PDC Policy Announcement

If you have additional questions regarding this policy, please see our FAQs page here!

The RID Code of Professional Conduct requires that “Interpreters engage in professional development.” The guiding principle behind this tenet is that members, “are expected to foster and maintain interpreting competence and stature of the profession through ongoing development of knowledge and skills.” Spot audits of member transcripts have identified there may be confusion with this tenet and guiding principle. This document seeks to offer guidance for what is acceptable education practice leading to expanded knowledge and skills.

It has been the standard of practice that to engage in an activity means to be present and attending to the full program. This principle has been clearly enforced for onsite events such as conferences. Given multiple program options, a member must choose which event to attend. They may only earn credit for one event at a time. The development of online education has allowed some members to register for multiple activities at the same time. It appears members believe they may earn credit while attending multiple events at the same time. Overlapping credit may not be earned for simultaneous educational programs.

The International Association for Continuing Education and Training standard for a Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is 1 CEU = 10 contact hours. Credit may only be earned for each event in which an individual is engaged. Credit may not be stacked by simultaneously registering (but not fully engaging in) multiple activities. RID members are prohibited from fraudulently earning credit by registering for multiple programs occurring at the same time.

Should a member be found to have completed multiple simultaneous or overlapping activities, the following will occur:

1. All CEUs for those activities will be removed from the member transcript. No expectation will be allowed for a monetary refund be given from the event sponsor (HQ will contact the CEU provider(s) with this recommendation).

2. If the member’s certification cycle has ended, and the CEU requirements for that cycle were satisfied as a result of the excess CEUs earned, the member’s certification will immediately be revoked. Should the member wish to be reinstated and they are eligible for reinstatement, they will be required to go through the reinstatement procedures outlined here, with the caveat that all CEUs earned for reinstatement must be related to Ethics. In addition, they will be required to work with a mentor and the member will author a reflection paper that thoughtfully responds to the questions below:

   1. What was the motivation to stack/skim/fast forward through/otherwise fraudulently claim the content for the continuing education hours as submitted were legitimately earned?

   2. Describe the importance of continuing education as a component supporting certification. How does an interpreter’s continuing development support the communities you serve? How did your actions and decisions impact those communities?

   3. How will you handle this situation differently in the future and why?

3. If the member’s certification cycle ends in the future, their certification(s) will be suspended until they complete the reflection paper that thoughtfully addresses the questions mentioned above (2a, 2b, and 2c.)

4. If the member is not certified, they are prohibited from obtaining certification until they complete the reflection paper that thoughtfully addresses the questions mentioned above (2a, 2b, and 2c.)