Frequently Asked CEC and
Recertification Questions
What is recertification?
ACSM's credentialing programs
encourage ongoing competency and continuing education and strive to
maintain a high standard for our certified and registered professionals.
Therefore, all ACSM credentialed professionals are required to recertify
or renew their credentials. The requirements for maintaining an ACSM
credential vary by level, but all professionals who are ACSM certified
or members of the Registry for Clinical Exercise Physiologists are
required to earn a specific amount of continuing education credits
(CECs) during their certification/registry cycle. Along with this
educational component, ACSM charges a nominal administrative fee for
recertification/renewal.
What do I need to do in order to recertify?
You will receive recertification
information during the spring of the year you are due to recertify. In
order to recertify without retaking the certification examination
again, you must renew online at www.acsm.org/recertify and pay the recertification fee. Please keep all
documentation of CECs for your records. ACSM conducts random audits
each year. If audited, you will be required to provide documented proof
of all credits to the ACSM National Office.
How can I earn ACSM CEC?
Earn CEC's for educational
programs, meetings, conferences, workshops, and other at home study
programs from ACSM Approved Providers at www.acsm.org/cecs. ACSM’s Education Department reviews programs that
meet specific educational guidelines and are recognized as ACSM approved
providers.
Where can I view back issues of Certified News Self
Tests?
Earn 4 CEC’s per issue of
Certified News at www.acsm.org/certifiednews. Issues expire 1 year after publication. The
processing fee is $15 for members, $20 for non members per
issue.
Can I use CECs earned by other organizations?
The ACSM Certification &
Registry Department will recognize CECs, CMEs, or CEUs awarded by other
professional health & fitness or clinical organizations for
attending their programs without it being pre-approved by the ACSM
Education Department. The program must be related to your
certification and you must obtain documentation from that organization
verifying attendance and the number of CECs earned. ACSM does not accept CECs
for certification exams, professional memberships, committee involvement
or CPR training. Please keep all documentation of non-ACSM CECs
for your records in case you are audited.
(ACE, NSCA, NASM - 0.1 = 1.0 ACSM CEC; AFAA - 1.0 = 1.0 ACSM
CEC)
How do I get credit for College Courses?
ACSM awards 10 CECs per college
credit hour as long as the course meets the following criteria: 1)
you must receive credit for the course after you become certified; 2)
you must receive a C or better for the course; 3) the course must be
related to your certification. Examples of acceptable courses
are: exercise science, kinesiology, exercise
physiology, human performance, physical education, athletic
training, and anatomy. If you are unsure if the course is related to
your certification, please refer to the knowledge, skills, and abilities
(KSAs) found in ACSM’s Guidelines for Exercise Testing and
Prescription. You will need to keep a copy of your transcripts for
your records in case you are audited.
How many CECs do I get for Teaching and Lecturing?
You can earn up to 30% of your
CECs by teaching and lecturing.
Teaching: You can claim 1 CEC per contact hour of academic
teaching at the college level as long as the coursework is
consistent with the KSAs of your certification and the course is
taught at an accredited institution. Credit can be claimed for
teaching the course content once during a recertification cycle.
Lecturing: You can claim 1 CEC per hour of professional lecturing if it
is a lecture given at the state, regional, or national level or if CECs
are offered for the lecture attendees.
Documentation stating that you taught the class or gave the lecture
along with content will be required should you be audited, (ie-course
catalog, course syllabus, letter from supervisor, meeting brochure
showing you as a lecturer). Keep this documentation for your
records.
How many CEC's do I get for authoring or co-authoring books, journal
articles, or accepted abstracts?
You can earn 10 CECs for
publications in peer-reviewed professional journals, books, or accepted
abstracts; authored or co-authored.
May I submit my CPR, BLS, or ACLS certification for
credits?
ACSM does not award credits for
CPR or BLS, as they are required for ACSM specific
credentials. Educational courses for ACLS may be applied
towards your renewal. The number of educational contact hours for ACLS training are
equivalent to the number of CECs awarded (e.g. 3 contact hours = 3 ACSM
CECs). Note: This does not
include the actual completion of the ACLS certification
exam.
Can I earn ACSM CECs by earning another ACSM
certification?
ACSM CECs can be applied if you
earned the new ACSM certification during your renewal period. For
example, if your renewal period is from 1/1/2007 to 12/31/2009 and you
earned an ACSM certification, you can apply those credits to your
total due for renewal.
