How to Calculate CPD Points as a Career Enthusiast?

CPD Quality Standards

 CPD stands for “Continuing Professional Development.”

Its principles encompass the learning activities that help professionals to boost their skills and knowledge.

For the learner’s convenience and accurate career progression measurement, attaining CPD points is a vital part of the development process. CPD shows commitment to a profession and a desire to develop within it.

What follows is a summarisation of how to calculate CPD points for courses and qualifications

CPD Principles

A learner must take responsibility for their development and learning. This requires a consistent ability to track and document the attainment of new skills and knowledge.

CPD can record and file all formal and informal experiences that contribute to significant professional development, including those that come from self-study and on-the-job activities.

To support this process, some organisations encourage the use of digital or physical portfolios. This should be maintained to include the latest documents and feedback that supports developmental achievements. Some companies recommend the use of a physical portfolio. And it should include documents of gained skills and knowledge.

Other companies will include this aspect of CPD in PDPs (Personal Development Plans) or training schedules.

However, in all cases, the extent and content of much of the learning will be dependent on self-drive and commitment to self-development.

The Importance of CPD

CPD has multiple benefits for the learner and their employer. It provides learning and structure in the workplace without disrupting operations or services, and it provides equal educational opportunities for all staff members.

CPD can also be an essential part of registration and membership in a regulatory body, as well and helping realise personal potential in a chosen profession.

The main advantages of CPD are that it :

• Provides recognition and documentation of developmental achievements
• Details the progression path of professional training
• Delivers guidance and direction for the appropriate learning activities
• Identifies knowledge gaps and existing developmental needs
• Offers evidence and demonstrates capabilities to employers and clients
• Makes a real difference to career potential and employment paths

Understand the CPD Points System

What are CPD “points”, and how are they used?

They are a way to recognise and assign value to learning activities, regardless of their structure and format. They also help to measure developmental progression.

Most development plans will require the attendance of training courses and the completion of assignments or achievable goals. This needs to be recorded and filed in a way that is presentable to others and upholds the principles of CPS standards.

However, points are not just accrued by proving attendance at a seminar or completing a course assignment. Personal progression and work achievements must also be rated for value.

The accruement of CPD points is likely to depend on the profession or job that a learner has. Some regulatory bodies or organisations insist upon proof and documentation to show that a certain amount of CPD points have been accumulated.

For instance, nurses and nursing support staff need to attain at least 45 points of CPD in a calendar year.

A CPD “point” is a measurement of time, effort, and resources that a learner has expended during an educational activity.

Each one takes into consideration the following factors:

• Online and classroom courses that have been attended and completed
• Webinars, seminars, lectures, and presentations s that have been attended
• Maintenance of a personal portfolio that includes all educational details

Converting CPD Points into Hours

Typically, CPD “points” are represented as “hours”, especially by most regulatory boards. The conversion technique for this may differ slightly depending on the location and profession. In some professions, they may also be referred to as “units” or “credits”.

Whilst this might seem a little confusing or disconcerting when these different measurements are used, they all basically mean the same thing.

Put simply:

One CPD point corresponds to one hour spent on a CPD activity.

Using a typical course schedule as an example:

A training course on leadership management takes place over four days between 10 am to 3 pm. This means that 4 x 5 hours are spent studying, so 20 CPD hours were attained by a student’s attendance, meaning that they have accrued at least 20 CDP points during the activity.

Learners are not monitored online or have an equivalent of a pedometer strapped to their brain. Instead, they hold the responsibility and transparency for recording the points that are earned. As shown in the next section, points can also be influenced by the quality of learning.

Calculating CPD Points 

CPD points are awarded once a course or learning program has been completed. The points can be proven by a document or certificate from the teaching organisation or associated awarding body. On other occasions, it will be appropriate or necessary for the learner to calculate the final accumulation of points by themselves.

Typically, CPD points/credits equal the number of active learning hours in a CPD activity. The CPD hours depend on the amount of time learners take to learn and understand the course materials and complete quizzes designed to assess their comprehension. 

