ACE FAQ Continuing Education Provider

Q: What is an ACE Continuing Education (CE) Provider?

An ACE CE Provider is an organization or individual approved to offer continuing education courses that award ACE Continuing Education Credits (CECs) to ACE Professionals.

Q: What types of courses does ACE approve?

ACE approves courses that:

  • Provide structured, educational content
  • Include measurable learning objectives
  • Are current (less than 10 years old)

Q: What topics are commonly approved?

ACE frequently approves courses on:

Q: What topics are NOT approved?

ACE will not approve:

  • Exam prep for NCCA accredited certifications
  • Courses positioned as core certifications without NCCA accreditation
  • Courses redundant to ACE professional education
  • Courses preparing students for unrelated fields (e.g., massage)
  • Courses outside ACE Scope of Practice

Out of scope examples include:

  • Cupping
  • Kinesiotaping
  • Diagnosing
  • Prescribing
  • Counseling
  • Blood flow restriction as part of treatment of a disease or condition
  • Treating injury or disease
  • Creating individualized meal plans
  • Working with "patients"

Q: What credentials qualify an instructor for health & fitness courses?

Instructors must meet at least one of the following:

  • Bachelor's degree in exercise science or related field
  • Current NCCA accredited certification
  • E RYT (yoga courses only)
  • NCPC (Pilates courses only)
  • Relevant health related license or certification

Q: Can partial credit be awarded for out of scope courses?

Yes — partial credit may be awarded if the course is outside ACE Scope of Practice but still falls within the broader allied health continuum. CECs may be awarded for content that is theoretical; however, CECs will NOT be awarded for content that is practical or hands-on in nature.

Q: What credentials qualify an instructor for business, leadership, or technology courses?
  • Bachelor's degree in a related field
  • Relevant license or NCCA accredited certification

Q: Who is responsible for verifying instructor qualifications?

The Education Provider must verify that each course is taught by at least one qualified instructor. Failure to do so may result in denial or revocation of provider status.

Q: What if I don't have a qualified instructor?

You may:

  • Work with ACE Education Advisors to get certified
  • Add a qualified co instructor (they may review content without teaching)

Q: What course formats does ACE accept?

ACE accepts:

  • Conferences
  • Live or virtual workshops
  • Online distance learning
  • Blended learning
  • Book correspondence courses
  • Short live or recorded events (webinars)

Q: What are the requirements for conferences?
  • One-time event
  • Includes multiple concurrent sessions
  • Requires conference spreadsheet - sessions with incomplete information will not be approved. Must include session title, duration, description, objectives, and instructor name & credentials for each session.
  • Pre/post conference workshops must be submitted separately
  • See conference checklist here

Q: What are the primary requirements for live or virtual workshops?
  • Synchronous learning only
  • Attendance satisfies comprehension check
  • No asynchronous content allowed
  • Must follow a single schedule for all participants
  • See workshop checklist here

Q: What are the requirements for online distance learning?
  • Self paced
  • Must include a quiz/exam to satisfy comprehension check - be sure the number of quiz questions reflects the number of CECs.
  • May include audio, video, text, LMS content (must report total media run time, total word count, and total number of quiz questions)
  • OPTIONAL - Will accept up to three in any combination:
    • reviewer forms and/or
    • additional approval from NCCA-accredited fitness association (approval must be for same calendar year)
  • See online distance or blended learning course checklist here

Q: What are the requirements for blended learning?
  • Combination of online + in person
  • Must include a quiz/exam or practical exam if administered in-person
  • Timeline must specify synchronous vs. asynchronous activities (must report both live learning and online distance learning activities)
  • OPTIONAL - Will accept up to three in any combination:
    • reviewer forms and/or
    • additional approval from NCCA-accredited fitness association (approval must be for same calendar year)
  • See online distance or blended learning course checklist here

Q: What are the requirements for webinars?
  • 50-120 minutes
  • Live webinars: attendance OR quiz
  • Recorded webinars: quiz required
  • See checklist for short live or recorded event (webinar) checklist here

Q: What are the requirements for Professional Conduct & Ethics (PC&E) courses?

Although this is no longer a requirement for ACE Pros, we will continue to approve for ethics at the provider's request. If the provider would like the course to include the ethics approval, then must include:

  • Must include 60+ minutes of PC&E content
  • Live = workshop application
  • Recorded/blended = online learning application

Q: What materials are required for ALL course applications?
  • Course title
  • 100-150 word description
  • Three measurable learning objectives
  • Detailed hour by hour outline
  • Instructor names and qualifying credentials
  • Course materials (PDF/DOC)
  • Comprehension check

Q: What are the rules for writing learning objectives?

Objectives must:

  • Begin with "Students will be able to..."
  • Be specific, measurable, and aligned with the outline

Q: What are the final quiz/exam writing rules?
  • Minimum number of questions based on CEC value (see below)
  • One question with four answer options
  • No "all of the above" or "none of the above"
  • No abbreviations
  • Avoid absolutes

Q: What are the required minimum number of quiz questions?
  • 0.1-0.3 CECs → 10 questions
  • 0.4-0.6 → 20 questions
  • 0.7-0.9 → 30 questions
  • 1.0-1.2 → 40 questions
  • 1.3-1.5 → 50 questions
  • 1.6+ → 60 questions

Q: How does ACE calculate CECs?
  • 1 hour = 0.1 CEC
  • Maximum of 20 hours (2.0 CECs) will be awarded
  • Breaks, meals, quizzes, exams do not count
  • Partial hours round down unless 45+ minutes
  • Conferences and workshops will round total session time before converting
    • Seven 75 minute sessions = 8.75 hours = 0.9 CECs

Q: What is an example of CEC calculation for courses with reviewer forms?

