Continuing Education - CE FAQs

This FAQ answers common Continuing Education - CE questions for Member365 administrators. Navigation and available options can vary by permissions and configuration.

What is Continuing Education?

When would I use this? Use this when you need to understand continuing Education before deciding how to use or configure it. For example, a continuing-education administrator may need this answer to award and track education activity correctly.

Continuing Education, often referred to as CE, is a structured program used to support certification or accreditation requirements.

View the complete step-by-step guide.

How do I set up Education Credits/Hours Specifications for a Membership Category?

When would I use this? Use this to set a category’s continuing education requirement and renewal rule.

1. Open Membership → Category Setup, choose the membership category, and open its Education tab.
2. Enable Education and enter the required credits or hours under Credits/Hours Specifications.
3. Set the number of days members may report credits after the collection period. Decide whether members below the minimum may still renew; No blocks renewal, while Yes permits it.
4. Click Save Membership and test the rule with a member below and above the threshold.

Education Credits/Hours Specifications

How do I import CE Education Activities and User Data?

When would I use this? Use this when you need the correct spreadsheet and import destination for CE activity definitions, CE activities earned by individual contacts, or CE collection periods.

Before you begin: Choose the template that matches the data: Education Activities defines the available activities; CE User Activities records activities or credits earned by contacts; and CE Collection Period assigns collection periods to contacts. Format every date as YYYY-MM-DD with leading zeroes, such as 2013-01-21.

Matching requirements: In the CE User Activities file, each Email Address must match the intended contact’s current primary email address in Member365. The Activity Code must exactly match the code in the Education Activities file. A mismatched email prevents the activity from being assigned to that contact, while a mismatched activity code prevents the user activity from importing.

Duplicate handling: If a CE Collection Period import matches a collection-period record that already exists for the contact, Member365 leaves the existing record unchanged instead of creating another copy. A different collection period is added as a new record. Review a small sample after the import. If duplicate periods are already present, verify their start and end dates before deleting one because deletion cannot be restored.

Steps in Member365:

1. Go to Modules > Forms > Import Templates and download the template for Education Activities, CE User Activities, or CE Collection Period.
2. Enter the data without changing the required column headings. Verify the contact email addresses, exact activity codes, membership categories, credit values, and YYYY-MM-DD dates.
3. Submit the files through a Member365 support ticket in this order: CE Collection Periods, Education Activities, then User Activities.
4. After the import, review a small sample of contacts and confirm that each activity and its credits appear on the intended contact.

Expected result: The activity definitions are created and the User Activities file assigns the correct credits to the matching contacts.

Troubleshooting: If an education activity exists but a contact’s credits are missing, compare the contact’s current primary email address with the Email Address in the User Activities row and compare the Activity Code across both files. Correct the affected rows and submit them for reimport. If both values match, ask Member365 Support to review the import result.

What happens next? A Member365 team member will import the data and respond in the support ticket. Review the imported data and report any discrepancies.

View the complete import-field guide and download the CE templates.

How do I create a Continuing Education Activity as a Member?

When would I use this? Use this when you need to create a Continuing Education Activity as a Member. For example, a continuing-education administrator may need this answer to award and track education activity correctly.

The Continuing Education module is a great way to track member's engagement and progress as they pursue courses offered through the system or from a third party educational institution. Members can manually add and create continuing education activities to their profile.

1. Through the member portal page, click on ' CEU Tracker ' ( this may be custom labelled differently in your system).
2. Click ' CEU Tracker Activities ' .
3. Click the ' Add New Activity button.
4. Choose from among the list of courses you need to add to your CE profile and click on the ' Select ' button.
5. Enter the date of completion and upload any supporting document if available and click on the ' Confirm ' button.
6. Follow steps 1 to 3 above.
7. On the CEU Tracker Hours page, click on the ' Add New Activity' button.

View the complete step-by-step guide.

If an option described here is unavailable in your system, contact Member365 Support.

Can someone receive administrative access only to Continuing Education?

When would I use this? Use this when this question comes up during your Member365 workflow. For example, a continuing-education administrator may need this answer to award and track education activity correctly.

Yes. Administrator permissions can be limited by module, so a Continuing Education reviewer does not need full CRM access. The contact can perform the approved Education tasks without receiving unrelated CRM permissions. If the contact already has portal access, notify them directly because another welcome email may not be sent.

