ACE FAQ Continuing Education Provider

Q: What are the required qualifications to be an ACE Continuing Education Provider?

ACE approves continuing education courses individually. To receive ACE approval for your course, the following criteria must be met:

• All course subject matter must be within the ACE Certified Professional’s Scope of Practice:
  1. ACE Certified Professionals may NOT “diagnose”
  2. ACE Certified Professionals may NOT “prescribe”
  3. ACE Certified Professionals may NOT “prescribe diets or recommend specific supplements” (If you are submitting a nutrition course, see the ACE Position Statement on Nutrition regarding important Scope of Practice information.) 
  4. ACE Certified Professionals may NOT “treat” injury or disease
  5. ACE Certified Professionals may NOT “monitor” progress for medically referred clients
  6. ACE Certified Professionals may NOT “rehabilitate”
  7. ACE Certified Professionals may NOT “counsel”
  8. ACE Certified Professionals may NOT work with “patients”
     
     
• Authors and all instructors must hold at least one of the following:

  • Hold a degree or current certification/license appropriate for the course content as follows:

    For Health and Fitness related courses, workshops, and conference sessions, you must hold:

    • A bachelor’s degree in exercise science or a health-related field; OR
    • A bachelor’s degree in dance (exception for dance-related courses only)
    • A current NCCA-accredited certification as an exercise professional or health coach (ACE, AAPTE, ACTION, ACSM, AFAA-CGFI, CSCCa, IFPA, NASM, NCCPT, NCSF, NESTA, NETA, NFPT, NSCA, PMA, PTAG, WITS); OR
    • A current E-RYT credential (exception for yoga-related courses only)
    • A current license or NCCA-accredited certification in a health-related profession

  • For Business, Leadership, Management, Technology and related courses, workshops, and conference sessions, you must hold:

    • A bachelor's degree in business, leadership, management, technology or a related field; OR
    • A current license of NCCA-accredited certification in a discipline related to the course content; OR
    • Demonstrated expertise to present or develop materials on course topic(s) based on pertinent education, professional training and experience.

• • For Professional Conduct and Ethics related courses
    • A bachelor's degree in business, law, ethics, risk management or a related field; OR
    • A current license or certification in a discipline related to the course content (i.e. Workplace Safety, National Safety Council, etc); OR
    • Demonstrated expertise to present or develop materials on course topic(s) based on pertinent education, professional training and experience.

Instructor Requirements & Code of Ethics – Download and read our Instructor Code of Ethics

Q: What course topics will ACE consider for approval?

ACE approves courses from a variety of topics including, but not limited to: anatomy, behavior change, body composition, business management, chronic conditions, communication and motivation, cueing and choreography, exercise physiology, exercise programming, fitness assessments, injury prevention, instructional techniques, nutrition, post-rehab programming, specialty class formats and weight management.

Relevant topics in the Professional Conduct & Ethics continuing education category include ethical and legal business practices, risk management and liability procedures, client confidentiality and protected health information, and best practices for fostering equity, diversity, inclusion, and culture.

ACE will not approve:

• Courses that prepare students to take NCCA-accredited certification exams (i.e. exam prep workshops)
• Courses that are positioned or titled as core certifications that do not hold NCCA accreditation (i.e. Group Fitness Instructor)
• Courses that are redundant to the experience and education of ACE Certified Professionals
• Courses that prepare students for a different field (i.e. massage) or are beyond the scope of practice for ACE Certified Professionals
• Courses that are not delivered in a structured learning environment

Q: What qualifications do I need to be considered as an ACE Continuing Education Provider?

To receive ACE approval for your distance learning course, live webinar, workshop or conference, your content must be within the scope of practice for ACE Certified Professionals. For example, ACE Certified Professionals may not diagnose, prescribe, treat injury or disease, or rehabilitate. You must also not infringe on the duties of a registered dietitian or healthcare provider by prescribing diets or recommending specific supplements.

