ESA encourages sponsoring organizations to provide educational activities for members, clients, customers, prospects and personnel. NTS certificate holders are required to participate in on-going professional education to maintain their credential(s), and many sponsoring organizations have found NTS Program Accreditation and the NTS logo to be effective tools for marketing their continuing education programs. ESA has initiated an administrative review and accreditation process for those organizations wishing to include the ESA/NTS logo and program approval in their CEU courses' promotional literature.

Click here to see a list of already approved CEU programs.

Note: NTS certificate holders report 1.2 CEUs, or 12 hours, directly to ESA and are not required to obtain course approval in advance of participating in a continuing education activity.

Programs covering "generic" or "product-specific" topics or content are eligible for NTS accreditation.

Generic subject matter means that the skills or knowledge gained by the attendees during the course is easily transferable from one product or product line to another. For example, a course covering selection of correct types of wire for a given system based on the use, environment, load, etc., could apply to any manufacturer or system type.

Product-specific training is useful only for a given piece of equipment or a particular system. For example, a class providing information on how to program a "Brand XXX Access Control System" would be product-specific, because the skills acquired would not necessarily be applicable to a "Brand ZZZ Access Control System."

Courses submitted as "product-specific" which appear to be sales pitches or product endorsements will not receive approval. This distinction is important because NTS does not endorse specific manufacturer's products. The NTS endorses competence in given areas of expertise. Product-specific courses may be approved when they are designed to convey application guidelines, proper installation, service, or troubleshooting techniques.

Organizations interested in receiving NTS accreditation must complete and sign the two-sided application form, which includes a Limited License Agreement for use of the ESA/NTS logo and approved tag line. Organizations must attach a schedule/agenda indicating the session topics and length, scheduled breaks and meals, whether the course is generic or product-specific, and a brief course description to include intended audience (see below) and course objectives (see below). Without this information, applications cannot be processed.

Accreditation requests should be submitted at least two months prior to the program date. This will ensure adequate time for ESA/NTS to process the application and allow the sponsoring organization to use the ESA/NTS logo in their marketing materials. Programs submitted less than two months prior to the program date will be evaluated on a best-effort basis. Please allow at least two weeks for application processing.

Each program an organization wishes to have accredited requires a separate application. The attached form may be duplicated. Only one application is necessary for programs with multiple presentation dates, providing the presentation does not vary in length or content. Please include all dates and locations on the application form.

Course descriptions must indicate the intended audience and course content must be a reasonable match for that audience. For example, if the course content was on the installation and adjustment of infrared detectors, the appropriate audience would be installers and service technicians, not sales representatives. Courses with content inappropriate for the target audience will not receive approval.

Applications for accreditation must be accompanied by a brief course description, including the length of course and key learning objectives. This information allows potential attendees to determine whether the course will meet their educational needs and know what they can expect to get out of the course before they invest their time and money.

For example, "At the completion of this course attendees will be able to: understand how EMS will provide dramatic increases in security and reduction in costs, how robotic vision systems save lives and protect property, and why they are an important new weapon in the war on terror" is a reasonable objective - for security center operators. It may not be a good match, however, for the people who have to install, adjust, or troubleshoot it.

If you can't tell or can't decide what knowledge the attendees will gain from the course, we can't determine if the instruction will be useful for the intended audience, nor is it possible to justify attendance at this educational event.

Programs receiving accreditation may be listed on the ESA website with the contact name and phone number. Sponsors can elect not to have their programs published by ESA by checking the box in Section One of the application. Once your program brochure is printed, please forward a copy to ESA in order to complete your file.

Every 50-minutes of qualified education will qualify for one NTS CEU (or renewal credit). This calculation will determine the amount of your payment.

A $50 processing fee must be included with the application in order for it to be reviewed and processed. This fee is non-refundable and non-transferable. In the event that your program is approved, this fee will be applied to any additional monies owed, for which you will be invoiced by ESA. If your application is not approved, this fee will not be refunded.

Required fees are $100 per course hour. For web or computer-based training, course hours shall be based on how long the course would take if offered in an instructor-led, live classroom setting.

Upon approval of your accreditation application, you will be invoiced for the balance due. The course submittal fee is waived for ESA members.

NTS certificate holders are required to maintain individual documentation for courses attended. Written documentation of attendance should be provided to attendees by the sponsoring organization. ESA will provide a template document to the program sponsor, which may be customized, reproduced and distributed to program participants, if desired.