ACSM CECs are awarded as
follows:
Certified Personal Trainer: 10 CECs
Certified Health Fitness Specialist: 15 CECs
Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist: 15 CECs
Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist: 15 CECs
Specialty
CertificationsACSM
Certified Inclusive Fitness Trainer: 10 CECs
Certified Cancer Exercise Trainer: 10 CECs
Physical Activity in Public Health Specialist: 10 CECs
Note: Certifications earned from
other certifying organizations cannot be used for ACSM certification
renewal.
How many ACSM CEC's have I earned?
Login* to your ACSM account
at www.acsm.org and then
click on MyACSM at the top. Under CEC/CME History you can view
ACSM CEC's earned ONLY from the following:
ACSM Certified News Self Tests
ACSM Health and Fitness Journal Self Tests
ACSM Annual Meeting
ACSM Summit
Advanced Team Physician Course
Please keep a copy of all
certificates in a file for your own record.
* If you have created a login and
password to www.acsm.org,
use what you created. If you have not created a login, use
the first three letters of your last name followed by your ACSM ID
number (i.e., member Smith; ACSM ID 123456 would use: smi123456).The
password (unless you’ve changed it) is your ACSM ID number.
Please contact the ACSM Continuing
Education Department at education@acsm.org if you have any questions.
If you earned CEC's from an ACSM
Approved Provider or attended a non-ACSM program, these CECs will
not appear on this page. You should obtain documentation of these CECs
from the program organizer and keep the documentation for your
records.
What should I do with all of my
Documentation?
ACSM does not require CEC
documentation at the time of recertification and you should not submit
any paperwork with your renewal. Please save all CEC documentation
for one calendar year following the renewal of your certification in
case you are audited.
Do CECs carry over?
CECs are continuing education
credits and, as such, do not carry over from one recertification time
frame to another.
What if I don't have enough credits to recertify?
You do not need to contact ACSM
for that extension. There is a 6
month grace period, but you are considered INACTIVE and you
will not receive any benefits of being certified during this
time.
Your certification will be
re-instated once the online renewal form has been submitted
at www.acsm.org/recertify along with the appropriate fees including a
$25 late fee. Your next recertification cycle will continue
on the original schedule.
What is the yearly audit?
In order to ensure high standards
of competency and continuing education, ACSM will process a yearly
audit. ACSM will audit a percentage of randomly selected ACSM
Recertification/Renewal Forms submitted the previous year. This
audit will be conducted at each credential level. If audited, you will
be required to provide documented proof of all CECs to the ACSM National
Office within 30 days. If you are unable to provide documented proof
within 30 days, your certification will be considered inactive and you
will have one year to complete the recertification process by providing
the documentation or by obtaining new CECs.
All audit paperwork will be
reviewed for validity by the CCRB Continuing Professional Education
(CPE) Subcommittee. If all paperwork is complete and the appropriate
number of CECs are earned, the professional will be notified that his
credential is valid until the next recertification due date. If after
submission of CECs, it is determined that some CECs are not applicable,
an appropriate amount of time will be allowed for the professional to
earn additional replacement CECs.
What does inactive status mean?
During inactive status, you should
not market yourself as ACSM certified or registered. If you submit
an on-line renewal during the inactive period, your certification will
be reinstated and considered current. If you fail to submit the
on-line renewal by the end of the inactive period, your certification
will be considered invalid. Once your certification becomes
invalid, you are no longer ACSM certified and your certification can
only be reinstated by taking the certification examination again. If you
renew during your 6 month inactive period, you will be required to pay
an additional late fee of $25.
During inactive status, you
are also not able to serve as an examiner or other member where
certification is required.
What's the difference between CECs, CEUs, and
CMEs?
Different professional
organizations offer continuing education credits; most commonly called
CECs (continuing education credits), CEUs (continuing education units),
and CMEs (continuing medical education credits are for physicians only).
Although each has a different contact hour requirement, most CECs
require one contact hour of professional activity for one
credit.
Can I use a Certificate of Attendance for
CECs?
A certificate of
attendance may not show CEC's earned, you will need to obtain
a CEC Certificate. ACSM only recognizes workshops or conferences
that have been approved for continuing education credits (CEC), whether
offered by ACSM or another organization. When a conference or workshop
is approved to offer continuing education credits, the program has been
evaluated by an outside professional organization and is considered to
contain significant educational material.
A certificate of attendance only
means that you attended a workshop, it does not guarantee that the
workshop provided significant educational material or any continuing
education credits.
What if I have multiple
certifications?
If you have multiple
certifications, you will only need to accumulate the required CECs for
the highest level of certification you hold. When you renew, you will
pay the renewal fee of your highest level of certification plus an
additional $5 per additional certification.
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