Instructor Continuing Education

AIARE Instructor and Course Leaders keep on top of updates to AIARE curriculum, industry and teaching best practices, and their own professional development through annual continuing education. The AIARE CE Program provides AIARE Instructors and Course Leaders the opportunity to choose from a menu of course options in order to tailor their individual professional development needs. 

Instructors meet this annual requirement with a course offered by AIARE at least every other year. For the non-AIARE CE years, Instructors can choose a CE course offered by AIARE or from a growing list of approved professional development opportunities. Instructors keep their instructor or course leader status active by paying annual dues and completing an AIARE Continuing Education course OR submitting proof of approved non-AIARE continuing education by October 31 of each year. After this date, Instructors who have not completed any of these requirements become inactive (not permitted to teach) until they do. Have questions? See our Frequently Asked Questions page.

Inactive instructors must complete their professional development requirements for the previous season in order to become active again. If a course is completed after October 31 to reactivate an Instructor’s status, this course will not count towards the Instructor’s CE for the following season. In other words, the Instructor must take an additional course in that season to fulfill the requirement for professional development at the start of the next season. Instructors who are inactive for one year or more will need to work with the Rec Program Director to define an appropriate professional development plan in order to become an active AIARE Instructor.

2020 PRO 1 requirement: All AIARE Instructors must have a PRO 1 certificate or equivalent by Nov 1, 2020. Pro 1 or 2 courses from any A3 Pro course provider counts as AIARE-offered CE.

2020-21 AIARE Continuing Education Courses

In response to the uncertainty due to COVID-19, AIARE Continuing Ed is going completely online for the 2020-21 season. By doing this, we will be able to better support Instructors with free webinars on  hybrid instruction, avalanche-related professional development, and panel discussions.

Webinars will use the Zoom platform. This webpage outlines operating system requirements. You will be expected to participate in the webinar with video, so you will need to have a computer or tablet with a camera, speakers, and microphone and be participating from a place that has reliable high speed internet access and is quiet and relatively free from distractions. The webinars will be 4 hours long, with 1:6 ratios, capped at 18 participants in order to support discussion and idea sharing. All webinars will be $50.

AIARE 2 CE

The goal of this course is to provide AIARE Instructors/Course Leaders with the tools and background information so that they can deliver relevant, applicable and excellent AIARE 2 programs to recreational users.   more

ITC Upgrade CE

The goal of this course is for current AIARE Instructors and Course Leaders to gain familiarity with the 5-day models of AIARE Instructor Training so that they have the tools and resources to succeed in their upcoming programs and/or provide mentorship to newer instructors going through the program.    more

Teaching and Learning CE

The goal of this course is to provide AIARE Instructors/Course Leaders with resources and tools so that they can better assess their students’ learning and understand prior to, during, and at the end of their AIARE programs.      more

Non-AIARE CE Courses

Non-AIARE courses are approved by AIARE on a regular rolling basis. General guidelines for acceptable courses are those that are open to any AIARE Instructor to enroll (ie not in-house employee training) and equivalent to at least 8 hours of instructional time (classroom, online, or self-study). If you would like to suggest a course, please send a course description and syllabus to AIARE Rec Program Director, Liz Riggs Meder.

Non-AIARE Courses or Conferences approved for Continuing Education Credits