The course must be taught in a structured learning environment and the author and all instructors must meet at least one of the following qualifications:

• Hold a degree or current certification/license appropriate for the course content as follows:

  For Health and Fitness related courses, workshops, and conference sessions, you must hold:

  • A bachelor’s degree in exercise science or a health-related field; OR
  • A bachelor’s degree in dance (exception for dance-related courses only)
  • A current NCCA-accredited certification as an exercise professional or health coach (ACE, AAPTE, ACTION, ACSM, AFAA-CGFI, CSCCa, IFPA, NASM, NCCPT, NCSF, NESTA, NETA, NFPT, NSCA, PMA, PTAG, WITS); OR
  • A current E-RYT credential (exception for yoga-related courses only)
  • A current license or NCCA-accredited certification in a health-related profession

• For Business, Leadership, Management, Technology and related courses, workshops, and conference sessions, you must hold:

  • A bachelor's degree in business, leadership, management, technology or a related field; OR
  • A current license of NCCA-accredited certification in a discipline related to the course content; or
  • Demonstrated expertise to present or develop materials on the course topic(s) based on pertinent education, professional training and experience.

Q: What types of courses will ACE consider for approval?

Q: How much does it cost to have my application reviewed?

All fees are non-refundable. Application is valid from January 1 to December 31 of the reviewed year.

*For the first time in nearly a decade, ACE has introduced a new pricing structure, which will allow us to more closely align with the current industry trends while enabling us to better serve the increasing number of applicants

Q: How do I submit my conference application for ACE CEC review?

CONFERENCE CHECKLIST PDF – Use this checklist to prepare for your Conference Application

CONFERENCE TEMPLATE (Session Grid) - Please email us at educationprovider@acefitness.org to request a session grid template to use in the preparation of your application. 

Conference applications must be submitted at minimum 60 days in advance of event with the following information:

• Conference name
• Start and end dates
• Location (country, state, city, zip)
• Number of sessions
• Complete session schedule
• Grid of dates and times of all sessions with their presenter name(s) and credentials.  
  Providers are responsible for ensuring instructors at their conference meet the required criteria. If two or more people are co-presenting during the same session, at least one of those individuals must meet ACE credential requirements for that session to be approved. Not meeting the required criteria will result in the session not being approved for ACE CECs.  See “Q: What qualification do I need to be an ACE Continuing Education Provider.”  

How to calculate CECs for your conference:

• Individual sessions are assigned CEC credits in full hour (0.1 CEC) and half hour (0.05 CEC) increments.
  • 50 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes = 0.1 CEC
  • 1 hour 30 minutes = 0.15 CECs
  • 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours 25 minutes = 0.2 CECs
• The maximum CEC conference value is rounded to the maximum number of full education hours that can be completed.
  • For example, a conference with 18 hours 30 minutes of approved sessions would receive 1.8 CECs
• Items not included in CEC value:
  • Keynotes, panels, roundtables, workouts, social events, lunches, tours

Q: How do I submit my workshop application for ACE CEC review?

WORKSHOP(Live or Virtual) CHECKLIST PDF – Use this checklist to prepare for your Workshop Application

• Workshop title
• Description of 100-150 words that represents the focus, subject and intended audience
• Three measurable objectives participants will be able to meet after attending. Start each objective with "Students will be able to ..." (should be clear and specific to the outline submitted)
• Detailed outline with an hour-by-hour breakdown that includes breaks and meals
• Instructor or presenter name(s) must be added to the course by entering the instructor's email. A response is required by the instructor who will receive a verification link. (If the course is taught by multiple instructors, all individuals must meet credential requirements. If any of the instructors do not meet requirements, the course will only be approved if they will be co-teaching with an approved instructor who does meet requirements.)
• Detailed course outline and course manual/materials in electronic format (.pdf, .doc, .docx)
  • If the file is larger than 10 MB, attach a document indicating that you are sending the files to educationprovider@acefitness.org (subject line must include course title)

How to calculate CECs for your workshop:

• 1 hour = 0.1 CECs
• 2 hours = 0.2 CECs
• The maximum CEC workshop value is rounded to the maximum number of full education hours that can be completed
  • 3 hours, 30 minutes = 0.3 CECs

Q: How do I submit my distance learning application for ACE CEC review?

