Mission Statement

The mission of the AIA/CES Providers Program is to inspire and guide providers of continuing educational programs to consistently deliver quality lifelong learning activities for architects. The AIA/CES office will assist AIA/CES Registered Providers that demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement and excellence in continuing education. The AIA/CES Guidelines for Educational Excellence address the CES Registered Provider's overall commitment to quality programming and delivery.

2008 CES Award Winners
The four winning organizations are Seattle-based Mithun Architects + Designers + Planners; San Francisco-based Pacific Gas and Electric Company Pacific Energy Center; Carmel, Ind.,-based Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies; and San Antonio-based Ron Blank & Associates Inc.  Full story from AIArchitect.

Listen to Lynn McBride, Associate, and Tammy Shocker of Mithun (2008 Winner - Provider, Category 2) discuss the history of Mithun's continuing education program. Download it here.

Listen to Cheri Flanagan, Curriculum Development Manager of Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies (2008 - Commercial Provider) as she gives insights into how the program works, and the committment to continued improvement.  Download it here.

2007 CES Award Winners
Marshall Craft Associates located in Baltimore, Maryland is this year’s CES Award small  firm winner. This is a very impressive program, and truly extraordinary for a smaller firm.  It is especially strong in terms of assessing the firm's commitments to continuing education against its claims and change order records - CES Award Jury 

Lord, Aeck & Sargent Architecture located in Atlanta, Georgia is this year’s CES Award medium sized firm winner. This is a comprehensive, serious and laudable program, exemplary in all respects.  It is especially strong in terms of assessing the firm's commitments to continuing education against the "one hundred best companies to work for" and recognizing it as key to employee satisfaction and firm success - CES Award Jury

Listen to Daniel J. Schumm, Manager of Professional Development for Lord, Aeck & Sargent (2007 Winner - Provider Category 2) discuss LAS's award-winning continuing education philosophy. Download it here.





2006 CES Award Winners
Cannon Design located in Grand Island, New York is this year’s CES Award large firm winner. Professional development needs are identified through various means ranging from the firm’s strategic plan to staff licensing requirements to its performance review process. - CES Award Jury

Rogers Krajnak Architects, Inc., from Columbus, Ohio won the small firm provider category for Honorable Mention. Each session includes an evaluation form, which collects data to reflect learning by staff role. Evaluation forms are used in quarterly reviews of the sessions and of the overall program.

AIA Northern Virginia, Alexandria, Virginia won the AIA Component provider category. Outstanding use of existing Human Resources – the experience of both the CES Committee Chair and the Executive Director, along with their combined experience with AIA National is impressive. - CES Award Jury

Listen to Deborah S. Burns, Hon. VSAIA, Executive Director of AIA Northern Virginia (2006 Winner - AIA Component) discuss the program submission process for the AIA/CES Award for Excellence. Download part 1 here, and part 2 here.

For more information about the 2006 winners, click HERE.



2005 CES Award Winners
The west coast sweeps the honors this year. Mithun, Inc. located in Seattle, Washington is this year’s CES Award large firm winner. The jury was impressed with Mithun’s great assessment tools using a mix of surveys, employee reviews, and suggestion box. Custom Building Products (CBP) is located in Seal Beach, California and took the commercial provider honors. The jury commented on CBP’s great philosophy on how quality education impacts their reputation and bottom line. Another California winner was AIA Orange County as an honorable mention for the AIA Component category. The AIA/CES jury indicates that AIAOC is laying a good foundation for its program. Full story from AIArchitect

2004 CES Award Winners
Winners include CertainTeed and Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architects & Engineers, PC, as the AIA/CES Award for Excellence recipients. CertainTeed is recognized for the effectiveness of its series of education programs, offered at the national, state, and local levels through close vertical cooperation throughout the company and with its sales representatives. EYP/University ties together the firm's four offices in a collective of in-house education programs predicated on existing staff expertise. Through their continuing education programs, the firm is able to capture both institutional memory and knowledge and make it available to everybody.

2003 CES Award Winners
Strong continuing-education programs add to the bottom line as firm culture and skills from basic to advanced are shared and institutionally saved. Service and product providers offer continuing education to clients as a way to build trust and, thereby, market share. Winners were Gresham, Smith & Partners; Energy Center of Wisconsin; and Ron Blank & Associates.
Full story from AIArchitect

2002 CES Award Winners
The AIA recognized CES Providers and their commitment to an overall system of quality programming. The award winners were AIA Columbus; FreemanWhite, Inc.; and United States Gypsum Co.

Best Practices
Firmwide Continuing Education Pays Off
Charlotte's FreemanWhite, Inc., winner of the 2001 AIA/CES Award for Excellence (large firm), has a strong continuing education program that benefits all employees and bolsters the bottom-line.
Full story from AIArchiect.

NEW! CES Award for Excellence Webinar, Friday, July 18 at 12:00 noon EDT

If you are serious about improving the quality of your CES courses, earning a 5 Red Star rating, or applying for the 2009 CES Award for Excellence this webinar is a MUST! Gather hints, tips, and suggestions that you can use before submitting your organization’s award application. You can either post your questions prior to the webinar at http://2009cesaward.blogspot.com/ or take the opportunity to ask questions during the webinar. This webinar will cover all of the key elements of building an award winning continuing education program. You will hear about some of the best practices and techniques that award winning components, firms and stakeholder organizations use in the design industry. You don’t’ need to be applying for the CES Award to benefit from this webinar. The cost is only $25.00 per site. This is a great opportunity to have your entire professional development team learn about award winning systems.

Register Now!