Any CIH, CAIH or Activity Provider may use the CM Point Request Forms.
CM Points can be requested for any activity which has educational learning value for topics of interest to the industrial hygiene profession.
The Process, Rules and Definitions are explained below.
Process
- Before submitting a request, review the CM database to determine if the Activity has already been approved or denied CM points. Activities are listed in the database for 5 years plus current.
- A CM Approval Number is not required for:
- the annual AIHce, PCIH, or their associated PDCs,
- Activities granted Blanket Approval,
- Taking a college-level class,
- Committee work (Category 2),
- Publications (Category 3),
- Presentations/Teaching (Category 5).
- Requests are handled in the order in which they are received. The review outcome will be confirmed within 2- 6 weeks depending upon the time of year. (Processing time is greatest in Dec and Jan of each year). Allow ample time for your reviews especially if there is a time factor (e.g. CM Worksheets or Course calendars).
- All CM Point requests must be legible especially if sent via facsimile.
- If insufficient information is provided to review the Activity, ABIH will make several attempts to contact the Requestor. If no response is received after 6-8 weeks, the CM point request will be canceled and all documentation will be deleted.
- A CM Approval Number is assigned to an Activity for the calendar date(s) specified in the ABIH online database. If an Activity is repeated outside the authorized calendar dates, a new CM Point request must be submitted.
- An Activity that does not change in subject matter content or length for > 2 years may be eligible for the ABIH Renewable CM Points Program.
- Past approval of CM points does not guarantee that an identical or similar Activity will be awarded CM points in the future.
- Granting of CM points does not imply that ABIH accredits, certifies or endorses the Activity nor does it authorize use of the ABIH logo.
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Rules:
- CM Point Requests can be made up to 5 years after the Activity and up to 1 one year in advance of the Activity.
- CM Point Requests must be in the English language. For non-English language, key pertinent sections such as the subject matter topics must be translated to English. All materials typically do not need to be translated.
- For Category 4 (Attendance at Educational Programs), CM Points are awarded in the areas of IH, Ethics, Fundamentals, General Management and Safety. Effective 1 Jan 2010, CM points will no longer be awarded for General Management Activities.
- An Activity can be internal or external provided there is a continuing education or training aspect that advances an IH's technical knowledge/skills. Many internal business meeting topics do not qualify for Category 4 CM points (e.g., goal reviews, org. design).
- An Activity that contains multiple topics (e.g. a conference with both IH and Safety topics) is awarded points in a single CM area primarily based on the area that constitutes the majority of the Activity, e.g., a conference that is >50% safety topics is awarded Safety category CM points.
- After 1 January 2010, Courses receive 0.167 CM points/hr, 1 hour minimum. CM points can then be accrued for each additional 30 minute segment, e.g. a 90 minute Activity = 0.25 CM pts. Technical time is rounded down, e.g. 115 minutes is rounded down to 90 minutes.
- Conferences receive 0.5 CM points for every 3 hours of technical contact time. There is no daily cap.
- One hour equals 60 minutes of technical content. With rare exception, technical content time excludes agenda reviews welcome speeches, introductory remarks, breaks, lunches, networking, exhibitor time, generic roundtables or discussionals (topic not specified), poster sessions or social tours.
- Within a single organization, several ethics activities < 1 hour individually may be grouped together to achieve a 1 hour minimum.One CM Approval Number will be assigned and the CIH/CAIH will be required to complete all of the ethics activities (in the grouping) in a single calendar year in order to claim the CM points.
- Fundamentals IH courses and General Management activities are capped at 5 CM points per Activity.
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Definitions:
Blended – An activity that uses both physical presence (e.g. classroom) and Distance Learning efforts (e.g. web efforts outside the classroom at a different time) to accomplish the learning objectives
Both Formats Available – the same Activity is offered in both a physical presence format and a Distance Learning format
Conference – an Activity that is largely presentation, lecture and/or discussion. While a Conference often has topics and defined subject matter, it typically does not have defined learning objectives, requiring the participant to build and demonstrate acquired knowledge or skill. For long conferences or multi-track events, Participants often have a choice on which portions to attend.
Course - an Activity with defined learning objectives, structured in defined way, usually linear, requiring the participant to build knowledge and/or skill as the Activity progresses. Participants typically do not have a choice on which portions to attend. If a portion of the Activity is missed, the participant usually is not able to complete the necessary learning and will not ‘graduate’ or receive any acknowledgement of completion e.g. a certificate.
Distance Learning (DL) - any instructional systems design that delivers information to people who are physically remote from the Content Provider(s). DL can be a Real-Time, synchronous event or it can be a delayed, Self-Paced, asynchronous event. Other terms are also in common use and are meant to be inclusive, e.g. Distance Education, Home Study, Distributed Education, On-line, or e-Learning.
Ethics – subject matter that aligns with the ABIH Code of Ethics or the Joint Industrial Hygiene Associations Member Ethical Principles. Other material can be acceptable but we review those on a case-by-case basis.
Fee Based Activity – The Activity Provider or Sponsor charges a monetary fee for the Activity Participants
Fundamentals of IH – Industrial Hygiene subject matter that is considered to be introductory, basic information, typically covering a broad range of topics. It is primarily useful for someone learning about IH for the first time, or desiring a simple refresher on a wide variety of subjects.
Industrial Hygiene Rubrics: refer to the CM Handbook
Physical Presence – the Activity Participant is present in the same physical location as the as Activity Provider. This is always a real-time event.
Safety – Safety related topics that are often included in a Safety & Health program but are not directly included in the IH rubrics, e.g. electrical hazards, fall protection.
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