The American Institute of Architects (AIA) requires that all architects earn 18 “Learning Units” (LU) of continuing education a year in order to maintain their licenses. There are a variety of course types – Health, Safety & Welfare (HSW); ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act); Green Business Certification Inc (GBCI); Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) – but the AIA requires that 12 of the 18 credits are HSW courses.
States also have learning requirements that can vary widely. In our territory, Washington state requires 24 LU, 16 of which must be HSW, with biennial renewal due on the licensee’s birthday. Idaho only requires 12 LU, but all 12 must be HSW, annual renewal is due on the licensee’s birthday. Oregon requires 24 Learning Units as well, all of which must be HSWs, and biennial renewal is due July 1st. Apparently, Oregon doesn’t care about your birthday. If you need more interesting reading, other state requirements can be looked up on the AIA’s website: https://www.aia.org/pages/2696-continuing-education-aia-and-state-requirement.
There are several ways to earn these credits, from conferences to online learning, as well as inviting a provider to the office for a course – which comes with the added bonus that they usually provide a catered meal (always a great lunch and time saver). Obviously, we may be biased but we feel it’s the best way to go! It’s a great way for reps, architects, and staff to share tech questions, news, events and upcoming projects. It’s a win-win.
CBA Group is happy to be a provider Continuing Education courses, all of which are HSW credits, and currently offer courses focusing on our favorites (you might want to sit down for this) doors and door hardware! Among the most popular are Hardware 101 for the newbies (and a refresher course), ADA, Connecting the Disconnect for Access Control materials. We make it interesting, we promise! These courses are all AIA-registered and we will take care of reporting the credits to the AIA plus providing attendees with certificates. But wait - there’s more! These courses have the added bonus of being transferrable to other licensing institutions, as well, like the International Interior Design Association (IIDA) and the American Society of Interior Design (ASID). I know, it’s like a dream come true, and CBA is happy to help.
