The ASHA Continuation Education Board (CEB) approves course providers based on criteria and guidelines written by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training. Approved CE providers will plan, carry out and evaluate their CEU courses according to requirements and standards formulated, in turn, by the CE Board. The CEB will approve courses initially, followed by a formal review process over a five-year period.
Different CEU courses teach various subjects, from audiology conferences to voice disorders, and each subject is given a particular code attached so that you can see which course teaches which subject area. An approved course must cover a general outline as well. It should teach basic communication processes of speech as well as the professional element of how to understand, assess and treat speech disorders. The course should also reflect how other disciplines relate to speech, such as theories of human behavior, speech pathology and audiology and the economics of professional practice.
Remember that one hour of a SEU course represents 0.1 continuing education unit. With this system, you can use the ASHA's continuing education registry to track your completed units for a fee. Many courses may just consist of 0.4 units, for example. Instructional levels vary from introductory, intermediate to advanced, which vary depending on how familiar the enrolled students are with relevant literature. The course format may involve group learning, for example, in a conference, workshop or seminar. Alternatively, the course may be self-guided, where the student works alone through online learning, audio or video recordings.
ASHA-approved courses can be found by searching the online database on the ASHA website, which can direct you to CEU courses in your local area. The website for a particular course, if available, can be found on the ASHA website or by a search of course prospectuses. Online courses are available at OnlineCEUs.com, which also has an online bookstore to get the necessary course materials. Product catalogs on the websites of CEU course providers will give you the opportunity to order course materials for arranged classroom CEU courses, or alternatively, looking in course prospectuses will give you a mail link for ordering materials.