CPD / CE model
ema's CPD / CE system turns a member's participation in your event into verifiable continuing education credit. Participation is measured automatically — from check-ins, live-virtual attendance, and on-demand viewing — then converted to points, accumulated against cycle requirements, and packaged into downloadable certificates. Optionally, the credit is written back to an external membership system.
What counts as engagement
ema tracks four sources of member participation:
| Source | How it is measured |
|---|---|
| In-person attendance | A check-in recorded by staff or by scanning the member's QR code at a session |
| Live-virtual attendance | Session viewing time recorded during a live stream |
| On-demand viewing | Playback time recorded when a member watches a recording |
| Self-attested activity | A member-submitted claim for external CPD activity outside the event |
Each source contributes measured minutes to a session or activity. Rules define the minimum engagement fraction required for credit to be awarded (for example, attend at least 80% of the session's duration), and the point value to award.
Settlement: turning engagement into credit
When engagement data is present, the settlement engine calculates the credit for each member–activity combination. It:
- Sums the measured minutes from all eligible sources.
- Checks that the member's engagement fraction meets the rule's threshold.
- Applies the point calculation: either a fixed award when the threshold is met, or a proportional award based on the fraction.
Settlement is safe to re-run. If engagement data changes (for example, a late check-in is recorded), re-settling updates the credit to reflect the corrected data without duplicating it.
Certification gates
Not all settled credit is certified automatically. Two gates can hold a credit back:
- Survey gate — if the session requires a post-session survey and the member has not submitted it, the credit is withheld until the survey is complete.
- Approval gate — if your program requires manual review of self-attested claims, or if your program's auto-certify setting is off, credits sit as "pending" until an admin approves them.
In-person check-ins recorded by staff or system scan certify automatically. Self-attested claims and live-virtual/on-demand sources require approval when the program is configured that way.
Cycles and requirements
A cycle is a period of time during which credit accumulates — typically a calendar or membership year. Requirements define the minimums a member must reach within a cycle (for example, 20 points in the "Core Skills" category within the 2026 cycle).
Cumulative caps prevent a member from earning unlimited points in a single category or cycle. Credit beyond a cap is recorded but does not count toward the member's total. This keeps the system fair across members who attend many sessions versus those who attend fewer.
Certificates
When a member has certified credit in a cycle, ema can issue a certificate. Certificates are PDF documents listing the member's name, the awarding organization, the program, the point total, the category breakdown, and a verification code. Anyone with the code can verify the certificate's authenticity on the public verification page.
Certificates are issued automatically when credit is certified. If credit is later revoked (for example, a self-attested claim is rejected), the certificate is voided and a replacement is issued covering the remaining certified credit.
External system sync
When your organization uses a membership system such as membes or iMIS, ema can write awarded credit back to the member's external record. The sync pushes the awarded point total (after caps are applied), keyed by the member's identifier in the external system. Revoked credit is reversed in the external system in the same way.
If the external system is the system of record for cycles and requirements, ema defers to it: credit is still tracked in ema's ledger, but cycle totals and cap enforcement are managed by the AMS rather than ema.
Overview of CPD / CE setup and management.
Create programs, define rules, and configure cycles and requirements.
Review and approve pending credits.
View and manage issued certificates.
Configure write-back to a membership system.
How members earn and track their own credit.