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PM 77-19

6/13/77

President Donald R. Gerth

Statement of Procedures Concerning Implementation of Continuing Education Unit

The attached statement of procedures concerning the implementation of the Continuing Education Unit on the Dominguez Hills campus is approved.  These procedures were provided by a recent executive memorandum from the Chancellor, which is also attached, and together these two documents constitute a statement of procedure.

The Dean of Community Programs* is responsible for this matter.

From Glenn S. Dumke, Chancellor, October 8, 1976

Executive Order No. 255

“…Implementation of the CEU is optional with each campus.  Those choosing to award CEU’s in connection with non-credit extension activities satisfying established criteria shall develop local policies and procedures consistent with this Executive Order and national standards for the CEU….Questions concerning this Executive Order or its implementation should be addressed to the State University Dean, Continuing Education in this office.

EO 255, Effective October 8, 1976

This Executive Order is issued pursuant to Chapter III, Sections 1 and 2 of the Standing Orders of the Board of Trustees of The California State University and Colleges.

Effective immediately, the following procedures shall govern the implementation and utilization of the Continuing Education Unit as a uniform standard of measurement for non-credit extension program activities at each campus of The California State University and Colleges system.

            I.   IMPLEMENTATION

Each campus is authorized to develop and implement policies and procedures for non-credit extension program activities utilizing the Continuing Education Unit as the standard unit of measurement of individual participation.  Implementation is permissive.  Campuses choosing to utilize the Continuing Education Unit shall develop local policies and procedures consistent with national standards and systemwide requirements provided hereafter.

            II.  CRITERIA FOR INDIVIDUAL PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES

Each campus shall develop its own criteria for non-credit extension programs and activities for which individuals may be awarded Continuing Education Units.  As a minimum, these criteria shall include the following:

*Editorial note:  Current title is Dean of Extended Education

         A.  The activity is planned to meet the educational needs of a specific target

     population whose representatives have had an opportunity for input into

     the planning process, along with faculty (or other qualified experts

     approved by the appropriate campus authority) and campus personnel

     assigned responsibility for the administration of such activities.

         B.  The following program elements are determined during the planning

    stages and prior to the time the program is approved for implementation: 

    program purposes and objectives; student performance requirements;

    evaluation procedures suitable for measuring the effectiveness of program

    design and operation; and the number of CEU’s to be awarded for

    satisfactory completion of performance requirements.

          C.  The program or activity is of an instructional nature and is sponsored or

     approved by an academic or administrative unit of the campus best

     qualified to determine the quality of the program content and to approve

     the resource personnel required.

          D.  Provisions have been made for student registration, which include the

     gathering of sufficient information from the student to ensure a permanent

     record of individual participation.

            III.   ADMINISTRATION

Each campus shall develop local administrative policies and procedures which, at a minimum, shall provide for the following:

         A.  Assignment of local administrative responsibility for the program to appropriate campus     

              personnel.

         B.  Record-keeping and reporting functions.  Such policies and procedures

     should ensure that a permanent record is maintained for all CEU’s

    awarded and for all programs for which the awarding of CEU’s is

    authorized.  The form and content of these records should be consistent

    with nationally recognized standards for the maintenance of Continuing

    Education Unit records for students and for programs.

         C.  Program review and approval procedures that are consistent with

    procedures utilized in connection with other continuing education programs

    sponsored by the campus.

         D.  Program instructional and resource personnel review and approval

    procedures that are consistent with procedures utilized in connection with

    other continuing education programs sponsored by the campus.

         E.  Steps to preclude duplicate record-keeping when such a program is jointly

    sponsored by another campus.

IV.       FISCAL MANAGEMENT

              A.   Non-credit continuing education programs and activities for which

Continuing Education Units are to be awarded shall be operated in

accordance with the policies and procedures governing the Continuing

Education Revenue Fund.  Revenues derived from such programs and

activities shall be deposited in this fund in accordance with existing

procedures for revenues derived from self-supporting instructional

programs.

              B.   Fees for such programs shall be determined locally on the basis of

estimated cost per person and shall be approved by the president or the

president’s designee.

              C.  In determining the fee for such programs, courses, and activities, the

campus shall detail the costs to be supported by the fee (including the cost

of salaries, materials, travel, student services and accommodations, etc.)

and shall specify the number of students expected to enroll in the program. 

A permanent record of these details shall be maintained in auditable

condition by the campus.

V.        GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

               A.  For the purposes of The California State University and Colleges system,

one Continuing Education Unit is defined as ten hours of participation in

an organized continuing education experience under responsible

sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction.  Campuses may,

however, choose to award a decimal fractional part of a Continuing

Education Unit when appropriate.

     B.  The Continuing Education Unit is a flexible unit of measurement for non-

credit continuing education activities and can be used to record an

individual’s participation in non-credit activities, courses and programs;

and in non-traditional modes of non-credit continuing education activities,

including various forms of independent and informal study.

               C.  In computing the number of Continuing Education Units to be awarded,

only the number of complete instructional hours, or the equivalent, shall

be considered.  (For example, a program involving 18.5 contact hours

would award a maximum of 1.8 CEU’s).

