Introduction

Thank you for attending the International School Counselor Collaborative in October 2020.  We hope you have enjoyed attend the event live and you have enjoyed listening to the recordings.  If you missed any of the sessions, remember,  you will have access to the recordings and the materials until September 30, 2021.  We hope you will continue to access the Whova app to re-connect and to tap into the wonderful resources that have been provided by our presenters and exhibitors.

Overview of Professional Development Hours (PDHs)

The presentation and materials offered during the 2020 ISCA Collaborative have been developed by presenters to respond to the unique needs of international school counselors during the unique school year we are all experiencing.  The materials are also timeless as they offer insights and tools for our every day work as international school counselors.  We hope that you take advantage of requesting your certificate(s) for the session(s) that you have attended live and/or listened to the recording throughout the next eleven months.

When to Request Your Certificate of Professional Development Hours (PDHs)

Monthly Deadline:  Since you will have access to the recordings and presentation materials until September 30, 2021, you will have the opportunity to request one or more certificates over the next 11 months.  

If you submit your request by the 15th of the month, you will receive an electronic copy of your certificate by the last day of the same month.  If you submit your request on or after day after the 16th of the month, your certificate will be sent to you electronically by the last day of the next month.

Examples of Possible Deadline Scenarios

Date Your Request Form Received	Date Your Certificate Emailed
November 12th	November 30th
March 22nd	April 30th

NB:  The final date that certificates will be processed for the 2020 Collaborative will be on October 15, 2021. 

How to Request Your Certificate of Professional Development Hours (PDHs)

• Step 1 --  Complete the Request Form by checking the box for each session you either attended live or listened to in its entirety.  Use your Whova app as a tool to find the speaker(s) names and presentation title(s).

• Step 2 -- Take a moment to “Rate the Session” for each session you are seeking PDHs on each request form.  As a community of learners, your feedback is welcomed by each presenter for your insights on his/her presentation.  The evaluation form offers space for your reflection and feedback.  You will find this form for each session in the Agenda section on the Whova Event App.  

• Step 3 -- Electronically sign, date, and acknowledge the statement at the bottom of the Request Form; by doing so, you are certifying that all the information noted above is correct regarding the sessions you attended live and/ore listed to the recordings in its entirety.

• Step 4 -- Return your completed electronic copy of the Request Form to the following address:  counseling@iscainfo.com. Submitting it to a different address will delay the process of your request. The file format that is preferred is an Excel document (not .pdf); this file extension can be either .XLS or .XLXS.

• Step 5 -- Review the submission deadlines for your certificates:

• • Requests received on or before the 15th of the month will be processed and certificate sent by the end of the month.

  • Requests received on or after the 16th of the will be processed and certificate sent by the end fo the following month.

• Step 6 -- ISCA will email  the following items to you each time you make a request for a PDHs Certificate for the sessions from the 2020 Collaborative:

• • A signed E-Certificate that will include your full name, the event, and the number of PDHs earned based on the sessions marked on your submitted Request Form.

  • An attachment page listing the titles, presenters and number of hours per session.  Some licensing boards will need this information in order to approve your PD activity. 

Submitting Your PDHs Certificate to Your State or Regional Licensing Body 

ISCA provides a variety of professional development opportunities throughout the year via our webinar or counselor chat series, training workshops on the International Model or via our larger annual events. International school counselors who attend our event come from diverse educational backgrounds. To keep up-to-dated on all the international licensing or re-certification processes and requirements for all the countries our school counselors have received their professional standing would be an impossible task.  However, we offer the opportunity for counselors to request certificates for the time that they have spent on their professional development through an ISCA event.  

For counselors who are certified/licensed in the United States, this website is a useful summary by state:  

• Continuing Education Requirements (ASCA Resource)

The resource link above is very useful in understanding the difference before Professional Development Hours (PDHs) and Continuing Education Units (CEUs).  However, you will also note that some licensing boards consider CEUs and PDHs to be of equal value.  And yet, other licensing boards will consider PDHs as the term used for contact hours that account for minimal two-way communication with the presenter/teacher.  CEUs might be awarded when there is more two-way communication and assignments or projects that are required.  And the highest level is for an institution to award credit from a credit-bearing institution such as an accredited university at the undergraduate or graduate level.

You will also note from the resource link that some licensing bodies will use a formula such as the following -- Example: 10 PDHs = 1 CEUs. And it continues with the following:  15 PDH = 1.5 CEUs = 1 semester credit.   

Even if you are not licensed in the U.S, take a look at the link above to see the combinations that states use as their threshold to re-license or recertify counselors.  This information could also be useful should your school want to track your total hours of professional development work for consideration for salary scale increases. 

Final Reminders

• Throughout the next 11 months (until September 30, 2021) you will have the opportunity to submit multiple requests for your PDHs certificate as you complete the review of the recorded sessions you may have missed. 

• Remember to sign each Request Form and send it to counseling@iscainfo.com.

• Your feedback to workshop presenters is valuable; please take a few moments to record your feedback on the “Rate This Session” section in the Whova app.

• Your certificate will be sent electronically so you can save it in your records for future use. 

Thank you for all of your continued support in ISCA.  
We will see you at the next online opportunity!

                        

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