| # | Name | Comments |
|---|
| 601 | Michelle Fodge | |
| 602 | Nandini Vyas | |
| 603 | Planners Network Steering Committee | |
| 604 | Anonymous | |
| 605 | Anonymous | |
| 606 | Anonymous | |
| 607 | Sandra Meyer | Between the cost of APA/AICP and Local California APA dues and the ridiculous cost of AICP certified continuing education classes, I am about to stop paying my dues and give up my AICP certification. The benefits just plainly, do not outwieigh the costs. |
| 608 | Chris Larson | |
| 609 | David Zipf | |
| 610 | Holly Cheong AICP | Established universities and colleges should qualify for the CM program without having to pay the fee or register. Planning-related advanced coursework should count for CM credits |
| 611 | Charles Jones | AICP #017904 |
| 612 | Vickie Scott | |
| 613 | Jakob Helmboldt | The organization and professionalism of APA/AICP has been an absolute joke. They have botched my membership payments (poor accounting), have failed to respond on the matter, and have been horrible in responding to inquiries and concerns regarding the CM issue. Add to that the fact that many of the CM-qualifying sessions have yielded nothing of value relative to true continuing education and the CM process is proving to be of little value. If this is the leadership that is insisting on CM to raise the standards of the planning profession then they need to get their own act together. |
| 614 | Howard Kutzler, AICP | The cost factor with the extreme amount of credit hours required for recertification is unbelievably high for us public sector planning professionals. While I support a CM system, the number of hours needs to be reduced. Six hours per year is plenty.
Howard L. Kutzler, AICP
Director of Planning and Economic Development
Bethlehem Township
4225 Easton Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18020
610.814.6441 (office)
610.814.6445 (fax)
484.239.1771 (cell)
hkutzler@bethlehemtwp.com |
| 615 | Kurt H. Schindler | How can an accredited planing school, not be an automatic provider for continuing education? That should also include those school's land grant Extension Educators who are often the ones in the field providing such education. |
| 616 | Erick Guerra | |
| 617 | Edward Spinard | APA/AICP should also recognize that CE courses offered for credit for other similar professions such as architecture or site engineering are directly related to planning and should be accepted as CE credits for AICP |
| 618 | Andrea Yang | |
| 619 | Matthew J. Henry | |
| 620 | Kent Hubbard, AICP | It would seem that the AICP program has lost its way. How is it that a seemingly good idea could go so very wrong? What our leadership fails to realize is that the letters behind our names are little more than a professional nicety; those letters are not required nor needed to do our jobs. Mr. Farmer's defensive comments some months back linking the CM edict to engineering and architecture continuing education credits (both state required licensure) were laughable at best.
I think this fiasco will drive people away from planning, not to it. Isn't that counter to the very responsibilities that we're supposed to hold to? When we've reduced our need for on-going education to money and credits, we've reduced ourselves and our profession. |
| 621 | Anthony Ruggiero, AICP | As a recent AICP member I find the burden of paying for the exam, study materials, membership and now the CM as too costly. I was required to take the AICP for work and now I have to spend several hundreds of dollars in order to maintian my good standing. I am in favor of the CM, but it needs to be revised in order to make it not only affordable, but also accesible. |
| 622 | Evelyn A. Slone | There are many, many technical study courses that are relevant to continued education, not just APA courses. While I understand the need for pre-approved courses and the need for continued education, it must be set up to work more efficently and effectively that it is now. It should not be a turf issue, but rather one of technical content. |
| 623 | Brett Becker | |
| 624 | Anonymous | |
| 625 | Andrew Hamilton | The CM program is the reason I have avoided becoming AICP for my entire career. |
| 626 | Anonymous | |
| 627 | Christine Kudija | The CM program, requiring 32 hours in 2 years, exceeds the California State Bar's requirements for CLE - 26 hours in 3 years, and so far most Bar CLE providers have not elected to pay for CM credits as far as I know. Thus, my continuing education requirements average to about 16.3 hours per year. At a (probably low average) of $100.00/credit hour, that's $1,630 - minimum - I get to spend to maintain AICP certification and my attorney's license. I'm not a wealthy lawyer; most of my practice serves small non-profits and I earn a part-time salary as a planner. The costs of certification are onerous and may induce me to shed the AICP after my name. Since I usually have to explain what it means anyway, I see little advantage in maintaining the certification. |
| 628 | Jon Cecil, AICP | |
| 629 | Anonymous | I support the continuing education. However, the CM is unethic itself, because the CM has not only made continuing education unaffordable and inconvenient, but also discouraged conference or course providers by charging them a significant amount of money should those venders to kindly qualify their hours as CM credits for AICPs. |
| 630 | carl maxey | aicp dues are triple what my architect license fees are. |
| 631 | Julia Schneider | |
| 632 | Michael Smith | |
| 633 | Steven H. Smith | |
| 634 | Andrew Labruzzo | Return to the former system where members were allowed to accumulate up to half of the required credits from chapter-certified courses. |
| 635 | Jitender Ramchandani | |
| 636 | Steve Miller, AICP | |
| 637 | Margaret Park, AICP | |
| 638 | Peter Williams, AICP | Planners are generalists, therefore professional training must be far more inclusive than in perhaps any other field of study. Energy development, emergent science, engineering, medicine, traffic simulation, economics and communications sciences are some of the most relevant subjects in my current line of work. And I must be free to choose my own areas of study as I continually require new knowledge. I do not appreciate the current scope of the CM program, which treats professional generalists like wayward children. |
| 639 | Clarence Feagin, Ph.D., AICP | Continue What Education?
