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Continuing Education
How many Continuing Education Units (CEUs) do I need?
A total of 40 CCA continuing education units (CEUs) are needed to complete a two-year cycle of CCA continuing education.
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What is the reporting period for CEUs?
The CEU reporting period runs from January 1 to December 31 annually.
What if I get more than 40 CEUs within a 2-year reporting period?
At the end of each two-year reporting period, CEUs earned return to zero. The hours you accumulate over the 40 required hours cannot be used during your next cycle.
Can I get all 40 CEUs in one category?
A minimum of five CEUs must come from each of the four categories:
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Nutrient Management (NM)
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Soil and Water Management (SW)
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Integrated Pest Management (PM)
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Crop Management (CM)
A new category, Professional Development (PD), was implemented in January 2003. For more information on this category, please view the August 2003 CCA Newsletter. CCAs may earn up to 5 PD CEUs every 2 years. There is no minimum requirement for PD CEUs.
What are board-approved CEUs?
Board-approved CEUs are credits that have been approved by the Colorado CCA board or the ICCA board. Board-approved CEUs can be found on ICCA's CEU calendar or on the Colorado CEU calendar.
Colorado CCAs are required to have a minimum of 20 board-approved CEUs during each 2-year reporting period.
What are self-reported CEUs?
Self-reported CEUs, formerly known as self-directed CEUs, are continuing education events including meetings, seminars, symposia, and/or short courses that meet one or more of the ICCA performance objectives, but are not pre-approved by the Colorado CCA board. The CEU reporting form must be filled out to receive credit. The number of CEUs granted per topic is related to contact time as follows:
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30 to 45 minutes = 0.5 CEUs
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46 to 75 minutes = 1.0 CEUs
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76 to 105 minutes = 1.5 CEUs
Colorado CCAs are required to have a minimum of 20 board-approved CEUs during each 2-year reporting period. The remaining 20 hours can be any combination of self-study, self-reported, or board-approved credits.
What are self-study CEUs?
Self-study credits are credits you can do on your own time which include a test which is signed by you and graded. To obtain credit for self-study CEUs, you must complete an exam on the material and achieve a passing score of 70% or provide proof of successful completion of a correspondence course. Self-study materials are most readily found online at ICCA's Continuing Education Self Study Exams web site or in the CCA Advantage newsletter found in the Ag Retailer magazine.
Colorado CCAs are required to have a minimum of 20 board-approved CEUs during each 2-year reporting period. The remaining 20 hours can be any combination of self-study, self-reported, or board-approved credits.
What is the process to apply for board-approved CEUs? (For meeting organizers)
Courses must be submitted for approval by the meeting organizerr. If you plan on attending a course that you feel should be eligible for CCA credits, you should ask the meeting organizer to request a CEU Application Form and submit it to John Mortvedt for approval. The meeting organizer, however, is the only one who can submit the program to be considered for approval.
Every course submitted for CEU credit should use the CEU Standards Booklet to reference the educational area, subject matter, and, when available, the area of expertise that best defines the scope of the continuing education program. Refer to the Instructions for CEU Application Form for assistance on completing the CEU application form.
Meeting organizers for future meetings should submit their CEU applications early enough (preferably 30 days prior to the event) so they can be processed and to allow time for advertisement of the event. Please do not advertise until you have received approval in the case that all of the CEUs applied for are not accepted.
John Mortvedt evaluates all applications of meetings with CEUs, approves eligible CEUs, and sends them to the International CCA Headquarters in Madison, WI for recordkeeping. Send applications to:
John Mortvedt Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences Colorado State University Ft. Collins, CO 80523-1170 Phone (970) 491-5840 Fax (970) 491-2758 John.Mortvedt@colostate.edu topHow do I get CEUs once I'm at a meeting?
When you attend a meeting that contains topics which are considered acceptable for CCA CEUs, it is your responsibility to ensure that you get your CEU credits by properly signing in on the sign-in sheet. Courses that are submitted for CCA credit before the meeting occurs will have a printed CEU sign-in sheet sent by the ICCA office. Please print and sign your name and provide your CCA certification number. Your CCA certification number must be provided to receive credit. In the past it was acceptable to write a social security number in place of a CCA number if the CCA number was not known or readily available. With the current increase in the number of identity thefts, Colorado CCA no longer recommends using a social security number for this purpose.
If the meeting organizer has not applied for CEUs or has applied for them recently, he/she may not have the “official” sign-in sheet. If this occurs, download a copy of the sign-in sheet from the ICCA website. A blank sheet may also be used, including the meeting title, location, and date; printed name and signature; and CCA number.
What if I go to a meeting that doesn't have CEUs available?
If you attend a meeting that you feel should be eligible for CCA CEUs, but the meeting organizer has not applied for CEUs, you should ask him/her to provide a sign-up sheet for the names of attendees and their CCA number. The meeting provider should then contact John Mortvedt for post-approval of CEUs. If the meeting organizer does not submit those CEUs for approval, then you may report the CEUs as self-reported CEUs, but they are NOT part of the 20 minimum board-approved credits per 2-year cycle.
How do I get CEUs for meetings outside of Colorado?
The Colorado CCA Board will automatically accept credits for any approved programs in adjoining states (Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Wyoming). Sign the attendance sheet along with your CCA number to get proper credit.
If you attend a meeting in a state which does not adjoin Colorado, but the meeting has received ICCA approval, you may receive the ICCA approved CEUs. If the meeting has only been approved in the state in which the meeting was held but has not received ICCA approval, you can report the hours as self-reported.
You should follow up on out-of-state CEUs to make sure that your credit is posted in your records. If not, contact Lorene Peterson of the ICCA office in Madison, WI at (608) 268-4955.
How do I report missing board-approved CEUs?
If you have attended a meeting and have not received proper credit, complete the Missing CEU Form with the meeting details. ICCA cannot accept changes over the phone. Remember that there is no carryover of CEUs from one cycle to another.
Where can I find CEUs on the web?
Colorado Certified Crop Adviser Program
Dept. of Soil and Crop Sciences
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1170
This website last updated: May 13, 2009