Professional Development Credits Demystified
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Saturday, March 9, 2024 in Ask an Instructor, Education
This post is all about taking the mystery out of Professional Development Credits! Whether you’re taking your first Requalification class or your fifth, reporting on your PDCs is an integral part of passing the course. The Requalification Packet that you receive during the class has a LOT of information in it. We hope this summary can break down the most important points and provide some clarity.
Who has to take the Requalification course?
The short answer: Everyone! You should have reached the Accredited Member level by the time your first Requalification rolls around, but the course is required of Accredited, Certified, and Life Members.
How many PDCs do I need?
Accredited Members: 75 points
Certified Members: 100 points
Life Members: 50 points
What is the timeframe for collecting PDCs?
All of your points must have been accrued during the past 5 years.
What types of activities count toward my PDCs?
Briefly, the following types of activities apply:
• Attending courses and/or conferences.
• Scholarly work, such as writing articles, teaching, or speaking engagements.
• Professional work. Yes! Just doing your job can potentially count for PDCs!
• Serving as a volunteer on committees or the board within ISA or the ISA Education Foundation.
More detailed information on those activities and how to count them is in the Requalification Packet.
What documentation do I need?
First and foremost, there is a standard form in the Requalification Packet that needs to be completed. It’s a simple, abbreviated list of the activities you are submitting for credit.
For any courses or conferences that you attended THROUGH ISA, you do not need to supply any extra documentation. We already have a record of that! Just note the class/conference and its points on the form and that’s enough.
If you know you have enough points JUST based on ISA educational activities, record that and submit it! It’s really simple and will save you a lot of time. You can find information on your ISA coursework on your profile under Event History.
PRO TIP! The Director of Education hosts Office Hours every other month. This one hour webinar is FREE and provides so much information about the industry and the ISA goings on. Best of all, it counts for 1 PDC each time you attend! Over the course of 5 years, you can accumulate 30 points! Simply register on the ISA website – all dates for the year are posted by December, so you can get the whole year’s calendar taken care of in one fell swoop.
For other activities, please reference the Requalification Packet to get those details.
How do I fill out the form?
The form looks like a simple spreadsheet with individual lines for each activity.
You’ll have 45 days to submit it after the course concludes. Just email a PDF or Word format document to the Education Manager. You can always find a copy of the Requalification Packet by signing into your profile and clicking on the Forms link.
In conclusion…
Continuing education is highly valuable for any appraiser, and ISA strives to promote the professionalism of our membership through our requalification process. There are so many ways to get your points, and you can have lots of fun in the process by attending webinars or meeting your colleagues at our annual conference!
If you ever have questions about the process, just contact the Education Manager or the Director of Education for information.