CEM Corner: The CEM® Credential and cem®/Aem recertification
A common misconception
about the Associate
Emergency Manager (AEM) credential is that it is not a valued credential. Nothing could be further from the truth. The AEM credential is designed for emergency management practitioners who lack a baccalaureate degree and for the recent college graduate who lacks the formal work experience required for the CEM® credential. The requirements for the AEM are three professional references (one of which must be the candidate’s current supervisor), 100 hours each of emergency management and general management training, the emergency management essay, and a written examination.
The AEM credential is an opportunity for the practitioner to validate emergency management knowledge. It is a natural stepping stone to the CEM® credential, when the EM practitioner attains a baccalaureate degree and the requisite job experience. Currently there are 65 active Associate Emergency Managers certified by IAEM. There is one important consideration when upgrading from AEM to CEM®. Any of the course work utilized to fulfill the baccalaureate degree cannot have been used to fulfill the AEM emergency management or general management training requirements.
Certification is valid for five years. During the fifth year, each CEM® and AEM receives a recertification announcement letter from IAEM reminding them to recertify by Dec. 31 of the fifth year or lose certification. The recertification fee is currently $200.00 USD.
IAEM currently uses two application formats for recertification – an Excel-type spreadsheet matrix and a streamlined recertification booklet.
- The Excel-type spreadsheet matrix requires the candidate to document a total of 500 points with a minimum of 100 points in each of three categories (Education & Instruction, Participation, and Service & Leadership). The remaining 200 points can be documented in any category.
- The streamlined recertification booklet requires the candidate to validate 75 hours of emergency management training, 25 hours of general management training, and six professional contributions.
- Please Note: The matrix option expires at the end of 2010! Afterwards, all recertification candidates must use the recertification booklet format.
- As with initial certification, recertifying candidates must include the appropriate documentation. Both formats require a summary page (Education & Instruction and Training) as well as a course certificate or letter from the training sponsor for each course. If the training course is not listed in the IAEM Training Allocation Chart, candidates also must include a course syllabus, table of contents, or other descriptive narrative. Remember, the training courses do not have to be listed on the Training Allocation Chart to fulfill the training requirement.
- When using the spreadsheet matrix format, the Participation and Service & Leadership categories require a completed summary sheet and sufficient validation documentation to confirm each claim. When using the booklet format, enclose a completed face sheet, any required signatures, and sufficient validation documentation to confirm each Contribution to the Professional category claimed.
If a credential holder is not recertified by the expiration date, IAEM will send a registered letter advising that the candidate must cease using the credential. In extraordinary circumstances, at the discretion of the CEM® Commission Chair, a lapsed AEM or CEM® may receive up to a one-year grace period to successfully complete the recertification process. To do so, the candidate must submit a letter requesting the grace period and describing the extraordinary circumstance preventing timely re-certification within 12 months of the expiration date. A $100.00 USD late fee will be assessed to process the request. If a certification lapses beyond the 12-month grace period, the candidate must begin the entire CEM® or AEM credentialing process over from the start (a new application packet and full fees).
April 2010, IAEM Bulletin
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