1. From the Administrator Dashboard, go to Contacts → View Contacts.
2. Open the contact who needs access. Create the contact first if the person is not yet in Member365.
3. Select Permissions from the contact record.
4. Enable Administrator.
5. Under the module permissions, enable only the required Education permissions, such as View, Update, or Reporting.
6. Leave unrelated module permissions disabled.
7. Click Save. If prompted, choose the option to grant access and send the administrator welcome email.

View the complete step-by-step guide.

How do I retire a CE activity without erasing historical credits?

When would I use this? Use this when an education activity should no longer be offered but members have already submitted credits against it.

Before you begin: Deleting CE activities, categories, levels, or configurations can remove the linked entries from current member records.

Steps in Member365:

1. Open the CE activity in its administrator setup.
2. Disable its option to appear in the Member Portal instead of deleting it.
3. Check a prior member record and the portal’s available activity choices after saving.

Expected result: The activity is unavailable for new member selections while its historical entries remain on existing records.

What happens next? Review linked member records before deleting any CE configuration; deletion is not a safe way to hide an option.

Delete a Continuing Education Activity

Can a member edit a CE activity after submitting it?

When would I use this? Use this when a member needs to correct a submitted CE or professional development entry.

Before you begin: The current member workflow does not offer an edit action for submitted activities.

Steps in Member365:

1. Have the member review the submitted entry and supporting information.
2. If the entry is wrong, delete the entry and submit it again with the corrected details.

Expected result: The corrected entry appears as a new submission after the original is removed.

What happens next? Keep a copy of any evidence needed for the replacement submission before deleting the original.

Create a CE Activity as a Member

Why can't I assign a CE activity to a previous cycle on an archived membership?

When would I use this? Use this when a member submits a past-period CE activity but the collection period belongs to an archived membership.

Before you begin: The prior cycle is unavailable while its related membership remains archived. Temporarily unarchiving changes the membership state, so review access, dates, and reporting consequences before proceeding.

Steps in Member365:

1. Open the contact and verify the archived membership and the activity's correct collection period.
2. Arrange a controlled temporary unarchive of that membership, with Support if needed.
3. Assign the activity to the newly available prior collection period and verify the saved record.
4. Re-archive the membership and confirm its status, period, and CE activity remain correct.

Expected result: The historical CE activity is associated with the intended prior cycle while the membership ends in its original archived state.

Test before going live: Use a safe case or coordinate with Support before changing a live archived membership.

What happens next? Retain a note of the temporary state change and check that no unintended portal access or reminders persisted.

Unarchive a Member

How do I assign extra event learning credits to only some attendees?

When would I use this? Use this when a subset completes an additional workshop or course during a larger event.

Before you begin: Do not add the extra credits to the original conference ticket if all attendees should retain its existing credits.

Steps in Member365:

1. Create a separate event ticket or workshop for the additional session and configure its learning credits.
2. In that event’s analytics, use Registration Import to add only the eligible attendees to the new ticket or workshop.
3. Mark the eligible people as attended; after the event completes, verify their credits.

Expected result: Only the separate session’s attended registrants receive its extra credits.

Test before going live: Compare one attendee with and one without the extra session, including their original event credits.

Can I edit the email sent when a CE activity is approved?

When would I use this? Use this when you can find the denial email template but cannot locate the approval message.

Direct answer: The CE activity approval message is a standard system email and cannot currently be edited by an administrator in the Education Emails settings.

Expected result: The standard approval email is sent when an eligible activity is approved; no administrator approval template is available to change.

Do Continuing Education activities require start and end dates?

When would I use this? Use this when creating an activity and deciding which dates to enter.

Direct answer: Start and end dates are required; they may be the same day.

Steps in Member365:

1. Set a start and end date when configuring the activity; use the same date for both if it is a one-day activity.
2. Test a historical member entry against the required collection period before importing records.

Expected result: The activity saves with both required dates.

Test before going live: Verify one historical record and transcript before changing many activity records.

Why can a member with enough CE hours still be blocked from recertifying?

When would I use this? Use this when the CE tracker shows the required hours but a renewal or recertification says the member has insufficient hours.

Check the CE Period's Grace Period End Date. A member can be blocked when they try to renew after that date even if the tracker shows enough credits. The grace period may be set on the affected contact's CE period.

Steps in Member365:

1. Open the affected member's CE tracker and confirm the earned hours and CE collection period.
2. Review the CE Period's Grace Period End Date against the attempted renewal date.
3. If the date is past and the member should still be eligible, extend the appropriate period with an administrator or ask Support to correct it; retry the renewal.

