Frequently asked questions

CPD stands for Continuing Professional Development. It is a programme designed to assist professionals to develop their academic and professional credentials beyond their initial training and ongoing basis. The CPD process usually includes a process of recording and evaluation of the professional’s learning and development which is also reported to and monitored by the governing body which the professional falls under/belongs to/is related to.

There is no difference. The technically correct term for the CPD Point is ‘Continuing Education Unit’ (CEU) which, in practical terms, is equivalent to one hour of learning.

Traditionally, professionals are accustomed to acquiring CPD Points by attending hands-on courses. This involves closing their practice or leaving work early, travelling in traffic to a venue and spending a whole afternoon to obtain a mere 3 CPD Points. With technologies available today you can earn your CPD points online. Simply register on www.cpdexpress.co.za, log in and select the courses that you want to attend. It is quick, convenient and affordable.

On the home page, start typing your discipline in the search box and pick it from the suggestions, or click one of the popular disciplines listed below the search. All courses relevant to your discipline are then shown, and you can search within them by keyword. If your discipline is not listed, select “Other” and all the courses will appear.

The simple answer is, “no”. The more detailed answer is that we at CPDEXPRESS understand the ongoing overhead of continuously having to chase CPD Points. cpdexpress.co.za aims to offer its community a quick and convenient way to obtain ALL their CPD Points on one fully automated platform. We offer this service by means of online courses, which can be done from the comfort of your office or home at a time convenient to you. However, we are always aware of the need for a “human touch”, so you are welcome to contact us any time to get any help which you may require.

Yes, we have a variety of Ethics courses. You will find them on your course listing page under the section “More courses that can earn you CPD points”, alongside the courses directly related to your discipline.

Yes. On any course you will notice a drop-down list containing the available years of accreditation. You may select the year that you need to be displayed on your certificate, provided that the year falls within the two-year period. Please note you cannot acquire points for the same course twice.

Yes, provided the course you choose is within the scope of your practice. There are many “general courses” available which fit into all practices — you will find them under “More courses that can earn you CPD points” on your course listing page.

No, you cannot acquire CPD points for doing the same course twice.

You are obligated to acquire 30 general points per annum plus an additional 6 for ethics for each of the disciplines for which you are registered.

Individual courses are available at market-related prices. However, our CPD credit packages of 9, 15 or 30 credits bring the cost per CPD point down significantly — the bigger the package, the less you pay per point. Prices can differ by discipline, and you always see your own price on the Packages section.

Every CPD article, course or activity offered by cpdexpress has an accreditation number issued from an HPCSA appointed accreditor. The accreditation number is displayed on every certificate issued by cpdexpress. Here is an example of the certificate.

The onus is on the registered practitioner to keep a record of their CPD activities. Should a practitioner be “audited”, the HPCSA will require a schedule of the activities that the practitioner has completed. Service providers such as cpdexpress are required to retain participation/attendance records for a period of 3 (three) years. Please be aware that you can always request a re-issue of any certificate which you previously obtained on cpdexpress.co.za: while logged in, click the down-arrow next to your name at the top right, select ‘Course History’, and use the reissue option next to the course — a certificate can be emailed to you or downloaded and printed instantly.

If, as the result of an audit, insufficient CPD Points have been accumulated by a practitioner, they are required to submit a CPD portfolio to Council within 21 days. Non-compliant practitioners will be given six months in order to comply. After the 6 months extension a practitioner will again be audited and if there is still non-compliance, the Professional Board will consider appropriate action.

There are different levels of how authors and lecturers can earn CPD Points. For example, the principal author of a peer-reviewed publication or chapter in a book can earn 15 CPDs, a co-author/editor of a peer-reviewed publication or chapter in a book can earn 5 CPDs, and review of an article/chapter in a book/journal can earn 3 CPDs. The various other levels can be found in the HPCSA CPD Guidelines on page 12.

Yes, help is always on hand by contacting us by email, phone or requesting a call-back. Simply click Contact on the menu at the top of the page and one of our qualified consultants will call you to “hold your hand” patiently and help you obtain all your CPD points as quickly and as painlessly as possible.