Behavior Analysts must finish a set number of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in specific timeframes in order to maintain their certification in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).
Many questions circulate around this, such as:
Is it possible to transfer CEUs from one cycle to the next?
The answer would be: no. CEUs must be completed in that particular certification cycle and they cannot be transferred to a new cycle, as per the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.
CEU Carryover and BACB Guidelines
The Behavior Analyst Certification Board stipulates that CEUs are required to be earned and applied in the ongoing certification timeframe. Deadline cycles are treated independently. CEUs are not transferrable to future cycles. To maintain the integrity of the Continuing Education required, and to maintain the up to date knowledge and consistency across all BCBAs, this policy has been put in place.
Why Continuing Education Units Are Not Transferrable
BCBAs are required to be knowledgeable about the nicety of continuing research, ethical concerns, and the development of progressive best practices. Transferring Continuing Education Units to a new cycle would result in the use of potentially outdated information. It maintains the ongoing care and continued education of ABA service providers to maintain a CEU.
What if you go beyond the CEU Requirement?
Should you happen to go beyond the required amount of CEUs in a certain cycle, then you will not be able to transfer those CEUs to the following cycle. Even though there will be efforts of CEUs on your behalf to a certain extent, you will have CEUs in addition to your required amount. Not to mention the fact that there will be countless hours that will be out of your control at that time. Several BCBAs go beyond the required amount of CEUs in order to expand their knowledge in the specialized areas of ethics and in supervision, thereby increasing their professional development. Also, even though the amount of hours you have completed may be out of your control, those additional hours can give you new areas of knowledge in updated research and new practices of that particular area. However, when it comes to the renewal of certification, hours that will be counted are the hours that are needed for your specific cycle.
Strategic CEU Alt, Planning
Hearing BCBAs confess that there will not be a transferring of CEUs listed in the current cycle may cause some disarray; however, there is an easy strategy for coping with that. Strategically planning your required certifications and spreading your hours in your current cycle over the required period will make the renewal periods less stressful!
Conclusion
If required CEUs are completed over the time and not before, there will be the option for professional development in addition to the required hours. However, do not exceed the requirements, as those will not carry over to the following certification cycles. Planning and pacing your required CEUs will bring about a stress-free process of certification renewal.
FAQ
Can you transfer CEUs to future BCBA cycles?
No. Once a CEU is earned, it must stay with that cycle. Only CEUs from that cycle are counted. Cycle transfers are not permitted. This ensures that research and consistency are held across all entry-level certifications.
How does earning more than the required CEUs impact the next BCBA cycle?
The excess CEUs you earned do not count for the next cycle. Beyond what is required, CEUs are a great opportunity to advance your professional practice. Many take the opportunity to obtain CEUs to learn more about clinically-relevant topics, and each enhance their practice.
Why does the BACB limit CEUs?
Continuing education is meant to keep practitioners up to date and research shows what you know. CEU carryovers are not warranted. The BACB requires each cycle to have up to date learning and for practitioners to continuously learn new research and ethics for the practice.
What’s a good strategy for spreading out CEUs so I do not exceed the limit?
The most pragmatic method is planning CEUs for the entire certification cycle in advance, rather than waiting until the last moment. Spreading out the CEUs you are planning for over time is ideal. Tracking progress over time is beneficial for meeting sufficient levels for the goals, without needlessly exceeding a limit, especially if you get some of the required categories like ethics and supervision done earlier. With CEUs, certification, and renewal deadlines, a well-managed plan is achievable, and stress is lessen during the certification renewal reset.