CM is not continuing education. The AICP credential and CM allows people who do not have an education in Planning to tell others they are professional Planners, without having any formal education in planning. I have an MS in Planning and a Ph.D. in Planning, and over 20 years of planning experience. I have made the rank of Planning Director. But during my career as a professional Planner, I have seen people with no actual degree in Planning (like in education, history, physical education, etc.) get AICP status and get promotions while us with a real education in Planning, with acredited planning degrees from acredited planning schools, get passed over for promotions by un-educated "AICP Planners".
If you want to improve the quality of Planners, require AICP applicants to have an acredited planning degree (Bachelors, Masters, or Ph.D.) from a fully acredited University as criteria for admission to the exam and certification as a professional planner. Otherwise CM is worthless.
I'm letting my AICP membership expire. I don't need it. I have fully acredited MS and Ph.D degrees in planning, and over 20 years of professional planing experience. The AICP credentials didn't give me any additional salary, I gave it to myself by getting real degrees in planning, which have afforded me with a great career. But I am disapointed by the increasing number of non-educated "Planners" who get the AICP credentials and get ahead without earning it. ...Makes my wonder if degrees in planning have any value. I certainly wouldn't have needed them to be a professional planner if all I had to do was get the AICP credential and maintain it. Maybe this is why APA is doing this; to allow uneducated people to pass themselves as profesional planners. |
| 640 | Jamie Simone | The biggest problem I have is how difficult and expensive it is to earn credits. APA staff is often unresponsive when I have asked questions about the new CM program. The focus of the CM program should be to keep us up-to-date, not to be onerous and a money maker for APA. |
| 641 | Robin Bekkedahl AICP | I have sent in numerous comments against the APA mandatory certification. This is unreasonable and treats good planners unequitably and basically discriminates. Many of the courses or conferences that I attend can't or don't want to go through the application process and pay to become a CM provider. Yet, I learn the same materials for my job as I would attending another approved course or conference. The new CM mandatory program should not be implemented and the APA and AICP Board needs to realize that we are working adults and know what is best for our career development. |
| 642 | Brian Galloway | The CM program as adopted will cause great harm to the Planning community, without providing any real or lasting benefit. |
| 643 | Gary Helfrich | |
| 644 | Jared Mayfield | |
| 645 | Steve Davenport | CM does not work for for many western US planners who pay their own dues and often must pay their own way to conferences and other ed. events. I can not afford to pay $ 2,000 a year out of my own pocket to maintain my membership and my certification. |
| 646 | Anonymous | Please also consider exemptions from fees to include certification maintenance opportunities from providers like the Transportation Research Board and federal agencies, where participation in the certification maintenance program does not "fit" into their standard type of expense. |
| 647 | Clare Marley | This petition represents a start in what I think needs to be an open dialogue on the flaws of the programs and necessary remedies. As a rural planner in a cash-strapped county, the access to CM credits is out of reach. However, as a planner interested in continuing my education, I routinely attend seminars, training sessions and classes related to the planning world. Credit for this course work should also be considered, since few of our rural providers can afford the time and expense to be eligible for CM credits. An overhaul of the system is needed. |
| 648 | Anonymous | |
| 649 | Douglas A. Hedges, AICP, PCP | |
| 650 | tye simpson AICP | |