These days many regulated and unregulated professions and certification authorities ensure that their credential holders are always learning to keep themselves updated with the latest trends.
This process is called continued education.
Therefore, they need a set of minimum requirements and means to measure this continued education.
The two most commonly used measures for these continued educations are PDU and CEU.
These terms have a few similarities and differences. In today’s post, we will discuss these two terms in detail.
Continuing Education Units (CEU)
CEU stands for Continuing Education Unit. CEU measures courses or training attended by the participant where the provided course material is aligned with the licensing or certification body.
Some authorities or licensing bodies consider one hour of learning equal to one CEU, while others consider ten hours of learning equal to one CEU.
In the United States, some regulated professions, such as lawyers, doctors, and nurses, are required to earn specific numbers of CEUs to maintain their license.
Professional Development Unit (PDU)
PDU stands for Professional Development Unit, and this term was coined by the Project Management Institute (PMI), USA. PMI uses the PDU to record project management learning activities by its credential holders.
PMI offers many project management certifications. To maintain their certification, every credential holder must earn a certain number of PDUs every three years and report them to the PMI so their credential can be renewed for a further three years.
One PDU is equal to one hour of activity.
Differences Between CEU and PDU
- CEU is used by different regulatory bodies and organizations, while Project Management Institute (PMI), USA, uses the PDU to renew its credentials.
- One CEU is equal to the ten PDU.
Summary
CEU and PDU help professionals get involved and learn new skills, keep them updated with the latest advancement in the industry. Project Management Institute uses PDU, and CEU is used by different government bodies and organizations.
I am Mohammad Fahad Usmani, B.E. PMP, PMI-RMP. I have been blogging on project management topics since 2011. To date, thousands of professionals have passed the PMP exam using my resources.
