Understanding Professional Development Hours

Professional development (PD) hours represent the time value of completed learning activities. These hours are automatically tracked and can be used for compliance reporting and professional growth documentation.

What Are PD Hours

PD hours are time-based credits earned by completing learning content such as:

• Guided content (courses, videos, documents)
• Assessments and exams
• Learning paths and content libraries
• Certificates earned through completion

Each piece of content has an estimated time value that becomes your earned PD hours upon successful completion.

How PD Hours Are Calculated

The system calculates PD hours based on:

Estimated Time Values

• Content creators set estimated minutes for each learning activity
• Hours are calculated as: estimated_minutes ÷ 60 = PD hours
• Example: A 90-minute course = 1.5 PD hours

Completion Requirements

• You must fully complete the content to earn PD hours
• For assessments, you must achieve a passing score
• Partial completion does not award PD hours

Automatic Tracking

• Hours are awarded immediately upon successful completion
• The system records completion date and time
• Hours appear in your transcript and reporting

Viewing Earned PD Hours

Individual Content Hours

When viewing any learning content, you can see:

1. Estimated time displayed with a clock icon (⏰ 90m)
2. Completion status showing if hours have been earned
3. Completion date when PD hours were awarded

My Transcript

Access your complete PD hour history:

1. Navigate to eLearn → My Transcript
2. View all completed content with earned hours
3. See total PD hours accumulated over time
4. Export transcript for external reporting

Content Library View

In content libraries and learning paths:

1. Completed items show with green checkmark
2. Estimated time displays for incomplete items
3. Total library hours shown when all content completed

PD Hour Requirements by Content

Guided Content (Courses)

• Must complete all chapters and sections
• Pass any required assessments within the course
• Meet minimum viewing time for video content

Standalone Assessments

• Must achieve passing score
• Hours awarded only for successful completion
• Failed attempts do not earn PD hours

Learning Paths

• Complete all required content within the path
• Hours accumulated as each piece is completed
• Path completion may award bonus hours

Content Libraries

• Complete individual items to earn their respective hours
• Library completion shows total accumulated hours
• No additional hours for completing entire library

Using PD Hours for Compliance Reporting

Individual Reporting

• Export personal transcript with PD hour totals
• Filter by date range for specific reporting periods
• Show completion certificates alongside hour documentation

Administrative Reporting (System/Organization Administrator)

Administrators can view, manage, and export PD hours records:

1. Navigate to System Admin → eLearn → PD Hours
2. Use filters to search by user, organization, or date range
3. Export records as CSV for compliance reporting
4. Export records as PDF by user for individual documentation

Manually entering PD hours:

Administrators can create admin-entered PD hours records on behalf of users — for example, to credit external professional development that occurred outside the platform:

1. Navigate to System Admin → eLearn → PD Hours
2. Click New to open the entry form
3. Complete the record details and select the users to credit
4. Save — hours are added to each selected user’s transcript

Adding a PD hours record to additional users:

To duplicate an existing PD hours record for additional staff members:

1. Open the PD hours record
2. Click the option to add users
3. Select the users to receive the same record
4. Save — the record is copied to each selected user

Bulk actions:

From the PD Hours list, you can select multiple records and delete them in bulk.

Required Content Tracking

For mandatory professional development:

1. Administrators can mark content as “Required”
2. Set completion deadlines for required content
3. Track progress toward PD hour requirements
4. Generate compliance reports showing completed vs. required hours

PD Hour Best Practices

For Learners:

• Complete content fully to ensure hour credit
• Check estimated time before starting longer content
• Export transcripts regularly for record-keeping
• Focus on required content to meet compliance deadlines

For Administrators:

• Set realistic completion deadlines based on content hours
• Use admin-entered PD hours to credit external or off-platform training
• Monitor organization-wide PD hour completion
• Use CSV and PDF exports for state or district compliance reporting

Your PD hours provide valuable documentation of professional growth and help meet continuing education requirements throughout your career.