               D.  The Continuing Education Unit is not to be confused with the semester or

quarter unit as defined in Section 40103 of Title 5 of the California

Administrative Code.  In no instance shall Continuing Education Units be

converted to units of academic credit (e.g., semester or quarter units).                                                                      

[signed by Glenn S. Dumke, Chancellor]

THE CONTINUING EDUCATION UNIT

In 1968 thirty-four national organizations met to explore the feasibility of a uniform unit of measurement.  A thirteen–member Task Force was appointed to delineate and define the unit.  This Task Force developed the concept of the continuing education unit.  Hereinafter referred to as the CEU, the continuing education unit has been designed as a uniform unit of measurement to facilitate the accumulation and exchange of standardized information about individual participation in noncredit continuing education.  The CEU is applicable whether information is transmitted from one person to another, from one institution to another, from individual to organization, from employee to employer, from one area of the country to another, or from one time period to another.  The CEU may be used for the quantitative measurement, recording reporting, accumulation, transfer and recognition of participation by adults in noncredit continuing education activities.

DEFINITION OF THE CONTINUING EDUCATION UNIT

One Continuing Education Unit is defined as ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience under responsible sponsorship, capable direction, and qualified instruction.  The contact hour is defined as a typical fifty-minute classroom instructional session, or its equivalent.  An organized educational experience presumes there has been planning to meet a specific need.

OBJECTIVES

Objectives fulfilled through the application of the CEU include:

1. To assure that proper procedures are developed and followed by persons or agencies seeking

    approval of an activity through which CEU’s are awarded.

2. To systematize the recording and reporting system for participation in noncredit continuing

    education programs.

3. To standardize the unit of measure in continuing education activities as the CEU and to

    provide a record of individual student participation in such activities.

         4. To provide a uniform method for compiling quantitative data on participation in continuing

             education activities and to allow for the easy reporting of these data to state and    

             national authorities.

         5.  To permit the development of a method of reporting individual participation in continuing

              education activities through an official transcript system.

AWARDING AND GRANTING CONTINUING EDUCATION UNITS

The determination of the number of continuing education units to be granted and awarded for a particular educational experience is the responsibility of the Dean of Community Programs* or of a person designated by the Dean.  Such a determination will be based upon the recommendation of the director or instructor of the continuing education activity.

And upon the application of the following criteria:

         1.  Does the activity meet the requirement of being an organized continuing education

              experience; i.e., is there evidence of careful planning of the activity?

         2.  Does the program have qualified instruction and direction to assure that the educational

              objectives will be fulfilled?

3.  Will a record of the units awarded be of value to the participants?

The number of units will be determined by applying the formula of ten contact hours equals one CEU with fractions of CEU’s being rounded off to the nearest tenth.  Thus a program of 43 contact hours would be equal to 4.3 CEU’s.  Reasonable allowances may be made for activities such as required reports, laboratory assignments, field trips, and supervised study.

The following suggestions for the possible application of the CEU for California State College, Dominguez Hills** programs are offered as illustrations but should not be considered as limitations on the use of the unit:

          1.  Noncredit intensive courses, seminars, or workshops in technical and professional areas (i.e.,

              for engineers, lawyers, teachers, nurses, social workers, managers, etc.).

          2.  In-service training programs for persons requiring knowledge of new techniques or

               technologies.

3.  Programs to be used in partial fulfillment of certificate or licensing requirements.

         4.  Programs offered in cooperation with technical or industrial societies through the University

              and designed to upgrade members in occupational or technical areas.

5.  Liberal education courses or workshops for the general public.

*Current title is Dean of Extended Education.

**Current name is California State University, Dominguez Hills.

6.  Training programs for paraprofessionals.

7.  Vocational training programs.

The following are examples of programs through which the CEU will not be awarded:

1.  Any program carrying academic credit.

2.  Programs leading to high school equivalency certificates or diplomas.

3.  Orientation programs.

          4.  Programs of short duration only casually related to any specific upgrading of skills or

              knowledge of content.

ADMINISTRATION 

The administration of this program will be assigned to the Division of Community Programs.*  All programs awarding CEU’s will be approved and coordinated through Community Programs.*

RECORD-KEEPING

All records will be maintained in the Office of Admissions and Records and transcripts will be issued according to normal campus procedures.  Participants in programs awarding CEU’s will have permanent record cards assigned to them with the usual student numbers in sequence.  The non-credit and CEU classes will be listed on the PRC as follows:

                                                            Units    Grade

1.         NCC    123      01        Title          0      (CR  (for completion of program))

2.         CEU    123      01        Title        4.3     (NC  (for non-completion of program))

GRADING

All activities through which CEU’s are awarded will utilize a credit/no credit grading system.  The program approval form will specify what constitutes satisfactory performance.  For some activities regular attendance only will be required for a satisfactory grade.  For others specific projects, papers, or other types of involvement may be required.  Normally examinations will not be used to determine a level of content knowledge.  A program designed to develop a competency or set of competencies should require a demonstration of it or them by the participant.  “No credit” will convey non-completion of the program for whatever reason and would permit repetition of the program without penalty.

*Current name is Division of Extended Education