4. How does your live webinar program work?

Through live webinars, we deliver our instruction to your home or office. Therefore, you do not need to travel. However, you need to have a computer with Internet connection and/or a telephone to participate.

Once you purchase a live webinar, you need to print out related lecture notes and quiz before you attend the web session. We'll send you an invitation through email approximately 24 hours before the webinar, which contains the detailed information on how to access our webinar site. We'll confirm your attendance and verify your participation during the webinar. At the end of the webinar, you need to submit the quiz answers (each quiz question will be reviewed during the webinar) and print a certificate of completion from our website. The normal registration deadline is half an hour before the event. Please call us at 703-988-0088 if you want to register after the deadline.

5. How do I take an online course?

Because it is not necessary to study the course materials online immediately after purchase, there are three methods you may use to take an online course.

Method A: Treat the online course like it is a home-study course. Here is the recommended procedure:

1. Purchase the course using one of the payment options.
2. Download the course files if they are in PDF or Word format.
   
3. Print the course materials and quiz questions from your browser.
4. Study the course materials at your own pace.
5. Complete the quiz on paper (off-line) if you like.
6. Log onto our website and enter your quiz answers - our computer will grade your quiz immediately.
7. Take the quiz again without additional charge, if you fail the quiz.
8. Print the certificate of completion when you pass the quiz.

6. How much time will I be allowed to complete a course?

You have one year from the date of purchase to complete the course.

7. How much time do I have to complete a quiz?

There is no time limit while you take the quiz. If you can't finish the quiz in one session, you may want to save or print out the partially completed quiz for use next time because our server will not be able to remember your partially completed quiz. You must complete the quiz within one year from the date of purchase.

8. Do you have a shopping cart?

Our shopping cart feature is integrated into our course package deals. Here is what you can do to achieve just one payment transaction:

1. Select a PDH Course Package (Z-Course) based on the number of PDHs you need.
2. After making payment for the package, you may customize your package by selecting courses of interest to you.
3. Once you confirm your selection, the courses you select will be automatically activated for you.

You may find PDH Course Package Deals in the right-hand side column of the PDH Online Course Library table or through the following link:

PDH Course Package Deals

9. How do I pay for the online courses?

To obtain PDH credits for any PDH online course, you must purchase the course and take a quiz. There are two payment options: 1. Payment by Credit Card or eCheck through Express Checkout or PayPal.com. Visa, MasterCard, AMEX & Discover Visa, MasterCard & eCheck We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Please choose the Express Checkout option if you want to use the Discover or American Express Corporate Credit Card or if you cannot make an instant online purchase due to certain restrictions at PayPal.com. If the PayPal button is not shown on our website, you may send your payment to info@PDHonline.org through PayPal. In this case, please indicate the course number in the message block and give us a call at 703-988-0088 if you do not receive an email notification from us within an hour. If you experience any other problem with PayPal.com, you may contact them at 1-888-221-1161.

2. Payment by Check or Money Order If you experience any difficulties in paying by credit card online or prefer to pay by check, you may purchase the course by sending a check or money order to: PDHonline.org 5272 Meadow Estates Drive Fairfax, VA 22030-6658 U.S.A. Note: The check or money order should be made payable to PDHcenter.com, and must be drawn on a US bank in US dollars. Once we receive your payment, we will notify you by email so that you can take the quiz and obtain your Certificate of Completion.

3. Payment by Credit Card through Phone, Fax or Email We also accept credit card orders over the phone, fax or email if you provide us the following information: Your name Your daytime phone number Credit card number Credit card expiration date The name on the credit card The 5-digit zip code on the credit card statements Course numbers or titles Here is our phone number: (703) 988-0088, fax number: (703) 478-6833, and email address: PDHonline@Gmail.com. Once we receive your order, we will notify you by email about the course activation.

4. Payment through Purchase Order or Corporate Account We accept purchase orders or corporate accounts. Please email us at PDHonline@Gmail.com and provide the following information to set up your corporate account or purchase order: Your name Your company name Your company address Your company phone & fax numbers The name & email of the contact person Course numbers or titles Special arrangement can be made to activate the courses using your corporate purchase order. Please contact us by phone or through email for details.

10. Why didn't my credit card transaction go through?

Online credit card transaction failure could be caused by one of the following reasons:

1. You entered an incorrect Security Code on the payment screen.

The specified security code was invalid.

To resolve this issue, you need to enter the special characters shown in a gray box of the payment screen as the Security Code. This Security Code is different from CVS (Card Verification Code) - last 3 numbers from back of card (or 4 numbers in small print on an AMEX card).

2. Your credit card company may have placed a hold on your credit card transaction. In this case, you will receive the following message on the payment screen:

(2) This transaction has been declined.

