Kissel at [email protected].
To ensure a prompt response, please include the title, description, author/training company, and summary of key learning points for the program and how it relates to the APMP Body of Knowledge.
When reporting CEU/CPD activities, is any supporting documentation required?
For all activities outside of APMP, you will need to maintain supporting documentation to report CEUs/CPDs to the CEU/CPD Tracker on APMP’s website. APMP recommends you maintain a personal folder for all CEU/CPD-related documentation and keep this documentation for at least 2 years after each activity. If you are randomly selected for an audit, you will need to provide this documentation.