CES of AIA. American Institute of Architects Continuous education system.

Alexey V.  Krasheninnikov,

Moscow, MARHI, URBANISTIKA. www ud-marhi.ucoz.ru

Continuing education system developed by the AIA to emphasize and record participation in professional learning activities. AIA/CES enables architects to keep current, master new knowledge and skills, plan for the future, and responsibly meet the role society entrusts to a professional. The program also allows members to fulfill a requirement for AIA membership and meet any state mandatory continuing education requirement.

In this role, the program has the potential to be a primary force in the improvement and revitalization of architectural design as a  profession both in USA and in Russian Federation .

What is Mandatory Continuing Education in USA ?

Mandatory Continuing Education (MCE) is education required by a state to retain licensure. Each state has the legal right to establish its own guidelines and requirements. However, most states’ requirements are similar, whether they require architects to meet them annually or biannually. If you, like the average AIA member, have four or more state licenses, you must meet the continuing education requirements for all the states in which you intend to practice.

Most states that require MCE will accept AIA/CES transcripts as documentation for completion of valid continuing education credit. For AIA members, this means that оne single record-keeping system is the documentation needed for reporting your state MCE requirements when requested.

Illinois has instituted MCE in conjunction with the biannual license renewal cycle. Other  state can require 24 hours of learning (what the AIA calls "LU"), 16 of which must be in public protection subjects (what the AIA calls "HSW"). The AIA records continuing education credit CEU in learning unit. One LU hour is equal to contact hour. CEU is equal to 10 contact hours or 10 LU hours.

Eight Ways to Participate in continuous education

1. Attend programs offered by a CES Registered Provider, such as AIA Chicago and a growing list of companies, associations, community colleges and universities. Registered Providers automatically report your learning units to the AIA’s record-keeper.

2. Participate in structured programs (i.e., classes, lectures, conferences and seminars) offered by organizations that are not registered providers, and use a Self-Report Form to tabulate and report your learning units.(http://www.aia.org/education/ces/index.htm)

3. Report your own self-designed study. This would include completing research for a client’s project, preparing to teach a class or give a lecture, studying The Architect’s Handbook of Professional Practice published by AIA, or any kind of self-study in which you are learning something that relates to the practice of architecture. Periodically tabulate and report the learning units you’ve earned using the Self-Report Form.

4. Read the CES-certified articles in Architectural Record. Take the corresponding question-and-answer quiz and complete the abbreviated report form included in the magazine. These articles are also available online at http://www.archrecord.com/. (Note: only eight articles per year can count toward your annual requirement of 18 LU.)

5. Take the AIA Trust Self-Assessment Tests, available online.

6. Attend the AIA convention and/or a national KC conference.

7. Study at your own convenience through NCARB’s Professional Development Program monographs and quizzes.

8.  Earn 2 hours credit (2 LU) hours per calendar year for Professional Community Service which includes volunteer service on committees, boards, and other projects that promote the architectural profession.

Continuous education in the connected economy

Information product content is becoming increasingly interrelated with associated services. This concept is called "blurring” by the book :” Blur: The Speed of Change in the Connected Economy” [1]. In the realm of  professional continues education, there is great potential for "blurred” offerings. Professionals  could have access to customized and filtered information from legal and federal websites and could make decisions about the importance of new educational programs over the Internet. While some technical, infrastructure, and policy issues will take time to sort out, many innovative products and services will be offered over the Internet. Universities need to re-think how they offer services related to continous education in the networked environment. Such activities as reference service, instruction, access to data archives, and staff training need to be re-examined in light of the changes enabled by the Internet and the development of new types of content and services. "Every act of business and the connected organization operates and changes in real time.” Therefore, speed of recognition and response is essential.