Professional Development Officer Ellen Parker eparker@wd-ae.com

The PDO is responsible for coordinating Chapter activities related to the AICP exam and opportunities for AICP members to receive continuing education credits, working with National AICP, and providing professional development opportunities for all Chapter members.

March 10, 2010
Dear AICP Members,

We are in the four-month grace period for reporting CM.  The grace period ends April 30, 2010.  If you are an AICP members who i scrambling to get your credits or anyone who wants to get an early jump on the next term, the Planning Institute of Colorado has a red-hot deal for you!

Click on the following link http://www.vaned.com/planners/ and you will have access to courses worth four credit hours each for only $10 per course!  This offer only lasts through April 30, 2010 - so do not delay!

Choose from: Economics and Demographics, Growth Management, Land Surveying & Subdivision Platting or Transportation Planning

Take one or all courses and report your credits to APA.  You take the courses on-line and at your own pace.

Logging CM Credits
You do not get credit for earning CM credits until you have logged them in your personal CM log on the national APA website!!
Here are instructions for updating your CM log. 

  1. Visit the Certification Maintenance section of the APA website. You must log in using your e-mail address or APA member ID (located on your Planning magazine mailing label) and password.
  2. Click on the “My CM Log” link on the left hand side of your screen, then click on the “Add Credits” button located under your CM log summary.
  3. You can search either by date or provider.  If you search under provider, events sponsored by the New York Upstate Chapter or any New York Upstate Sections are listed under the “APA” tab, as “APA New York Upstate Chapter.”  All our events are listed under the “Past Events” tab.  Click on the event that you attended and a pop-up box will appear. 
  4. Click on the name of the session you attended.  Under the tab “Add to my log” you will see the “Rating” tab.  You must rate the session before it can be added to your log.  Comments are optional.  If you provide comments, you can choose to have them published to the website or not. 
  5. You must click on the ethics statement affirming that you truly attended the session before it can be added to your log. 
  6. Click “Submit” and the CM credits will appear in your CM log.  If the session is NOT added to your log, please contact me. 
  7. For the Chapter conference, all sessions will be listed under that one tab.  You need to select, rate and add each session you attended to get credit for it.  All other events are entered individually. 
  8. Events sponsored by other organizations (e.g. New York Planning Federation, ULI, ITE, etc.), are listed under that organizations name, or you can search by date.  The same process is used to submit those sessions. 
  9. If you have been participating in the “First Fridays” webinars, those events are listed under the SPONSORING Chapter.  They may be listed under the “Distance Learning” tab if you cannot find them under the “Past Events” tab.  The flier for the series lists the sponsoring Chapter for each month’s webcast.  (available at the Utah Chapter site: www.utah-apa.org.  New events continue to be added to this series of free training events. 

PLEASE NOTE: There is a tab listing “Free APA Online Training” on the “CM Activities” page.  This tab lists CM opportunities available at no cost, like the “Tuesdays at APA” podcasts.  
If you have any difficulties in adding credits to your CM Log, please contact Ellen Parker at eparker@wd-ae.com  

Exam Calendar
Click HERE for the next application deadlines and test dates to become a certified planner. Questions may be directed to: AICPexam@planning.org or the Chapter's Professional Development Officer Ellen Parker, AICP at (716) 688-0766.

Click HERE for schedule of 2010 series of CM webcasts. Registration is limited to the first 1,000 people that register online for the event.

Powerpoint of AICP Exam Review Webinar, April 2008- How to Prepare for the AICP Exam - Click HERE

Reduced Fee Scholarship Information
Each calendar year, AICP provides a Reduced Exam Registration Fee Scholarship. This program was put into place to offer assistance to approved applicants who may defer taking or are unable to take the AICP exam because of the high cost.

Scholarship recipients pay reduced fees to AICP as follows:
· First time AICP applicants: $120 (combined $60 application and $60 exam fee)
· Previously approved AICP applicants: $60 (exam fee only)

Please note that if scholarship recipients pay the regular instead of the reduced fees before receiving notice of selection, AICP will promptly refund the fee difference to the candidates

Criteria:
Applicant shall submit a written explanation of financial hardship (including financial hardship caused by a budget cutback in a firm or agency), which necessitates the request.
· Members of ethnic or racial minorities shall be given preference.
· The applicant(s) selected will be otherwise unlikely to take the exam without the reduced fee.
· The applicant’s employer will not subsidize the exam fee.

The Chapter Professional Development Officer is charged with choosing a scholarship recipient based on the general selection criteria provided by AICP. Our Chapter will provide one allotted award per calendar year. If you feel you are eligible for this scholarship, please contact Ellen Parker, AICP as soon as possible. Applicants will need to submit a written explanation of financial hardship (including financial hardship caused by a budget cutback in a firm or agency). Members of ethnic or racial minorities will be given preference. The applicant selected will be otherwise unlikely to take the exam without the reduced fee.

Notice to Candidates scheduled to take the AICP Exam

The 7th edition of the Chapter President's Council Study Manual are now available. The new manual will be in CD-ROM format can be purchased for $10 (includes shipping). Please e-mail Ellen Parker, AICP if you are interested in purchasing the manual. All checks should be made out to the American Planning Association. The new study guide will reflect information that is relevant to the current exam.

Please remember that it is imperative to begin studying for the exam early. The exam draws from an extremely diverse range of planning issues.

It is highly recommended that you know and understand the Planners Code of Ethics.

Exam Preparation - Exam candidates will find the following links useful:

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