Fall 2008

Certification Maintenance
Quarterly Achievement Report

Each quarter, APA Interact for Certified Planners will share CM achievement with all AICP members to track our progress and help you benchmark your own. The first two-year CM reporting period began on January 1, 2008, although many AICP members began earning credits as early as April 14, 2007, at the National Planning Conference in Philadelphia.

As of September 30, 2008, 56 percent of current AICP members have logged CM credits, 28 percent have logged at least half of the required credits, and 6 percent have logged 32 or more credits. We expect these numbers to increase in the next quarter as a number of APA Chapters hosted fall educational conferences. Many chapters distributed collateral materials to conference attendees, reinforcing the availability of CM credit and reminding AICP members to log credits earned. 

Most regions of the United States are on par with the national average of credits earned and recorded by members. We continually monitor the availability of CM events. Chances to earn credit closely match the geographic distribution of AICP members, with the exception of those located in remote areas within and outside of the United States. Distance education opportunities such as online courses, audio/web conferences, CD-ROMs, as well as podcasts will continue to play an important role in helping all AICP members fulfill their CM requirements. 

APA's first online course, "Planning for Healthy Communities with Health Impact Assessments," which launched over the summer, offers six CM credits at no cost to members. Additional online courses on law and ethics should be available to members later this year. In addition, a podcast of the 2008 AICP National Symposium, will be available to members in late November, offering 2.5 CM credits at no cost. APA will continue to explore options for offering members low- and no-cost credits.

APA has reached out to more than 1,000 potential providers, including new provider referrals by members and leadership. Currently, more than 300 have registered CM activities with AICP.

AICP has approved nearly 1900 CM events with an average offering of 7 CM credits each. We anticipate this number to increase significantly with the introduction of more flexible provider fee options, such as unlimited annual and weekly/daily options and bundled credits.

Finally, a number of improvements have been made to the APA website that makes it easier for members to find and report CM activities. Additional enhancements are underway and this will remain a top priority for the organization.