Camarillo, CA -- (SBWire) -- 12/17/2010 -- The difference between an Online Interactive CE Course and a Home-Study Course includes the following: If you submit a completed course/exam to the CE provider via regular mail, then you have taken a home-study course. If the course/exam is completed and submitted online, then the hours are approved as an online interactive CE course. Many state boards, such as the California Board of Behavioral Services, allow all required continuing education to be earned from online interactive continuing education courses. Check with your respective board to determine the amount of hours/units that are permitted online.

A Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is a measure used in many continuing education programs including
• Self-study continuing education
• Home-study continuing education
• Online continuing education
• Online interactive continuing education.

Examples of people who need CEUs include teachers, nurses, mental health professionals, and social workers. Most licensees; therapist, counselors, social workers, nurses, engineers, CPAs, dental technicians, pharmaceutical technicians and more are required every 2-3 years to obtain continuing education hours in order to renew and maintain their state license. A CEU is often defined as a certain number of hours of participation in a recognized continuing education program, with qualified instruction and sponsorship. CEU records are widely used to provide evidence of completion of continuing education requirements mandated by governmental licensing boards.

The term CEU is in the public domain. Any organization may award a traditional CEU without requiring any accreditation. With a traditional CEU an employer or other organization must decide on an individual basis whether to honor the CEU from a training provider.

Due to the occasional failure to adhere to high standards, there is sometimes inadequate credibility of the value of a CEU provider, and accrediting organizations have been created to standardize what a CEU means. The International Association for Continuing Education and Training offers an industry wide accreditation of CEUs. Specific industries have their own accrediting processes for CEUs. Any accredited CEU generally has a preface of the accrediting body. For instance training institutions accredited by the IACET can offer IACET CEUs. Licensees will need to find a ceu provider who has been approved by their licensing board or organization.

Aspira offers online CEUs at http://www.aspirace.com for the following:
http://www.aspirace.com/marriage-and-family-therapist-continuing-education.aspx
http://www.aspirace.com/social-worker-continuing-education.aspx
http://www.aspirace.com/professional-counselor-continuing-education.aspx
http://www.aspirace.com/alcoholism-drug-abuse-counselor-continuing-education.aspx