Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) CE guidelines

Defining Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW)

Architects and affiliated design professionals have a duty, in their professional practice, to protect the public’s health, safety, and welfare. In order to be eligible for HSW credit as defined in the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs, learning programs must address knowledge intended to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the occupants of the built environment, as defined below:

• Health: Those aspects of professional practice that improve the physical, emotional, and social well-being of occupants, users, and any others affected by buildings and sites.
• Safety: Those aspects of professional practice that protect occupants, users, and any others affected by buildings or sites from harm.
• Welfare: Those aspects of professional practice that enable equitable access, elevate the human experience, encourage social interaction, and benefit the environment.

Eligibility for HSW learning units

For a learning activity to qualify as HSW, it must meet the following criteria:

• Content must directly support the HSW definition.
• Content must include one or more of the acceptable HSW topics​.
• At least 75% of a learning program’s content and instructional time must be on acceptable HSW topics.

These three standards must be met for a course to qualify for HSW credit.  

When submitting a learning program for approval for LU|HSW credit, at least 75% of the learning objectives must relate to HSW topics to qualify for HSW designation.

For blended learning programs (those that combine different delivery methods), the 75% requirement applies to the program as a whole.

Acceptable HSW topics  

Learning programs must address one or more of the following HSW topics to be approved for LU|HSW credit:

• Practice management: This category focuses on areas related to the management of architectural practice and the details of running a business.
• Project management: This category focuses on areas related to the management of architectural projects through execution.
• Programming and analysis: This category focuses on areas related to the evaluation of project requirements, constraints, and opportunities.
• Project planning and design: This category focuses on areas related to the preliminary design of sites and buildings.
• Project development and documentation: This category focuses on areas related to the integration and documentation of building systems, material selection, and material assemblies into a project.
• Construction and evaluation: This category focuses on areas related to construction contract administration and post-occupancy evaluation of projects.

When submitting a learning program for approval, at least 75% of the learning objectives must relate to the HSW topics above to qualify for HSW designation.