Continuing Education Units

Continuing and Distance Education awards Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for short courses, workshops, and other educational activities sponsored by Iowa State University, which do not carry academic credit. A given activity may award CEUs to some participants and academic credit to others, under the following policies:

1. The activity must be administered through Iowa State University Continuing and Distance Education.
2. The dual arrangement must have received prior approval by the department head or chair, upon recommendation of the course instructor, and the department curriculum committee.
3. Learners may enroll for either CEUs or for credit, but not for both.
4. Credit enrollees must meet the same academic standards they would have to meet if the course did not also award CEUs.
5. Assignments for credit students must be clearly articulated. Substantial sequential learning experiences and careful evaluation of outcomes are required for academic course credit; these standards will not be reduced to accommodate the participation of CEU learners. Whenever graduate credit is offered, course prerequisites will be enforced and not routinely waived.

Once CEUs have been awarded, Iowa State cannot and will not convert CEUs to academic credit. A student may switch from CEU to credit during an offering only at the discretion of the course instructor.