Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Accreditation refers to the desired status of a member in good standing which confirms that the continuing education requirements of the College have been and are being met.

Yes, all regulated members must participate in the CASS Continuing Education Program (CEP). The CASS Act (2022) states that “a regulated member shall meet any continuing education requirements established under subsection (1) in accordance with the bylaws (Section 70 – 2). See the CASS Bylaws for more information such as Sections 1-14 to 1-18.

Establishing accreditation requirements is part of the responsibility of CASS. The CASS Act (2021) Section 70(2) states that a regulated members shall meet any continuing education requirements established under subsection (1) in accordance with the bylaws.

No, experienced regulated members will not be grandfathered or exempt from the program.

CEP credits are earned annually based on a 12-month cycle that starts on September 1 and ends on August 31.

If you are a regulated member, you need to earn 30 credits annually. CEP credits are not pro-rated. The reason that CEP credits are not pro-rated is to ensure that 100% of the professional practice standard is maintained for all system education leaders, regardless of the type of employment contract.

The CASS Registrar is the Chief Executive Officer of CASS as described in CASS Bylaw 1-25(10).

No, associate or affiliate members of CASS do not participate in the CASS Continuing Education Program, but you are welcome to register for any CASS professional learning event and participate in system education leadership learning. Please note that some CASS professional learning events or sessions may be designated for CASS regulated members only. The event or session will clearly indicate CASS Regulated Members Only when this is applicable.

Non-CASS members may register for professional learning but must hold a leadership position in a public, separate, Francophone or First Nations school authority in Alberta. This information needs to be provided upon registration and may be subject to verification. Permission may be granted to non-CASS members that do not fit into the criteria described above. If approved, a non-member registration fee will be applied. Please be aware that some sessions offered at conferences are for regulated CASS members only.

Certification confirms the meeting of a standard such as the Leadership Quality Standard (LQS) or Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard (SLQS). Accreditation means recognition to maintain a standard. In the CASS Bylaws, accreditation means the desired status of a member in good standing which confirms that the continuing education standards of the College have been and are being met.

Regulated members on leave and unable to fulfill their annual accreditation requirement shall inform the CASS Registrar. Upon return from the leave, the member shall submit a remediation plan to indicate how the CEP credit deficiency will be addressed in the subsequent year.

No. Newly appointed regulated members that assume their role after the CASS Annual Learning Conference will calculate their CEP credits from the start of their role to August 31 the following year. Those that start their position between the Fall Conference and the Annual Conference will have their accreditation requirement pro-rated to 15 CEP credits.

No. Regardless of the role, regulated members will remain obligated to earn 30 CEP credits annually.

There are a variety of scenarios on how to enter your CEP credits for a conference, especially if you are presenting. Please visit this flow chart, How to Enter CEP Credits for a CASS Conference, for more information.

Yes. Select all of the competencies that are relevant to you. The competencies are interwoven and interdependent so it is understood that they will have meaning to system education leaders in different ways.

CEP credits are a unit of measure to calculate professional learning hours. One CEP credit is equal to one hour of professional learning.

Applied credits are CEP credits that are eligible for annual accreditation.

Submitted credits are all the CEP credits that a regulated member has entered into their Accreditation Profile. Some credits may not apply to the current year accreditation due to exceeding the maximum credit allocations as identified in the CASS board-approved accreditation requirements.

Starting on September 1, 2024, all regulated members will be able to start submitting professional learning by logging into the CASS website to enter an online portal to access their Accreditation Profile. Over time, regulated members will be able to see a historical record of their professional learning and see visual representations of their professional learning as it aligns to the competencies in the LQS and/or SLQS.

The CASS Continuing Education Program starts on September 1, 2024. The CEP credits will be calculated on an annual basis from September 1 to August 31.

Starting on September 1, 2024, all regulated members are required to earn 30 CEP Credits annually to maintain their professional designation as a system education leader. Annual CEP credits are calculated based upon the CASS board-approved accreditation requirements which are available on the CEP website. Of note, all regulated members are also required to complete five (5) CEP courses, delivered face-to-face or online, within five (5) years of becoming a regulated member as part of the calculation of their annual 30 CEP credits. In additiona, members are encouraged to complete additional CEP courses, as available, throughout the term of their membership as a CASS regulated member. All CEP courses are correlated to the Professional Practice Standards and support the foundational knowledge required of system education leaders.

No, regulated members are encouraged to use their Accreditation Profile to record of all their professional learning as a system education leader. This information creates a historical record and provides them with the opportunity to analyze their professional learning in relation to the type and content focus (i.e., LQS and /or SLQS competencies). It will also assist regulated members to reflect upon past professional learning, make data-informed decisions about their professional learning, and use the summary for career advancement, a professional portfolio, or social media.

Yes. New regulated members can earn CEP credits for LQS and SLQS coursework taken at an institution that offers Alberta Education approved coursework or program.

Good news! You can submit the professional learning as self-directed learning. See the CASS board-approved accreditation requirements on the CEP site for further details.

No, CEP credits cannot be carried forward. The program is designed for regulated members to earn 30 credits annually to maintain competency in the professional practice standards.

All CEP professional learning must have a direct link to the professional practice standards as they relate to system education leadership. The onus is on each regulated member to provide evidence of how their chosen professional learning connects to and enhances their system educational leadership capabilities.

