How Do I Know if a Training will Count as Approved Training Hours in Develop? 

Training | April 2023

By Julia Janik, Achieve Operations Coordinator 

As an Early Childhood Care and Education Professional, you probably see all kinds of advertisements for professional development opportunities, but how can you know which of these opportunities offer Approved Training Hours in Develop?

Be an Informed Consumer 

Do your research when registering for any training, and make sure it is approved BEFORE you invest your valuable time and money! The easiest way to do this is to visit Develop’s Search for Training Calendar. Every training advertised in Develop’s Search for Training Calendar is approved and can be verified on your Learning Record electronically! Contact the training provider directly to see if they have gotten the event approved in Develop, and with any other questions about the training.

Training organizations will sometimes advertise their training is approved for continuing education hours in most states. Don’t assume these trainings are approved in Develop! Even if an organization has scheduled SOME approved training events in Develop, there is no guarantee ALL their training offerings will count as Approved Training Hours in Develop. This is especially true for national online training providers who offer training in many different states. Always check Develop’s Search for Training Calendar to determine whether a training you’re interested in has been approved in Develop in advance.

If training is not in Develop’s Search for Training Calendar, chances are good it will not be recognized as Approved Training Hours on your Learning Record. The only exceptions are CEUs and for-credit courses on official transcripts from accredited colleges and universities.

What about those college courses?

If you complete CEUs from a college or university that does not use Develop, or Approved College Credits directly related to Early Childhood, request official transcripts be sent to Achieve with your next Individual Membership submission. Achieve will add the approved hours to your Learning Record as we process your application. This process can take up to 6 weeks.

• To be considered official, the transcript must be sent directly to Achieve in an unopened, originally sealed envelope, or by secure email or fax directly from the school or transcript clearinghouse.
• For CEU Hours, the official transcript must clearly show:
  • Title of the training – relevant to Early Childhood Care and Education.
  • Date the training was completed – within the past five years.
  • Total number of CEUs – a minimum of 0.2 CEUs/2 hours.

A note about MN Knowledge and Competency Framework Areas:

If the course content was not submitted in advance by the training provider for pre-approval in Develop, you can’t be sure which Content Area the training hours will be categorized under in Develop before you complete the training and complete the 6-week Individual Membership application process. If you like to plan ahead, choose training events scheduled in Develop’s Search for Training Calendar. These trainings clearly show guaranteed Minnesota KCF Content Areas before you register!