The Best Way for SLPs to Track CEUs and PD Courses

Stacy Crouse
Jun 16
4 min read

Every license renewal period always starts the same way. You tell yourself, “This is the year I start tracking professional development hours in a timely and organized manner.”

Fast-forward to the week (or night before) the license renewal is due, and there you are. Coffee in hand and eyeballs burning as you furiously scroll through your inbox trying to locate certificates, course titles, and maybe your will to live.

Sound familiar?

After one too many panicked continuing education (CE) calculations at 11:57 p.m., I knew I needed a better system. That’s when I made myself a simple, streamlined Google Spreadsheet to track all my CEUs and PD hours in one spot. And SLP friends, it’s been a game changer.

a computer with a spreadsheet for SLPs to track completed CEUs and PDHs

Why should SLPs use a CE tracker?

Speech-language pathologists are required to complete professional development to maintain most certifications and licenses. The CEU requirements for each certification or license vary, but as a reminder for those in the United States:

An ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) certificate of clinical competence holder must obtain at least 30 certification maintenance hours (CMHs) every 3 years. Of those, there must be at least one hour in the area of ethics and two hours related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).
Each state licensing board has its own continuing education requirements and certification periods.
Specialty certifications (such as a Listening and Spoken Language Certification) may also have specific continuing education requirements.

😥 Phew. That's a lot of moving pieces to keep track of, especially when specialty and state license requirements and timelines don't neatly line up with those of the ASHA certification. And let's not forget those teletherapists who often have multiple state licenses to juggle (I had 7 at one point).

But a good tracking system helps you stay on top of it all without having to scramble to gather speech therapy PD documents every time a renewal rolls around. While filling out a spreadsheet probably isn't at the top of your "favorite parts of being an SLP" list, it pays off every time.

Besides the obvious (you know, keeping your license), using a tracker for your continuing education courses serves many purposes:

Keep everything in one place.

Instead of digging through old emails, file folders, or the trunk of your car, access all valuable information in one neat, easy-to-update spreadsheet. Plus, you can keep on top of it by adding new courses as you complete them.

Stay ahead of deadlines.

At any given time, know exactly how many continuing education hours (and continuing education units) you have and how many are still needed to meet a licensing (or district-specific) requirement.

Make license renewal quick and easy.

When your certification time period comes to an end, your future self will thank you for being so organized. You'll breeze through the renewal process with ease and without panic.

Be ready in the case of an audit.

While being audited may be rare, it can cause a lot of stress and time. But with a CE credit tracker, you'll be ready with documentation, links, and certificates in case it ever happens.

How can Google Sheets track professional development activities?

If you're like me, you avoid subscriptions as much as possible. While the ASHA CE registry may be a great option for some SLPs, there's a yearly cost. And when I'm already paying quite a bit for my ASHA dues (not to mention the CE courses themselves), I'd rather not shell out an additional fee for a small convenience.

So, I decided to DIY a PD tracking spreadsheet that keeps the details of each course. I use Google Sheets for this because...

Google Drive is cloud-based, meaning you can access the tracker anytime and anywhere (and not have to worry about your computer dying and taking with it an important Excel or Word file).
I no longer have to print and write each course title (and any additional information) in tiny boxes. Hello, copy and paste 🤩
Drop-down menus and clickable checkboxes make updates quick and easy.
As much as I think I can add the total number of hours in my head, I'm bound to make a mistake... that could go uncaught. Why not let an automated spreadsheet do all the math for me?!
For each course, I have the option to paste links to the description as well as the certificate of completion (that I upload to Google Drive).

a laptop with a spreadsheet tracking ASHA CMHs and CEUs

What’s inside the CE tracking spreadsheet?

So what does this magical tracker actually look like in action? Inside the SLP professional development tracking spreadsheet, you'll find everything you need to document all of your CE activities, including...

Ready-to-fill columns for each course's date, title, provider/sponsor, and number of contact hours and CEUs.
The ability to input a specific date range for each license (state, ASHA, etc.) since we all know they never line up.
The capability to apply each course to one or multiple licenses.
Checkboxes to designate whether each activity was an in-person or online course and fulfills DEI or ethics requirements.
Cells to paste links for each course description and certificate for handy access if you need it down the road.
Progress bars that provide visuals toward the completion of professional development for each license.
Color-coded dates that draw your attention to upcoming license renewals well in advance, so there are no surprises.

a laptop with a spreadsheet that tracks progress on completion of CEUs and PDHs for SLPs

If you’re someone who thrives on color-coding, fancy progress bars, and automated information transferring, there's no shame in adding a little digital sparkle to your license renewal game. Or maybe you're just an SLP in need of a functional and comprehensive resource for CEU tracking so you can finally cancel the ASHA CEU tracker. Either way, this spreadsheet has you covered.

All you need is a (free) Google account and minimal tech skills, because a 6.5-minute video walks you through everything you need to know.

🛑 Ready to stop the CEU chaos?

If you find yourself spending way too much time searching and documenting every continuing education credit, grab your copy of the Professional Development Google Spreadsheet CEU Tracker. This one small step now will save you countless hours (and headaches) later.