DISTANCE LEARNING CHECKLIST PDF – Use this checklist to prepare for your Distance Learning Application:

COURSE REVIEWER FORM – Use this course reviewer form as detailed below.

• Distance learning/online course title
• Description of 100-150 words that represents the focus, subject and intended audience
• Three measurable objectives participants will be able to meet. Start each objective with "Students will be able to ..." (should be clear and specific to the outline submitted).
• Name of author(s) with their biographies (if multiple individuals participated in authoring the course, at least one author must meet ACE credential requirements)
• Necessary permissions (applicable only if the author is not affiliated with your organization)
• Detailed course outline, including agenda, that meets listed objectives
• Word count for all reading documents
• Media run time for total number of video time
• Post-completion quiz (a quiz should be designed to verify participant completion of the course, reinforce important content, evaluate student comprehension and verify that the learning objectives were met)
• Name and email addresses of the three reviewers, along with their completed ACE Distance Learning Course Reviewer Form. All reviewers should be professionals who meet the professional level of the intended audience and are not involved in creation of the course
• Link to course with login information so the course itself can be reviewed
• Submit any additional course documents to educationprovider@acefitness.org or mail to ACE Professional Education at 9444 Balboa Ave. Suite 290 San Diego, CA 92123

How to calculate CECs for your distance learning course:

• Feedback from the three Reviewers

Proper form for writing quizzes:

• Multiple-choice questions should be formatted with one question and four answer options.
• Do not use “All of the above,” “None of the above,” “Both A and C” or similar formats for answer options.
• All answer options should begin with a capital letter, even if they are part of a fill-in-the-blank question. 
• Do not use abbreviations (ex. abs, reps or quads)
• Avoid terms that refer to frequency (ex. rarely or usually) and those that refer to absolutes (ex. never or always).
• Avoid repeating words in the question and answer options.
• Do not use periods at the end of answer options.
• To emphasize a key word in the question, use all capital letters and boldface (no italics or underline).
• Keep answer options similar in length and wording. For example, if the first three answer options for a particular question are “Biceps,” “Triceps,” and “Hamstrings,” the fourth option should be something similar, such as “Quadriceps,” as opposed to “Teres major and minor.”
• For fill-in-the-blank questions, the blank should be 10 spaces long.
• If answer options are all numbers, please put the smallest number as option “A” and list them in order from smallest to largest.

The following is a list of the minimum number of quiz questions based on CEC value:

Q: How do I submit my short recorded (live) or live event application for ACE review?

LIVE/RECORDED WEBINAR CHECKLIST PDF – Use this checklist to prepare for your Short Live or Pre-Recorded Event Application

Short Recorded Live Event:  May include recorded conference sessions, webinars, video or podcasts, online sessions or webcasts; with a duration of a minimum 50 minutes with a maximum of two-hours. Must include a quiz. 

• Short Recorded Live Event
• Course document (PowerPoint slides, course manual, or handouts used in presentation)
• Three measurable objectives
• Instructor or presenter name(s) must be added to the course by entering the instructor's email. A response is required by the instructor who will receive a verification link. (If the course is taught by multiple instructors, all individuals must meet credential requirements. If any of the instructors do not meet requirements, the course will only be approved if they will be co-teaching with an approved instructor who does meet requirements.)
• Detailed outline with topics to be covered
• Course length in hours
• URL with login information to view
• Quiz

Courses that are not a recording of a live one to two hour event should not be submitted as a recorded webinar and will be denied.  Online courses should be submitted as a Distance Learning application.

Q: How are ACE Continuing Education Credits (CECs) determined?

CEC value corresponds to the amount of time (in hours) spent participating in a structured continuing education experience under qualified instruction. CEC value cannot be changed mid-year and will stay at the approved rate until a new application is submitted. 

CEC value is NOT awarded to: masterclasses, breaks or lunches, time to take an exam or quiz

The CEP code is not to be publicly displayed and is to be awarded ONLY to those who complete the course, by way of a certificate.

*Once an ACE Certified Professional has redeemed the CECs for completing your course, they may re-take your course but will not be eligible to redeem credits a second time.

