InterNACHI® requires its certified inspectors to complete 24.0 hours of Continuing Education every year in order to maintain their InterNACHI® certification. Visit the InterNACHI® Continuing Education Policy.
InterNACHI® provides to its members free, online education courses and an accredited Home Inspector Certificate Program. View the InterNACHI® Student Catalog to view the courses and program details, and to enroll in the courses for home inspectors provided by InterNACHI® School (internachi.edu).
InterNACHI® documents its implementation and application of policies and procedures for determining clock hours awarded for its courses and program. The clock hour and CEU calculation are approved by ACCET, a national accrediting agency of the U.S. Department of Education.
A clock hour is one instructional hour. One instructional hour is defined as 50 minutes (within a 60-minute period of time) that includes:
- instruction and academic engagement; and
- preparation.
Credit is given to the student for the instruction and academic engagement (the learning and doing) and the preparation (the studying and reviewing).
This calculation is referred to as a Carnegie Unit and is used by the American Council on Education in its Credit Recommendation Evaluative Criteria. To calculate the number of CEU (Continuing Education Units), InterNACHI® divides the number of clock hours of instruction, academic engagement, and preparation by 10. For example, if a course is 10.0 clock hours, then the course is worth 1.0 CEU.
INSTRUCTION AND ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT (in minutes) may include, but is not limited to the following:
Reading: The student receives credit for reading and being engaged with the instructional material in text, tables, illustrations, and images. The time is # of words in the course / 140 wpm.
- Watching Video: The student receives credit for watching and listening to instructional video. The time is # of minutes of video in the course.
- Answering Quiz Questions: The student receives credit for answering course quizzes. The time is # of quiz questions * 1.85 mpq.
- Answering Final Exam Questions: The student receives credit for answering questions of a course final exam. The time is # of final exam questions * 1.85 mpq.
- Completing an "Inspection & Writing Assignment": The student receives credit for performing an inspection, then writing and submitting an "inspection & writing assignment." The time is 240 minutes or 4.0 hours per assignment.
- Completing a "Research & Writing Assignment": The student receives credit for researching a course topic, then writing and submitting a "research & writing assignment." The time is 240 minutes or 4.0 hours per assignment.
- Performing a "Mock" Inspection & Report: The student receives credit for completing the "mock" inspections and reports that are part of the InterNACHI® Home Inspector Certification Requirements. Conducting a directed and independent inspection study performed according to a Standards of Practice including but is not limited to: performing an actual inspection on the building, dwelling, home, or living unit; taking digital inspection images; uploading an image; and developing and writing an inspection report using a checklist. The time is 600 minutes or 10.0 hours for each "mock" inspection and report.
- Communicating: The student receives credit for interactive academic-oriented communication with other students, the instructor, a mentor, or an Education Team Member with questions, feedback, or requests related to an academic task, assignment, or topic of a course. The time is # of minutes of timed communication if timed and documented by the learning management system.
wpm = words per minute
mpq = minutes per question
PREPARATION (in minutes) may include, but is not limited to the following:
- Preparation With the Course: The student receives credit for reviewing and studying the instructional course material (text, tables, illustrations, and images) in preparation for taking quizzes and exams. This preparation credit is (# of words in the course / 140 / 2), which is half of the time to awarded by reading and being engaged with the instructional material. See Instruction & Academic Engagement.
- Preparation With the Book: The student receives credit for reading, scanning, and reviewing the downloaded student coursebook, if a book is provided within the course. This preparation credit is (# of words in the book / 140 / 2), which is half of the time to awarded by reading and being engaged with the instructional material. See Instruction & Academic Engagement.
- Preparation for the "Research & Writing Assignment": The student receives credit for reading, research, and studying instructional materials within the course and outside of the course that relates to completing the research and writing assignment. This preparation credit is 240 minutes or 4.0 hours of preparation for each "research & writing assignment."
- Preparation for the "Inspection & Writing Assignment": The student receives credit for studying and preparing for the inspection and report writing process according to a Standards of Practice that is required in an "inspection & writing assignment," including studying, preparing, and practicing how to: (a) to capture, transfer, save, label, size, and archive digital images with a camera or device; (b) make observations in an inspection process; (c) evaluate conditions observed; (d) deduce, draw conclusions, and formulate opinions; (e) communicate observations in written form; (f) follow and abide by a Standards of Practice (g) use an inspection checklist or software and other inspection tools while performing an inspection; and (h) publish an inspection report. This preparation credit is 600 minutes or 10.0 hours of preparation for each "inspection & writing assignment."
FACTORS in awarding credit for student work, instruction, academic engagement, and preparation may include, but are not limited to:
- A clock hour is equivalent to 50 minutes of instruction, academic engagement, or preparation within a 60-minute period of time. To convert minutes into clock hours, we divide total minutes by 50.
- The average adult reading for learning is 100-200 words per minute for advanced, technical, non-fiction text. [Smith, Brenda D. "Breaking Through: College Reading" 7th Ed. Longman, 2004]. The 4th-grade reading level was measured 130 words per minute. [NAEP - Percentage of Students, Average Number of Words Per Minute, Grade 4. NCES.ed.gov. InterNACHI uses 140 words per minute and 50 minutes per hour. InterNACHI writing assignments have a writing minimum of 4th-grade level criteria. https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/studies/ors/rateperminute.aspx].
