Recertification and Continuing Education Requirements
Certificates for Certified Public Health Administrators shall be renewable every three (3) years upon submission of information that reflects 90 contact hours of continuing education. For purposes of this policy, the Public Health Practitioner Certification Board (PHPCB) sets forth the following criteria:
General Requirements
- In order to renew a certificate as a Certified Public Health Administrator, a certificate holder shall be required to complete 90 contact hours of continuing education (CE) relevant to public health practice. Contact hour is defined as 60 minutes of attendance.
- CE credit hours used to satisfy the CE requirements of another professional discipline may be applied to fulfill the CE requirements of the PHPCB.
- CE hours shall be earned by verified attendance (e.g., certificate of attendance or certificate of completion) at, or participation in a program, course or training that is offered and/or sponsored by an approved CE sponsor.
- CE credit is available for the following approved sponsors and events:
- Federal Agencies, including but not limited to: Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Defense, etc.
- State agencies, including but not limited to: Illinois Department of Public Health, Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois Department of Aging, Illinois Department of Agriculture, etc., and similar agencies in the State of Missouri and State of Kansas.
- Accredited colleges and universities.
- Organizations accepted by the Illinois, Missouri and Kansas Departments of Professional Regulation to provide CEUs and contact hours for licensing and registration.
- Annual meeting technical sessions of national and state public health associations, includes but not limited to: American Public Health Association, Illinois Public Health Association, Illinois Environmental Health Association, Illinois Association of Public Health Administrators, etc., and similar associations in Missouri and Kansas.
- National and state-based leadership institute training, including but not limited to: Mid-America Regional Public Health Leadership Institute, Illinois Institute of Maternal and Child Health Leadership, Illinois MCH DataUse Academy, etc., and similar leadership training in Missouri and Kansas.
- Self-study offerings, e.g., Journal of the American Public Health Association articles (with self-study component).
- A maximum of 30 CE credits per pre-renewal period may be earned for completion of a correspondence course that is offered by an approved sponsor as listed herein. Each correspondence course shall include an examination.
- CE credit may be earned through postgraduate training programs (e.g., extern, residency or fellowship programs) or completion of public health related courses that are a part of the curriculum of a college, university or graduate school. Courses that are part of the curriculum of a university, college or other educational institution shall be allotted CE credit at the rate of 15 CE hours for each semester hour or 10 CE hours for each quarter hour of school credit awarded.
- CE credit may be earned for verified teaching in the field of public health practice in an accredited college, university or graduate school and/or as an instructor of CE programs given by approved sponsors. Credit will be applied at the rate of 2 hours for every hour taught but only for the first presentation of the program (i.e., credit shall not be allowed for repetitious presentations of the same program). A maximum of 30 hours of CE credit may be obtained in this category per pre-renewal period.
- CE credit may be earned for authoring papers, publications, dissertations or books and for preparing presentations and exhibits in the field of public health practice. The preparation of each published paper, book chapter or professional presentation dealing with public health practice may be claimed as 5 hours of credit. A presentation must be before an audience of professionals. Five credit hours may be claimed for only the first time the information is published or presented.
Certification of Compliance with CE Requirements
Each renewal applicant shall certify on the renewal application, full compliance with the CE requirements set forth herein.
Each certificate holder shall be required to complete 90 contact hours of CE every three-year renewal period and to retain all certificates and other documented evidence of participation in the approved/accredited continuing education programs for a period of at least (3) three years. Upon request such documentation shall be made available to the PHPCB for random audit and verification purposes. All contact hours must be completed at least sixty (60) days prior to the end of the renewal period.
Waiver of CE Requirements
Any renewal applicant seeking renewal of a certificate without having fully complied with these CE requirements shall file with the PHPCB a renewal application along with the required fee a statement setting forth the facts concerning non-compliance and request for waiver of the CE requirements on the basis of these facts. A request for waiver shall be made prior to the renewal date. If the PHPCB finds from such affidavit or any other evidence submitted that extreme hardship has been shown for granting a waiver, the PHPCB may waive enforcement of CE requirements, in part or in full, for the renewal period for which the applicant has applied. (Pease note that all fees are currently waived.)
Extreme hardship shall be determined on an individual basis by the PHPCB and be defined as an inability to devote sufficient hours to fulfilling the CE requirements during the applicable prerenewal period because of:
- Full-time service in the armed forces of the United States of America during a substantial part of the pre-renewal period;
- An incapacitating illness documented by a statement from a physician;
- A physical inability to travel to the sites of approved programs documented by a physician; or
- Any other similar extenuating circumstances.
Any renewal applicant who, prior to the expiration date of the certificate, submits a request for a waiver, in whole or in part, pursuant to the provisions of this Policy shall be deemed to be in good standing until the final decision on the application is made by the PHPCB.