Expected result: The member can recertify when the applicable period permits the renewal and the CE requirement is met.

Test before going live: Check whether the change applies only to the contact or to an entire membership category before adjusting it.

Why do approved CE activities not count toward a member's current credits?

When would I use this? Use this when approved activities are visible on a member record but absent from the period total.

An activity must be assigned to the relevant CE collection period to count toward that period's credits.

Steps in Member365:

1. Open the member's CE activity and the applicable collection period.
2. Check whether each approved activity is associated with that period.
3. If the association is missing, have an authorized administrator or Support correct it and recalculate or review the totals.

Expected result: The member's period total includes the eligible activities once they are assigned to that collection period.

Test before going live: Confirm activity dates and categories before reassigning historical credits.

How do I let members choose an Activity Level when submitting CE credits?

When would I use this? Use this when the Member Portal's Add an Activity form does not show the Activity Level choice.

The administrator setting for member selection of activity levels may be disabled.

Steps in Member365:

1. From the Administrator Dashboard, open Modules → Continuing Education Credits → Settings → Activity Configuration.
2. Enable the option that allows members to choose their Activity Level and save.
3. Sign in with an appropriate test member to check the Add an Activity form.

Expected result: Eligible members can select an activity level when adding a CE activity.

Test before going live: Check how the choice affects approval and reports before opening it to all members.

How do I clear Approved Activities Pending Mailout without emailing members?

When would I use this? Use this when approved Continuing Education activities remain in the mailout queue and you want to clear the queue without sending approval emails.

Direct answer: Items under Approved Activities Pending Mailout are already approved. The mailout flag is an internal to-do marker. Selecting Mark All As Sent clears that marker without emailing members.

1. Open Approved Activities Pending Mailout on the Continuing Education dashboard, or open Recently Assigned Activities.
2. Confirm the listed activities are already approved.
3. Select Mark All As Sent.
4. If you need to approve a member-submitted activity without sending its approval email, open the activity, set Status to Approved, and select the plain Save action instead of Approve.

Expected result: The existing mailout queue is cleared without sending messages. Activities saved directly with an Approved status are approved without using the email-triggering Approve action.

Test before going live: Try one activity first and confirm its status and the member’s email log before processing a large batch.

How do I let members download CE supporting documents without allowing them to delete activities?

When would I use this? Use this when members need read-only access to supporting documents attached to their Continuing Education activities.

Direct answer: Turn off Allow Members to Remove Their Activities. This removes the member’s delete option without removing their ability to download supporting documents.

Steps in Member365:

1. From the Administrator Dashboard, go to Modules → Continuing Education Credits → Settings → Activity Configuration.
2. Turn off Allow Members to Remove Their Activities.
3. Save the Activity Configuration.
4. Sign in with an appropriate test member, open a CE activity that has a supporting document, and confirm that the document can be downloaded while the remove option is unavailable.

Expected result: Members can download supporting documents from their CE activities but cannot delete those activities.

Troubleshooting: If turning off this setting also hides the supporting-document download, confirm the setting was saved and contact Member365 Support with the affected activity and member details.

View the complete step-by-step guide.

What does the number on a Continuing Education Activity Group control?

Direct answer: The Activity Group number is the number of Activity Levels in that group that must meet their own minimum requirement. It is not a number of credits or hours, and an Activity Group does not combine or cap credits across its levels.

When would I use this? Use this when grouped CE levels do not change a member’s totals as expected or a value such as 12 was entered because the program requires 12 credits.

How to interpret and correct it:

1. Count the Activity Levels included in the Activity Group.
2. Set the group number to the number of those levels that must each meet their configured minimum. For example, a group containing two levels can require one or both levels; entering 12 does not create a 12-credit requirement.
3. If no grouped-level rule is needed, remove the Activity Group instead.
4. Review the member’s CE record and confirm that each completed activity is assigned to the intended Activity Level. Activities assigned only to another level will not change the grouped levels’ progress.

Expected result: The Activity Group evaluates how many included levels meet their individual minimums, while each level continues to total its own eligible activities.

Troubleshooting: If the result still appears incorrect, compare the group’s level count, each included level’s minimum, and the Activity Level assigned to the member’s completed activities. Activity Groups do not move activities between levels or change the credits attached to those activities.

What is Continuing Education