- Assuming 140 words per minute, clock hours for reading is equal to the number of words divided by 140 words divided by 50 minutes (assuming 50 minutes of instructional reading and a 10-minute break per clock hour). Therefore, reading time in hours = total number of words / 140 / 50. [Syracuse University Policies http://supolicies.syr.edu/studs/class_scheduling.htm]
- Watching and listening to instructional video is timed on a 1:1 ratio for video. For example, 60 minutes of watching and listening to the instructional video is equal to 60 minutes of student academic engagement. [AICPA and NASBA Continuing Professional Education Program Standard #14, Method 2, Prescribed Word Count Formula, 2011]
- The time for taking quizzes and exams is calculated by multiplying the number of questions by a factor 1.85 to calculate the total number of minutes. For example, the time for taking a 10-question quiz is 18.5 minutes (10 questions x 1.85) or 0.3 hours of academic engagement. [AICPA and NASBA Continuing Professional Education Program Standard #14, Method 2, Prescribed Word Count Formula, 2011]
- The time provided for a student to study for quizzes and exams is calculated to be as long as the time for taking the quizzes and exams. For example, if it takes 0.6 hours to complete the quizzes, 0.4 hours to complete the final exam, then the number of credit hours for studying to take the quizzes and final exam is 1.0 hour (0.6 + 0.4). [U.S. Department of Education: Guidance to Institutions and Accrediting Agencies Regarding a Credit Hour as Defined in the Final Regulations Published on October 19, 2010]
- The time provided for a student to complete an assignment of reading content on the online discussion forums, making responses, posting images, and writing a short essay is calculated to be an average of 4.0 hours per writing assignment ("reading & writing assignments" and "research & writing assignments", where applicable for a particular course. [U.S. Department of Education: Guidance to Institutions and Accrediting Agencies Regarding a Credit Hour as Defined in the Final Regulations Published on October 19, 2010]
- Studying and preparing for inspection processes according to a Standards of Practice includes capturing and storing digital images with a camera or device, making observations, evaluating conditions, deducing, formulating opinions, communicating observations in written form, attaining competency in performing inspections, and using an inspection checklist or software and other inspection tools with the intent of producing a written report. [National average time to complete a home inspection by a professional inspector is an entire 8-hour workday, and a student is provided ten hours credit.]
Hours are rounded. If the tenth decimal number is 5 or greater, then the hour is rounded up to the next whole number. Otherwise, it is rounded down. For example, 12.5 calculated clock hours would be rounded to 13.0. Minutes are rounded also to the tenth of a digit. For example, 40 minutes is equal to 0.67 hours (40 min / 60 min), which is equal to 0.7 clock hours.
Example Clock & CEU Hour Table
Every course includes a description page that describes the course, the course goals and objectives, and what topics the student will learn. Also on the description page is a table that outlines the calculated clock hours for the course in relation to the student's work, their academic engagement with the instructional materials and preparation activities. The following is an example table.
| InterNACHI® Course Example |
|---|
| Course #8002 |
| www.nachi.org/internachi-course-example |
| Student Activity | Assignment | Estimated clock hours for the average student |
| INSTRUCTION AND ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT | Reading. The time is # of words in the course / 140 wpm. Divide by 50 minutes. | 24,000 words / 140 wpm = 171.4 minutes. 171.4 min / 50 min per hour = 3.4 hours |
| Watching Video. The time is # of minutes of video in the course. Divide by 50 minutes. | 40 minutes of video = 0.8 hours |
| Answering Quiz Questions. The time is # of quiz questions * 1.85 mpq. Divide by 50 minutes. | 12 quiz questions * 1.85 = 22.2 minutes. 22.2 min / 50 = 0.4 hours |
| Answering Final Exam Questions. The time is # of quiz questions * 1.85 mpq. Divide by 50 minutes. | 50 final exam questions * 1.85 = 92.5 minutes. 92.5 min / 50 = 1.9 hours |
| Completing an "Inspection & Writing Assignment". The time is 240 minutes. Do not divide by 50 minutes. | 240 minutes = 4.0 hours |
| Completing a "Research & Writing Assignment". The time is 240 minutes. Do not divide by 50 minutes. | 240 minutes = 4.0 hours |
| Total for Instruction and Academic Engagement |
| 14.5 clock hours |
|
|
|
| PREPARATION | Preparation With the Course. The time is # of words in the course / 140 / 2. Divide by 50 minutes. | 24,000 words / 140 / 2 = 85.7 minutes. 85.7 min / 50 = 1.7 hours |
| Preparation With the Book. The time is # of words in the book / 140 / 2. Divide by 50 minutes. | 24,000 words / 140 / 2 = 85.7 minutes. 85.7 min / 50 = 1.7 hours |
| Preparation for the "Research & Writing Assignment". The time is 240 minutes. | 240 minutes = 4.0 hours |
| Preparation for the "Inspection & Writing Assignment". The time is 600 minutes. | 600 minutes = 10.0 hours |
| Total for Preparation |
| 17.4 clock hours |
| Totals Combined |
| 14.5 + 17.4 = 31.9 clock hours |
CLOCK HOURS
CEU |
| 32.0 CLOCK HOURS
3.2 CEU |
Notes:
According to the institution's policies and procedures, the Clock Hour and CEU Calculation Policy is reviewed and revised where deemed necessary by the Chief Academic Officer and Education Team every year.
If any errors or discrepancies are found in any course, course description, student transcript, certificate of completion, or other areas of the NACHI.ORG website, please email
education@internachi.org.
