If your organization offers professional development activities and you would like to promote them for CAE credit, you must become a CAE Registered Provider. A CAE Registered Provider is an organization that has formally registered with the CAE Program and has committed to providing education that meets the CAE Commission’s standards for helping individuals earn or maintain the Certified Association Executive credential. 

To be eligible for CAE credit, courses must be directly related to association or nonprofit management topics as defined by the CAE Exam Content Outline.

Types of Professional Development:

• Live courses (including face-to-face, audio/videoconference, and instructor-led online delivery) earn CAE credit for actual clock time of qualifying education, including partial hours, up to a maximum of eight CAE credits per day. (Example: 1½ hours of qualifying education equals 1.5 CAE credits.)
• College or university courses taken for academic credit at a U.S.-accredited academic institution earn 15 CAE credits per earned college semester credit, 14 CAE credits per earned college trimester credit, and 10 CAE credits per earned college quarter credit. (Example: A three-credit semester course earns 45 CAE credits.)
• Asynchronous: A non-live program used for individual, self-paced study may be recognized for CAE credits if it meets all of the following criteria:
• The program must be suitably recent, as defined by the oldest reference included in the CAE Core Resources.
• The program must have clearly identified learning objectives linked to the CAE Exam Content Outline.
• It must include an interactive component, such as quizzes, post-tests, or other learning assessment exercises or activities, by which participants apply and demonstrate comprehension of the covered content areas.
• The program must meet recognized standards for effective self-study programs.
• Proof of completion (i.e., a certificate of completion) must be submitted by the applicant/certificant with the exam or renewal application. Self-study credits may only account for half of any applicant’s education hours.

Ethics requirement:
Renewing certificants must complete a minimum of 40 CAE credits of association management-related professional development. Of the 40 credits required for renewal, one credit must be focused on ethics. The course(s) must be directly related to either association or nonprofit management as defined by the CAE exam content outline. The course(s) should have ethics in the title or within the official course description. Multiple courses may be taken to complete the ethics requirement as long as the total time of the eligible ethics courses adds up to a minimum of 1 CAE credit (1 clock hour), e.g., two 30-minute courses or two 45-minute courses.

The following are not eligible to earn CAE credit:

• General software/training courses
• Expo hall hours
• Industry-specific programs (not general association management; courses specific to the industry/profession an association represents)
• Networking receptions
• Breaks between educational sessions
• Product-specific promotional courses or training