CPD is back!!!

Just read this announcement from the yahoogroup of UAP. I figured it's worthwhile sharing with those who might be interested...
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The Architect's Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program as required under R.A. No. 9266 was recently brought back by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), partly through the exercise of its quasi-legislative powers under R.A. No. 8981 (The PRC Modernization Act of 2000) and its derivative regulations.

All the forty four (44) state-regulated professions shall undergo the CPD program so that all PRC-registered and licensed professionals shall be afforded opportunities to improve their stock knowledge and skillsets pertaining to their chosen professions i.e. to keep abreast with worldwide practices and to help make the Filipino regulated professionals truly world class.

Among the key innovations/ differences with the previous continuing professional education (CPE) programs are:

1) that the new CPD program shall be strictly voluntary (and NOT mandatory); no CPD credit units shall be required by the PRC for the renewal of the PRC identification (ID) cards i.e. the 3-year PRC-issued licenses to practice architecture;

2) that testing and the passing of CD tests shall be mandatory to earn the full credit units.
The CPD requirement for professional self-improvement shall still be at twenty (20) credit units a year or sixty (60) credit units for the three (3) year period covered by a renewed PRC ID/ license to practice.
Cognizant of the fact that regulated professionals must constantly hone and improve their knowledge and skills, there is therefore clear need for individual professionals e.g. registered and licensed architects (RLAs) to use such CPD opportunities to allow them to move from general professional practice to specialized professional practice.

In line with the foregoing, the Architects' Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Council shall be formally reconstituted and sworn into office by the PRC on 03 September 2008 (9-11:30 am at the PRC Auditorium).

The CPE Council for Architects shall have three (3) members appointed by/ nominated from the: 1) Professional Regulatory Board of Architecture (PRBoA); 2) the integrated and accredited professional organization of architects (IAPOA) i.e. the United Archiutects of the Philippines (UAP); and 3) the Council of Deans and Heads of Architectural Schools in the Philippines (CODHASP).

The primary functions of the CPE Council include but are not limited to: 1) the accreditation of CPD Providers i.e. institutions, organizations, schools, firms and individuals; and 2) the approval of CPD courses.
The future of CPD may include the following:

1) the use of earned CPD units (in parallel consideration of verifiable professional practice duly certified by the IAPoA and/or the PRBoA) to lead to the granting by the PRBoA of a Certificate of Specialized Practice in Architecture; and

2) the possible use of the same CPD credits earned to lead to the possible granting by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) of a possible academic degree (to be possibly based on equivalencies to be officially established and approved by the CHED).

The pertinent PRC-issued documents relating to CPD shall be posted shortly at the Latest Publications section of the PRBoA website (www.architectureboa rd.ph).

This message is issued initially for announcement purposes. Thank You.