Both Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and Nevada Licensed Behavior Analysts (LBAs) are required to maintain currency in their profession, in part, by satisfying the prescribed continuing education requirements of the regulating entities. These requirements are denominated in continuing education units, or CEUs. A primary requirement to apply for licensing in Nevada is to be a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, therefore LBAs also are BCBAs. Prior to licensing of behavior analysts by the State of Nevada, under the purview of the Nevada Board of Psychological Examiners (NBPE), a single set of rules by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) made keeping up with continuing education units earned a relatively simple matter. However, since January 1, 2011 when Nevada implemented provisions for Licensed Behavior Analysts, keeping up with where one stands with respect to two sets of CEU rules became more complex. The purpose of this article is to summarize the two sets of requirements and to meld them into a suggested single set of rules that will satisfy both the BCBA and the NBPE.
We first note that the time frames for which the minimum number of CEUs is specified are different. The period for BCBA recertification is three years, and the renewal cycle for LBAs is two years. To make a rational comparison to deal with the difference in time periods, we will express the requirements in average annual terms.
Comparison of CEU requirement by BACB vs. NBPE. Ethics (in parentheses) are included in Number CEUs.
The above table leads to the first important conclusion in support of our stated purpose. That conclusion is that one must average 15 hours per year, 3 of which are in the ethics category, in order to satisfy both sets of requirements. Clearly, the state requirements are slightly more stringent in terms of the number of hours of CEUs required. But that is not the end of the story. The state requirements are still more stringent in two other areas.
There is considerable distinction between what is acceptable for CEU credits by the two entities. The BACB permits any or all CEUs to be obtained through “Type 2” events, all of which may be in the form of distance learning formats. In contrast, the LBA requirement does not permit more than 50% (15 of 30 hours) of distance learning for CEU credit. This leads to our second conclusion, which is that not more than 7.5 hours per year (on average) can be obtained for CEU credit through distance learning formats.
The BACB permits up to 25% credit for acting as instructor in various settings. As an example of how instructing can qualify as valid CEUs, here is a quote from the BACB rules for a Type 3 event: “Completion or instruction of a seminar, colloquium, presentation, conference event, workshop or symposium not approved by the BACB, only if they relate directly to the practice of behavior analysis.” So if one acts as an instructor, even in non-approved events, they may be acceptable to the BACB for CEU credit. By way of contrast, here is a quote from NAC 641 on the subject as it applies to LBAs: “A licensed behavior analyst or licensed assistant behavior analyst may not receive continuing education credit for a workshop, seminar, class or course in which he or she is the instructor.” Conclusion number three: to assure acceptance as CEU credit, don’t count instruction by you as any portion of the required continuing education units.
Now the real world is not so rigidly compartmentalized that fixed rules will survive rational justification in all cases. Nevertheless, with that caveat and to satisfy the purpose of this article, here are the rules that will assure receipt of credit for CEUs by both the BACB and the NBPE.
- 1. Log an average of 15 hours of CEUs per year, 3 of which are in the ethics category.
2. Limit distance learning to an average of 7.5 hours per year.
3. Do not include instruction by you as any portion of logged CEUs.
I hope you find this useful, and I look forward to your comments.
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