No. If unsure, please engage in conversation with the CASS registrar prior to the event to determine eligibility. Alternatively, members can submit a question through the CEP website, once the site is open on September 1, 2024.

Yes. Regulated members that attend conferences outside of CASS can earn up to 15 CEP credits under the category of Verifiable Self-Directed Professional Learning. Members will need to upload evidence of participation in their accreditation profile such as a receipt for the registration, a key resource, or other appropriate document.

A CEP course is a 10-hour course designed to meet the professional learning needs of system education leaders. The topics for the courses are determined by a focused analysis of the competencies from the LQS and/or SLQS. A course designer, working with an advisory team of regulated members, examine a competency considering the Knowledge, Skills, Attitudes, and Actions (KSAAs) that are required to demonstrate the competency. Once the KSAAs are synthesized, potential curriculum topics are identified and formed into courses. The courses are also vetted by the CASS Principal Leadership Consultant, CASS CEO, and CEP Committee.

No, there is not an exam, but there may be pre-course reading or reflection to do prior to the course commencement. During and after the course, homework and post-learning activities will be up to the regulated member as they strive to apply the new learning within their local context.

No, after regulated members earn five CEP courses within five years, they will continue to earn CEP credits based on board-approved accreditation requirements. This could include more CEP courses, self-directed professional learning, CASS committee work, mentorship, etc. As the content of CASS’ CEP courses will continually be refreshed and new courses may be added, regulated members are encouraged to set a professional goal to take all of the CASS CEP courses.

The CEP courses are a natural alignment to the competencies found within the Leadership Quality Standard and/or Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard. All CEP courses support the foundational knowledge required of system education leaders. The CEP courses will always be offered at the CASS Summer Conference. For regulated members, that prefer an accelerated pace to take the CEP courses, they will be offered throughout the year in an online, synchronous format.

The competencies from the Leadership Quality Standard and/or Superintendent Leadership Quality Standard provided the foundation for the curriculum development for each CEP course. The specific topics and activities for the course are decided upon by a team of regulated members led by a course designer.

All CEP courses were developed by experienced system education leaders either retired or practicing. All course developers worked with an advisory team of regulated members to vet the topics and content of the courses.

Both. The courses will be offered face-to-face at CASS’ summer conferences. During the year, courses will be offered online at scheduled days and times.

Synchronous. The online courses will be scheduled and facilitated at a variety of times throughout the year.

There are two reasons why CASS is not offering asynchronous courses. (1) The cost of developing asynchronous courses to a high standard is prohibitive. (2) System education leaders need to interact with each other to learn from each other. The synchronous delivery offers several opportunities throughout the course for system education leaders to interact with each other.

CASS does offer on-demand learning resources on the CASS site. Be sure to check them out because you can earn CEP credits for interacting with the resources.

Yes. You can register for the CASS CEP courses.

Yes. You can register for the CASS CEP courses. There will be a non-member registration fee. See 1(i) above for specific information.

Yes! Currently, there are 12 accredited CEP courses that regulated members can choose to take to earn their course-based accreditation requirement. CASS is confident members will want to make a professional goal to take all 12 courses during their tenure as a CASS member because it is going to be hard to choose!

Yes, CASS will store and archive all course materials through the learning management system, Moodle. Regulated members will be given access to these materials when they register in the course. Over time, members who engage in all 12 courses will amass a vast collection of system education leader resources to build their professional capacity.

Yes, but taking the same course a second time would not count towards your accreditation requirement of taking five CEP courses within five years of becoming a regulated member. This professional learning would be recorded as verifiable self-directed professional learning.

All CEP data is safely secured in a database located on a web server in Canada. The website uses a 256-bit SSL security certificate that encrypts the data transmitted from one’s device to the web server. In addition, account passwords are encrypted, so that no one can see the password. Of course, members are advised to choose a unique/complex password so that no one can gain unauthorized access to their account and data.

CASS uses Zoom software to deliver online courses and webinars.

The CEP application supports all major devices and browsers, with the exception of Internet Explorer, which is no longer supported. Devices include desktop PCs, MacBooks, tablets, and smartphones. Web browsers are Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari. It is advised that devices and browsers be kept up to date to ensure one’s experience is secured and optimized.

Under development.

The CEP application is backed up every 8 hours to ensure that no data is lost. In the event of a catastrophic issue with the web server, the data and application can be restored within a 24 hour or less period.

Members’ privacy is of high priority. Four CEP administrators have access to view the accreditation data. Only administrators who require access to maintain and validate the accreditation data have access.

Regulated members preparing to submit their professional learning for CEP credit will find comprehensive support tailored to ensure a smooth experience. The online accreditation profile, designed for intuitiveness, is complemented by various additional resources to assist members in familiarizing themselves with the system:

• Interactive “Learn ‘n Go” Sessions: Offered throughout the fall, these facilitated 30-minute online tutorials provide guided support, ideal for members who prefer a hands-on approach to learning the system’s features.
• On-Demand Resources: The CEP website hosts a robust FAQ section alongside short, instructional videos, all crafted to offer quick, accessible guidance whenever needed.
• User Feedback: The platform has been thoroughly tested by several regulated members, consistently earning praise for its user-friendly, intuitive design.

These supports ensure that every member can navigate the accreditation process with confidence and ease.