Continuing Education Categories
Continuing Education Unit (CEU) Requirements, Descriptions & DocumentationEffective January 1, 2011 24 CEUs are required every two years to maintain your certification. CEUs are due by the Certified Through date indicated on your PCH ID card. CEUs may be earned and reported in either educational and service categories or all in the educational category. Service CEUs are optional and a maximum of 8 CEUs may be reported in this category. Track your CEUs earned during the two-year recertification period on the CEU Reporting From and return this form to PLNA with your recertification renewal fee by your Certified-Through date.
Education Categories
Certified Individuals must report at least 16 of the required 24 CEUs from the following five educational categories. If reporting less than 24 CEUs in education, the remaining CEUs (maximum of 8) must be reported in qualifying service categories as described below.
Educ1 - Earns 1 CEU per hour of instruction
Continuing education, conferences, and seminars presented by national, regional, or state green industry associations or Penn State Extension. Subject matter must be green industry or job related. Other PRE-APPROVED programs are included in this category.
Examples: GIC, ANLA Management Clin, Penn State Extension programs,. These must be Professional level courses. Seminars geared tword consumers such as DIY classes or seminars at consumer home & garden shows DO NOT qualify.PLEASE NOTE THAT WITH THE CHANGE IN CATEGORIES VIEWING EXHIBITS AND TIME ON A TRADESHOW FLOOR DOES NOT QUALIFY FOR CEUs.
Documentation required: Copy of event brochure or flyer with sessions attended indicated and proof of registration or signed PLNA CEU Certification Form or documentation of in-house training pre-approval from PLNA (if applicable).
Educ2 - Earns 15 CEUs per credit hour
College/University course work and/or College/University sponsored distance or online learning. Subject areas in horticulture only.
Examples: Colleges/Universities in PA that have approved programs are Bidwell Training Center, Chatham University, Delaware Valley College, Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC), Lehigh Carbon Community College, Luzerne County Community College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Penn State University, Williamson Free Trade School, Temple University
Documentation required: Proof of completion (certificate or transcript).
Educ3 - Earns 1 CEU per hour of instruction (1 pesticide credit equals .5 CEUs)
Education supporting green industry license completion or renewal, e.g. pesticide applicator license.
Examples: Contractor license, pesticide applicator license. Please note Pennsylvania Pesticide credits do not equate evenly for PCH CEUs. One (1) PCH CEU will be earned for every two (2) Pesticide credits earned. For example six (6) pesticide credits equal three (3) PCH CEUs.
Educ4 - Earns 8 CEUs for each new certification earned
New certification or designation must be earned during the recertification period. Any additional certifications held at the time of earning PCH designation do not qualify.
Examples: Any PLANET certification (Landscape Industry Certified), APLD, RLA, ISA, Irrigation Association
Documentation required: Copy of completion certificate or award letter.
Educ5 - Earns 1 CEU per hour of course preparation, article writing or reading time (Limit 12 CEUs per recertification period)
Writing articles or books for publication, preparing presentations at schools, professional conferences, workshop or programs or reading materials as part of self-study. Subject matter must be green industry related. Each article, presentation and self-study material may be counted only once during a two-year recertification period and cannot earn additional CEUs in future recertification periods unless proof is given that a considerable amount of further research and/or preparation was completed. Fur CEUs awarded for actual presentation, see Serv4 category.
Examples: Articles for Pennsylvania Landscape & Nursery magazine.
Documentation required with CEU Submission Form upon recertification:
Presentations - Speaking Documentation Form
Article Writing - Writing Documentation Form
Reading/Self-Study - Book Reporting Form
Service Categories (Optional)
Certified individuals may report a maxiumum of 8 service CEUs earned from the following five (5) Service categories. The remainder of the individual's CEUs (16-24) must be reported in qualifying Education categories.
Serv1 - Earns .5 CEUs per hour on site
Participation in a PRE-APPROVED service event. See guidelines for PRE-APPROVAL.
Documentation: Documentation of participation from sponsoring organization with date/location of event and/or PLNA CEU Certification Form.
Serv2 - Earns .5 CEUs per hour on site
Serving as a Landscape Industry Certified Technician - Exterior exam Judge or JTA. Participation on test day. Proctor for PCH or CLT written exam.
Documentation: PLNA will verify.
Serv3 - Earns .5 CEUs per hour
Service on Board of Directors or a Committee chair for a national, regional or state green industry association.
Documentation: Offical Leadership Roster from organization and schedule of meetings attended.
Serv4 - Earns 1 CEU per hour
Teaching or presenting at schools, professional conferences, workshop or programs. Subject matter must be green industry or job related. For CEUs awarded from preparation of presentation see Educ5 category.
Documentation:
Presentations - Speaker Documentation Form
Serv5 - CEUs awarded based on level of participation (min .5 CEU, max 4 CEUs)
Participation on PLNA.com and OutdoorLivingPA.com Blogs and Forums. Contact PLNA to acquire login information and guidelines.
Documentation: PLNA will monitor participation.
To download a copy of these descriptions click here
To download a summary grid of CEU categories click here
Questions? Contact Cathy Corrigan, Certification Administrator at ccorrigan@PLNA.com or 800.898.3411 ext. 102.