Q: How long will it take ACE to process my application?

ACE will review your completed application package within 30 business days of receipt and payment in full.  Upon review, if the application is deemed incomplete we will contact you and the review window may be extended. 
Incomplete applications will result in a denial.

We reserve the right to change the Approved Provider status at any time. 

*ACE will not review events that have occurred in the past

To request an expedited review:

ACE offers a “RUSH” option for all course categories, which is $150 per application.  RUSH applications must be received at least 10 business days in advance of the proposed program date.  Applications received after this time are not guaranteed review.

*Conference submissions are subject to 60 days' review. A RUSH fee is optional

NEW Professional Conduct and Ethics Course category review. Allow up to 60 days for the initial review of Professional Conduct and Ethics related content if the course has been previously approved. Standard 30 business day review for all new course applications in this course category.

Q: What do I give my participants upon completion of my ACE approved continuing education course?

ACE’s application process is the pre-approval step so that ACE Certified Professionals can get CECs. Upon completion of each ACE Approved Continuing Education Course, a certificate listing the following information must be provided to the participant:

• Attendee’s name
• Course title (matching the title approved by ACE)
• ACE course (CEP) number
• Course completion date
• Number of CECs
• Presenter’s name

*ACE Approved Continuing Education Providers will find a certificate template in their business account.

*CEP codes are not to be displayed publicly. Participants should receive the CEP code after completing the course. Displaying an approved CEP code on public-facing websites (i.e. Facebook, organizations page, Google, etc) may result in the removal of the Provider status.

Q: How do I renew a previously approved continuing education course?

If you have a continuing education (workshop or distance learning) course that was approved within the last two calendar years and nothing has changing about the course (i.e. schedule and information is staying the same), use the following steps to submit your course for renewal:

1. Login to your ACE Business Account.
2. Click on “Course Renewals” to see the courses eligible for renewal.
3. Select the checkbox next to the course(s) that you want to renew.
   1. Ensure that the instructor resume(s) is updated (for Online Learning or Text/DVD Applications, accurate with certification number and expiration date, and uploaded.
   2. If renewing a workshop or short live/pre-recorded event, the instructor must be added by entering their email. The response is required on behalf of the instructor.
   3. Ensure that the course documents are accurate and uploaded.
4. Click on “Renew Selected Courses.”
5. Follow the checkout process.

Renewal applications will be reviewed within 30 business days of when they were submitted. Once the renewal has been processed and approved, the course will be listed in the “Course History” section of your business account. ACE reserves the right to deny a renewal based on a review of the required criteria: author, instructor, scope of practice.

Courses not available for renewal:

• Courses that were approved more than two years in the past must be re-submitted for review
• Courses that have undergone any change (10% or more of content has changed AND/OR course schedule has changed in length) must be submitted as a NEW course
• Conferences cannot be renewed

Q: Professional Conduct & Ethics Course Category

Effective 9/13/23, ACE is requiring all ACE Certified Professionals to complete one hour (0.1 CEC) of continuing education focused on Professional Conduct & Ethics during every two-year certification period to become eligible to renew their ACE Certification(s).

Relevant topics in the Professional Conduct & Ethics continuing education category include ethical and legal business practices, risk management and liability procedures, client confidentiality and protected health information, and best practices for fostering equity, diversity, inclusion, and culture.

• ACE Pros renewing their ACE Certifications before 9/13/23 may renew without meeting the requirement, regardless of their certification expiration date. These ACE Pros will need to meet the requirement on all subsequent certification renewals.
• ACE Pros renewing after 9/13/23 will be required to complete one hour (0.1 CEC) of qualifying Professional Conduct & Ethics continuing education, whether their certification expiration date falls before or after 9/13/23.

Complete renewal requirements starting 9/13/23 include:

• 20 hours (2.0 CECs) of ACE-approved continuing education
• 1 hour (0.1 CEC) out of the total 20 hours (2.0 CECs) must be from the Professional Conduct & Ethics category*
• A current CPR/AED certificate
• A renewal fee

*This is the only change in the requirements to renew an ACE Certification.