Are you in Compliance with APEGBC’s CPD Guideline?
Over the next few weeks, members will be asked to indicate whether they have met the requirements of the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Guideline for the 2007 calendar year by signing a statement on their 2008 annual dues form. The statement of compliance, will read as follows:
I am pursuing continuing professional development in accordance with the CPD Guideline. This year I have accrued ____ professional development hours.
This statement of compliance will also be available on the online version of the annual dues form.
The CPD Guideline outlines the types of activities and the amount of professional development that practicing members should be undertaking. Developed after extensive benchmarking of programs from other Canadian jurisdictions and other professions, it is designed to provide flexibility to meet members' unique requirements.
Compliance with the CPD Guideline is recommended but not mandatory. It is important to note that under the Code of Ethics, members who choose not to report that they have met the requirements of the CPD Guideline are still required to keep up to date and to practice only in those fields where their knowledge is current.
To meet the requirements of the CPD Guideline, members must complete an average of 30 hours per year (90 hours on a three-year rolling average). Hours are accrued as Professional Development Hours (PDH) where 1 PDH = one hour of relevant professional development activity. The four categories of eligible CPD activities are: Formal (e.g., structured courses, programs or seminars that are at least 4 hours in length), Informal (e.g., self-directed study, journal reading, seminars, technical field trips, trade shows), Participation (e.g., mentoring, committee meetings), and Presentations and Contributions to Knowledge (e.g., presentations, writing papers, developing codes and standards). Members are required to complete activities from at least two of the four categories and a maximum of 20 PDH can be claimed in any one category in a calendar year.
To help keep track of their CPD activities, members may use the Online CPD Reporting Centre, though use of this system is not necessary to meet the requirements of the CPD Guideline.
For more detailed information on the CPD program or for a copy of the CPD Guideline, please visit the APEGBC website at www.apeg.bc.ca/prodev/cpdmain.html.