CEUs versus Clock Hours

The terms CEU and clock hour are not synonymous. One clock hour is literally 60 minutes engaged in the learning activity. A CEU is defined by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) as consisting of 10 clock hours.

During each five-year certification cycle, National Certified Counselors (NCCs) must complete 100 clock hours of continuing education (CE) that meet NBCC requirements. NBCC further requires that CE credit awarded by ACEPs be recorded in CE clock hours on the certificate of attendance or completion. CEUs may be listed in addition to CE clock hours, but this is optional.

CE credit is listed correctly in the following examples:
o 23 CE clock hours (2.3 CEUs);
o 17 CE clock hours (1.7 CEUs);
o 9 CE clock hours (0.9 CEU); and
o 4.5 CE clock hours (0.45 CEU).

If you award 8 CE clock hours for an event, you cannot also award 8 CEUs. Rather, you should award 0.8 CEU. Similarly, 5 CEUs could not be awarded for a half-day event because 5 CEUs are equivalent to 50 clock hours.

Continuing education credit terms that are synonymous with clock hour include contact hour, CE credit and CE hour.

The preceding information is from NBCC
Information for NBCC-Approved Continuing Education Providers (ACEPs)