PDH Certificates

The presentation and materials offered during the 2025 ISCA Virtual Conference 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 until September 30, 2026.

Since you will have access to the recordings and presentation materials until September 30, 2026, you will have the opportunity to request one or more certificates over the next 12 months. The final date that certificates will be processed for the 2025 Virtual Conference will be on October 15, 2026.

Step 1 — Complete the request form for these sessions you attended in Virtual Conference 2025. Ensure that you have noted your complete (and legally required) name. Your certificate will be generated based on the information you provide. Additionally, on this form you will check 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 — As a reminder, take a moment to fill out a “Poll” in the Pheedloop app for each session for which you are requesting PDHs. As a community of learners, your feedback and your insights are welcomed and highly valued by each presenter. The evaluation form offers space for your reflection and feedback.

Step 3 — On the two request forms, you are certifying that all the information noted above is correct regarding the sessions you attended live and/or listed to the recordings in its entirety.

Step 4 — Submit the form.

Step 5 — ISCA will email the following items to you each time you make a request for a PDHs Certificate for the 2025 Virtual Conference sessions:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. As noted above we suggest that you also submit a copy of the 2024 Virtual Conference description as found on our website here.

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.

ISCA cannot guarantee that its PDHs will be accepted by all licensing/recertification boards; it is the responsibility for each participant requesting a certificate of professional development hours (PDHs) to review the requirements of the his/her licensing or re-certification board. ISCA does recommends to those who are submitting the PDHs for review by your state to also attach the Virtual Conference agenda and website so that the reviewers have a complete understanding of the event as well as the variety of presentations that were offered.

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.

1. Throughout the next 12 months (until September 30, 2026) 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.
2. Use Virtual Conference 2025 session forms for each request.
3. Your certificate will be sent electronically so you can save it in your records for future use.
4. If you have any questions regarding this process, please reach out to ISCA at the following email address: counseling@iscainfo.com