Continuing Education FAQs

Because NEHA receives so many phone calls with questions about continuing education and credential renewals, we have put together this list of commonly asked questions and answers to make this process easier for you.  Click on the link below to reveal the answer.
 

Q: What is acceptable for continuing education credit with NEHA?

A: Conferences, seminars, classes, lectures, online trainings, etc., are all acceptable forms of continuing education if they are related to the environmental health field – food, water, wastewater, air, vector and pest control, hazardous materials and/or waste management, radiation, recreation, housing and institutional health and safety, occupational health and safety, program planning and legal aspects, or general environmental health and scientific concepts. You may submit up to 10 hours of course instruction that you teach per credentialing cycle. You may not submit the same course more than 1 time. You may not submit hours for books you have read, or hours for basically doing your job.  We no longer accept book reviews.  You may submit articles you have written for journals or other academic publications. Please submit the hours you worked on the article, up to 10 hours per credentialing cycle, and you must submit a copy of the article to NEHA. Credential study/review courses are not acceptable CE hours, as they take place before your credential is in effect.

Q: How do I enter in my Continuing Education hours?

A: To submit coursework or training for CE credit, log into your My NEHA account using your email address as your login ID--all lower case. Click on “Report CEU Credits” under the Credentials & Exams tab. Enter in the date you attended the course/training as well as a BRIEF title of the course and how many contact hours the course was worth (1 hour = 1 CE; be sure to round up to the nearest half hour.  Our computer cannot handle other increments than .5), then click "Create." You will not receive notification of your submission or whether it has been verified by NEHA. Instead, log into your My NEHA account to view the status of your submission.

Q: How do I know my CE Submission was received/approved by NEHA?

A: While you're logged into your My NEHA account, you will be able to see the items you submitted. The submissions that have an "(edit) (delete)" next to them have NOT yet been verified by a NEHA staff member.

Q: How long does it take for NEHA to approve my continuing education submission?

A: NEHA typically approves your online continuing education submissions each weekday.

Q: How do I check the status of my continuing education?

A: You can access your continuing education information through My NEHA. To access your My NEHA account, simply click on the My NEHA link in the top navigation bar and log in using your email address.

Q: I took courses via NEHA’s e-learning system. Do I enter those courses into the online submission form?

A: No, you do not. As long as you are finishing the entire course, completing the evaluations/quizzes, and then saving or printing the certificate of completion from the e-learning

site, we will receive the data automatically. The completed hours will show on your account the next time you log into your account.

Q: What if my email address/street address/personal information is not on file with NEHA or is incorrect?

A: Please log into your My NEHA account in order to update your personal information. You can contact NEHA’s credentialing department by emailing credentialing@neha.org and request that your information be changed in your record. Once your request is received it can take up to one business day to be changed in our database.

Q: Do I need to send NEHA my supporting documentation for my CE Submissions?

A: No, you do not. Since you will be submitting your submissions electronically, we will no longer require you to submit supporting documentation (i.e. certificate of completion, course agenda, etc.). However, we do require that you keep a record of the supporting documentation, as we will be randomly auditing individuals to provide such documentation.

Q: If I hold more than one NEHA credential, do I have to enter in the same course more than once?

A: No, if you hold more than one NEHA credential you do not need to enter in the same course more than once.

Q: Are university courses acceptable for continuing education?

A: Yes, university courses at the undergraduate and graduate level are acceptable if they address environmental health. NEHA grants 16 contact hours for each semester credit hour and 13 contact hours for each quarter credit hour.

Q: What is the difference between contact hours and CEUs? Which do I need to accrue for renewal of my certification?

A: One “contact hour” is one clock hour of learning time. One CEU is equal to 10 contact hours. NEHA measures continuing education in contact hours.

Q: If I have more than the required number of contact hours accrued within my renewal cycle, can I carry the difference into the next renewal period?

A: No. The term “continuing education” means just that. It is NEHA’s goal to ensure that the individuals that hold a NEHA credential are continually educating themselves within the environmental health or food safety fields. Therefore, we do not carry over continuing education contact hours from one renewal cycle to the next.

Q: What is the process and procedure if I am chosen for an audit?

A: If you are chosen for an audit, a representative from NEHA will contact you with further instructions. Be sure to retain all of your supporting documentation in order to submit in case of an audit.