What are the definition of PDH, LU and CEU?

Professional Development Hour (PDH) is defined as one contact hour of instruction, presentation or study. The term PDH is commonly used in the engineering community. The maximum PDH for a seminar that starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. with an hour lunch is eight (8). Short breaks are permissible as long as a minimum of 50 minutes of presentation/participation/study per hour is undertaken. If there are no breaks, or there are breaks of less than 10 minutes per hour, no additional time may be claimed. PDH cannot exceed the actual contact clock hours. Round off PDH to the nearest half hour. No activity under a half hour will be accepted for credit. For example, a qualifying activity of 30 to 49 minutes would be reported as 0.5 PDH and an activity of 50 to 70 minutes would be reported as 1.0 PDH. PDH is sometimes called PDU (Professional Development Unit).

Learning Unit (LU) is used by American Institute of Architects 's Continuing Education Systems (AIA/CES) and is based on a 60-minute hour. Time beyond 60 minutes is recorded in quarter hour increments (e.g., 1 hour 45 minutes = 1.75 LUs). Credit should be stated as an AIA/CES Learning Unit hour (AIA/CES LU). In order for programs to qualify for Health , Safety and Welfare (HSW) credit, providers must demonstrate that 75% of the content specifically addresses one or more HSW-related issues. Programs that qualify for HSW credit are identified as “AIA/CES Learning Unit (HSW)?or “AIA/CES LU (HSW).?

Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is a nationally recognized and uniform unit of measure for continuing education and training. One CEU is awarded for each 10 contact hours of instruction or study. When a sponsor of PDH activities fully follows the requirements of the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) in awarding CEU’s, 10 PDHs will be credited for 1 CEU. However, one should be aware that some organizations may advertise CEU credit without having met the requirements of the IACET. In addition, some organizations report one CEU of credit for each contact hour of instruction, which is equivalent to one PDH only.

How do I convert CEU to PDH or LU?

1.0 CEU (Continuing Education Unit) = 10 PDH's or 10 LU's.

1.0 PDH (Professional Development Hour) = 1.0 Clock Hour (minimum 50 minutes).

1.0 LU (Learning Unit) for architects = 1.0 PDH for engineers.

What kinds of activities are qualified as PDH activities?

Determination of qualifying activities must be made by the licensee in the states that do not pre-approve courses or activities. With the broad range of opportunities to earn PDH, it is up to the licensee to determine whether the activity qualifies under the Board’s requirements. The following activities are usually acceptable to the state boards:

• Completing online courses or correspondence courses on topics related to licensee's professional practice (a test is required at the end of the course).
  
• Completing or attending seminars, in-house training programs which relates to the licensee's professional practice.
• Attending technical or professional society meetings when a topic related to the licensee's professional practice is presented as a principal part of the program.
• Teaching a course for the first time or if substantial time has been spent in updating material if previously taught.
• Completing management or ethical courses which relate to the improvement of one's business or profession.

For additional information on typical qualifying and non-qualifying PDH activities, please your state board website.