An online course includes guided learning hours (GLH) and additional learning hours (ALH). Guided learning hours relate to the credits learners receive by participating in education or training under the supervision of a lecturer. However, it doesn’t include private study time by the student. On the other hand, additional learning hours (ALH) are the time a learner spends completing assignments and exams.

So, how to calculate CPD Points as a career enthusiast? Take a look at the table below.

GLH		ALH
Duration	Points	Hours	Points
1-10	10	2	1
11-15	15	4	2
16-20	20	6	3
21-25	25	8	4
26-30	30	10	5
31-35	35	12	6
36-40	40	14	7
41-45	45	16	8
46-50	50	18	9
51-55	55	20	10

In guided learning, 10 CPD points are awarded for spending 1-10 hours on active learning. Similarly, you’ll earn 15 CPD points for spending 11-15 hours on studies, 20 Points for 16-20 hours, 25 for 21-25 hours, 30 for 26-30 hours and so on. 

For additional learning hours, one CPD point corresponds to 2 hours spent on a CPD activity. For instance, if you spend 2 hours taking an exam or completing an assignment, you’ll earn 1 point. Likewise, you’ll achieve 3 points for spending 6 hours, 4 points for 8 hours, and 5 points for 10 hours, continuing in the same manner. 

Using a typical course schedule as an example:

A training course takes 128 hours to complete; the GLH is 16 hours, and the ALH is 112 hours.  So, the CPD points will be 

GLH		ALH
Duration	Points	Hours	Points
1-10	10	2	1
11-15	15	4	2
16-20	20	...	...
21-25	25	...	...
26-30	30	...	...
31-35	35	112	56
36-40	40	114	57
41-45	45	116	58
46-50	50	118	59
51-55	55	120	60

Total CPD points = 76

As you can see, 16 guided learning hours are worth 20 CPD points. Moreover, you’ll earn 56 CPD points by spending 112 hours on additional learning. So, the total CPD points you’ll achieve after completing the course is 76. 

Any relevant training and development activity that is undertaken can contribute to CPD points. Because of this, some organisations will award CPD points if particular lectures or seminars are attended, whilst others will award points for the demonstration of gained skills in the workplace.

Learners are not monitored online or have an equivalent of a pedometer strapped to their brains. Instead, they hold the responsibility and transparency for recording their earned points.

Calculating CPD Points from Online Courses

Attending a lecture or scheduled course provides a relatively easy way to measure CPD hours and points, as they are meticulously timed. This is also true for watching educational videos or pre-recorded webinars, as the viewing time consists of legitimate CPD hours.

However, it becomes a little more complex to measure CPD points during self-study activities and online courses? This is because they will normally consist of interactive modules that can be studied, reviewed, and repeated according to a learner’s personal pace and requirements. It may also take some people longer to pass assessment quizzes if they are part of the training.  Therefore a students CPD study time will be affected by the length and extent of contents within an online course.

To reflect these considerations and anomalies, the CPD points gained from an online course will be affected by the following factors:

• Course Level – The higher the expertise and more objectives a course has, the more points it will be worth upon completion. A level-2 diploma course is likely to be gain more CPD awards than lower level one will.
• Subject Matter – Certain topics may need prior knowledge and are more complex to understand, which can mean extra time is required in study. This will be recognised by having more CPD points attributed to its completion.
• Specialisation – The more focused and precise the information is in a training course is, the more points will be awarded. This is to recognise the fact that specific elements, such as science equations or government legislation, may need to be understood to complete the training.

CPD training providers will consider all these factors when creating coursework and content, ensure that the estimated duration and length is appropriate to the subject and objective.

Therefore, the points that can be earned from an online course will depend on how the certifying service measures the length, content, and validity of each course.

The official point allocation will also take into account:

• Amount of reading time estimated to absorb the contents
• The time needed for comprehension and reflection
• Duration of videos or interactive sessions
• The reasonable time needed to answer quizzes and fill out assessments

Final Thought

The potential and importance of self-development and continual learning have now become a priority for all forward-thinking organisations.

CPD supports and encourages this practice and provides the perfect way for individuals to maximise their potential and record their path to success.