In today’s complex marketplace, professionals are looking for the best ways to get started in their careers, take their careers to the next level or switch careers completely. Debates are waged about whether to get an academic degree, pursue professional certifications or achieve some combination of the two. Regardless of the path chosen, there is one underlying commonality: education. Receiving an education, and subsequent continuing education, has become an integral component for many professionals to obtain their dream jobs and/or advance their careers.
Where do professionals go to receive such education?
In addition to traditional academic institutions, professional associations provide one of the best sources for those seeking specific certifications and/or continuing education for enterprising workers. Many fields such as social work or law require professional certifications before employees are allowed to work in their respective fields. Other fields such human resources or project management do not necessarily require professional certifications of individuals to conduct their jobs but do encourage those seeking to advance in their careers to pursue such professional certifications.
CEUs
The majority of these certifications require that continuing education units (CEUs) be obtained in order to keep and renew their certifications. Many associations fall into the trap of believing that because they do not offer their own professional certification that they cannot offer CEUs. This is not true. Any organization that is willing and able to meet the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/ International Association for Continuing Education & Training (IACET) standards established for a particular industry may be accredited to award official CEUs. While this process may take time to implement, the payoff would ultimately mean more visibility and higher revenues as more individuals would be seeking out and then paying to take part in the CEU course or program offered by the sponsoring organization.
The Path to Implementation
The tracking, implementing and processing of the individual participants and educational programs themselves may also seem like a daunting task for associations considering this path, but it doesn’t have to be. The key to simplifying these workflows and saving money long term is by having a robust association management system (AMS) that can handle all the pertinent information and process it efficiently. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system is designed to be flexible, to engage a customer/member by including the business rules, workflow, processes and social characteristics from its inception. Altai modules such as Application Management, Certification Management, Re-certification Management, Testing Management, and Education Management are integral components to successfully implementing a CEU program.
Innovative associations are always looking for ways to boost membership and offer meaningful programming. Implementing a CEU program can accomplish both tasks simultaneously. To learn more about how Altai can help you boost the technological implementation of a credentialing program, email sales@altaisystems.com.
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