Continuing Education Units (CEU)
A continuing education unit (CEU) is defined as ten contact hours of participation in an organized continuing education experience. CEUs must be offered by one of the approved entities to count for EEC renewal. Access to CEUs for NC’s early care and education and school age professionals will continue to grow over the next several months, offering an expanded list of accessible, afordable options.
If you are an adult educator, interested in becoming a CEU instructor, or are planning an early childhood conference and are interested in building CEUs to offer to NC’s early care and education and school age professionals, you can find resources here to help you learn how to build strong sessions. And watch the Institute’s web site for more information on trainer guidelines and training opportunities for adult educators to be offered — online and in-person — this fall!
CEUs may be used to comply with staff education requirements for the following:
- NC child care facility licensure through the NC Division of Child Development (DCD),
- More at Four teachers through the NC Office of Early Learning,Teacher Licensure Unit
- NC Department of Public Instruction (DPI) teacher licensure renewal
- Early Educator Certification renewal (Learn more!)
Finding CEU opportunities
Below are a list of CEU sources. In North Carolina colleges, universities, some child care resource & referral agencies, NC Office of Early Learning and the NC Department of Public Instruction combined offer several continuing education unit opportunities. Nationally, there are several vendors that offer CEUs online as well (see below). In addition, Child Development Media, which provides CEUs through UNC-CH and FPG Child Development Institute, offers CEUs in video/DVD formats with accompanying tests which may be purchased by individuals or groups.
CEU Sources
We’re working with partners to build the supply. Send us your needs and ideas to director@ncicdp.org!
North Carolina Options
- NC Office of Early Learning (online training Foundations: NC’s Early Learning Standards for NC Preschoolers and Strategies for Guiding their Success = .5 CEUs)
- Project Enlightenment (online and in-person workshops offered through Wake County school system)
- NC Community Colleges (continuing education departments offer short courses)
- NC Public Schools: Exceptional Children (summer Institutes)
- NC Cooperative Extension (online and in-person training)
- Partnerships for Inclusion (in-person trainings)
- NC Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (training format and availability varies by agency)
- LEARN NC (online short courses)
- NC State University (conferences, online and in-person trainings)
- UNC-Chapel Hill Continuing Education Program (online and in-person training)
- Wake County Family Child Care Association – CEU opportunities coming soon!
National Options
- Child Care Education Institute (online sessions)(in partnership with University of Wisconsin-Stout, offers continuing education requirements online in two different ways: read an issue of Exchange magazine or read a selection of Exchange articles based on a topic (28 different modules now available)
- Child Care Information Exchange Magazine
- Child Development Media (DVD/video and online courses approved through UNC-CH FPG Child Development Institute)
- PBS TeacherLine (consumers need to check to see if course is approved by a university or IACET)
- Organizations approved by IACET to offer CEUs
Earning College Credits – Credit Count Too!
Certified individuals have three or five years to complete their renewal requirements, based on their EEC level, and may attain college credits to meet those requirements. T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® now has a scholarship that can support attaining college credits for EEC renewal, even if you already have a degree. Download the FAQ and application or learn more about T.E.A.C.H. on the CCSA website.
Tools for Learning Online
- Am I ready for distance learning? (quiz)
- Distance learning calculator (figure out how much you save by learning online!)
- Guide to Distance Learning for Early Childhood Students
- Child Care Information Exchange Tools
- Distance Learning Dictionary
Seeking Approval for CEU Sessions
The Institute does not grant approval or CEUs for individual sessions. If you wish to offer a CEU session that will count for EEC renewal, contact an approval entity to learn what is required according to their respective guidelines.
Training Options Continue
Individuals interested in seeking trainings or workshops for contact hours approved by the NC Division of Child Development will continue to find sessions available in North Carolina as well through child care resource and referral and Smart Start agencies, private companies, employers and more.