Example: A blended learning course consisting of one all-day live-learning portion, and then an online portion with the following components.

  • Live learning: 8-hour workshop
  • Total media run time: 180 minutes (120 minutes video lecture and one 60-minute podcast)
  • Total word count: 30,000
  • Total number of quiz questions: 75
  • Additional documentation provided: 2 reviewer forms + one additional approval from an NCCA-accredited fitness organization:
    • Additional approval: 16 hours
    • Reviewer 1: 14 hours
    • Reviewer 2: 18 hours

First, to determine the estimated duration of the online portion of the course, ACE uses the Mergener Formula and total media run time to calculate an objective estimated duration.

  • Mergener estimation (using word count + total # of quiz questions): 4.6 hours
  • Total media run time: 3 hours
  • Estimated duration for online portion of course: 7.6 hours
  • Total estimated course duration: 15.6 (7.6 online hours + 8 live learning hours)

Next, this estimated duration is then averaged with the reported duration from the course reviewers.

  • 15.6+14+16+18= 63.1
  • 63.6/4 (4 = 1 estimated duration + 3 optional additional durations)
  • Total: 15.9 hours
  • Rounds up to 16 hours or 1.6 CECs

Q: How do I submit a course application?
  • Log into ACE Business Account
    • BE SURE TO SAVE USERNAME & PASSWORD
  • Click "Enter New Course"
  • Complete application & attach all required documents
  • Save application - this will take you back to your home page
  • Open "Pending Courses"
  • Select calendar year
  • Add to cart
  • Pay fees
  • You will receive and emailed receipt - this is your confirmation the course has been submitted

Q: What if I see multiple years - which year should I select?

For new courses, you will have the option to submit for the current calendar year OR starting on November 1st; you may also opt to submit a course for the following calendar year.

  • If you want the approval to apply to both the current year and the following year, then submit for the current year and then you will be able to renew the course for the following year. Regardless of when a course is submitted, the approval will be for the entire calendar year.
  • If you're releasing your course towards the end of the year, you may opt to submit the course for the following year. Please note that if you opt to submit for the following year, that approval wouldn't be active until January 1st.

For course renewals, you may see the option to submit a course for a previous year, a current year, or starting November 1st; you could see the option to renew for the following year.

  • If you see the option to renew for the previous year, this means you opted NOT to renew a course after it was approved, but it is still within the 2-year eligibility window. If you do not want a gap in your course approval window, you will need to renew for the previous year FIRST, and then you will have the option to renew for the current and following year.
  • Between January-October, you will only see the option to renew for the previous or current year. If you're only seeing the current year, then that means all eligible courses were renewed the year prior (no approval gaps). This will be backdated to January 1st of that calendar year regardless of when approved.
  • Between November and December, you will also see the option to renew for future calendar years. Please note that if you do not want any gaps in your course approval, you should first renew for the current calendar year and then you will have the opportunity to renew for the following calendar year.

Please note that ACE does not require that you renew for previous calendar years to renew for current or future calendar years, BUT that would result in an approval gap. Those who completed the course during the period when the course was not approved would be required to submit a petition to earn CECs, meaning they would not be able to redeem CECs using the course code.

Q: When is my course officially submitted?

Only after payment is completed.

Q: What are the annual provider fees?

$250 per calendar year this is once annual fee that is paid upon the first course submission each year.

Q: What are the course application fees?
  • Workshops: $50
  • Online/Blended/Text/DVD: $225 (1-9) or $200 (10+)***
  • Conferences: $400-$1,200 depending on session count
    • 1-50 sessions: $400
    • 51-100 sessions: $800
    • >100 sessions: $1200
  • Webinars: $75 (1-12) or $50 (13+) - max of 2 hours awarded

***Quantity of courses submitted in a single transaction, not cumulative throughout year

Q: What is the RUSH review fee?
  • $150 per course
  • Guarantees 10 business day review

Q: How long does ACE take to review applications?
  • Standard: up to 30 business days
  • Conferences: up to 60 business days
  • RUSH: 10 business days
  • Please note, ACE tries to process courses as quickly as possible, but providers should expect the full review period during peak months of December-March.

Q: What happens if my application is incomplete?
  • ACE will request missing items
  • You have 30 business days to respond
  • After that, the course is denied
  • Fees are non refundable

Q: What information must be included on certificates of completion?
  • Participant name
  • Approved course title
  • ACE course code (CEP code)
  • Completion date
  • Number of CECs
  • Provider/presenter name & signature

Q: What happens if certificates of completion are incomplete?
  • Learners may be unable to redeem CECs
  • ACE may issue compliance notices
  • Repeated issues may result in revocation of course approval

Q: What resources do approved Providers receive?
  • ACE-approved logos
  • Certificate templates
  • Course popularity reports