To resolve this issue, you need to contact your credit card company to ask them to remove any restriction they have placed on your credit card (they can do so instantly within their systems). Then you can re-submit your transaction online.

3. The billing zip code you entered may not match with your credit card company's record. In this case, you will receive the following message on the payment screen:

(27) The transaction resulted in an AVS mismatch. The address provided does not match billing address of cardholder.

When the error message (27) above appears on the screen, please verify the billing zip code against the one on your credit card statement, close the old payment screen and re-submit the transaction again from the BUY NOW link using the correct billing zip code. If you receive your credit card statement at your home address, your billing zip code should be your home zip code. Your billing zip code must match the first 5-digits of the zip code on your credit card statement to be successfully processed by our online payment system. If you do not have the correct billing zip code, you may place your order over the phone by calling 703-988-0088.

4. Occasionally, the following error message may result after you re-submit the transaction:

(98) This transaction cannot be accepted.

If the error message (98) above appears on the payment screen, please close the payment screen (the one with a light yellow background) and re-start the payment process. If the problem persists, please call us at 703-988-0088 to place your order over the phone.

5. Occasionally, the following error message may appear when our primary payment gateway is temporarily not available:

(131) This transaction cannot be accepted at this time.

If the error message (113) above appears on the payment screen, please use PayPal (the secondary payment gateway on our website) to make your payment.

11. How do I know my credit card transaction is secure?

Our online ordering system uses the industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology powered by the credit card processors Authorize.net and PayPal.com to encrypt the information you send us when you place your order. The transaction information is encrypted on your computer, sent through the Internet as scrambled code, and decrypted on the credit card processor's secure server. Therefore, your credit card information is secure and cannot be read in transit.

12. How do I convert a CEU to a PDH or an LU?

1.0 CEU (Continuing Education Unit) = 10 PDHs or 10 LUs.

1.0 PDH (Professional Development Hour) = 1.0 Clock Hour (minimum 50 minutes).

1.0 LU (Learning Unit) for architects = 1.0 PDH for engineers.

13. How much do online courses cost?

The standard price of our online course ranges from $15 to $30 per credit hour. Special discounts are available during promotional events. Group discounts are also available to any company with four or more engineers and/or surveyors who must meet continuing education requirements and register as PDHonline users. To receive a special group discount, please contact us through email or at 703-988-0088 for details.

14. How can I get a receipt for my purchase?

We will send you a receipt through email once we receive your online payment or check payment. You may also print a payment receipt at any time from "My Account".

15. How can I get an additional certificate of completion?

You may print certificates of completion for the courses you have taken from "My Account" (on the top menu bar).

16. How can I retrieve my password?

You may retrieve your password by using the "Forgot Your Password?" feature on our home page or on the user login screen.

17. How can I get a complete record of the courses I have taken from your website?

You can obtain a complete record of the courses you have taken from "My Account" (on the top menu bar).

18. How can I contact the instructor?

You may contact the instructor using emails by clicking on the instructor's name within the course or through email. In your email, be specific about which course you would like to discuss.

You may also contact the instructor through the quiz end questionnaire or through "My Account" for courses you have completed.

19. How can I get a copy of the PDHonline course catalog?

We offer the catalog electronically for online users. You can print a copy of the PDHonline course catalog from "Courses" on the top menu bar.

20. How can I update my personal information?

You can update your personal information in "My Account" or when you take a quiz.

21. How may I become a PDHonline course provider?

If you are interested in becoming a PDHonline course provider, you should submit a resume, a brief biography and a list of proposed course topics to our email address. We review your educational background and practical experience and notify you of our decision within three business days. For more information, please click "Provider" on the top menu bar.

22. How many questions are in each quiz?

The number of quiz questions varies from course to course. There are a minimum of 10 quiz questions in each course offering less than 5 PDH credits, and a minimum of 20 quiz questions in each course offering more than 4 PDH credits. For courses approved by the Texas Land Surveying Board, there are 50 quiz questions for each course. For courses registered with the AIA/CES, there are 10 quiz questions for the first LU credit and 5 quiz questions for each additional LU credit. For example, a 4-LU course has a minimum of 25 quiz questions.

23. Why can't I enter PDHonline Course Library after I completed the registration?

24. Why can't I login using my email address (user ID) and password?

3. The other possible cause is that your web browser's cookie function may be disabled. To test if your computer can communicate with our server, you may try to log into our website using the following dummy account:

User Email Address (User ID): x
Password: 123

If you can log into Mr. X's account, your computer setting is correct. Otherwise, please see FAQ No. 22 for instruction on how to enable the cookie function.

25. Why can't I open the PDF files on your website?

This could be caused by one of the following reasons:

1. Your computer's resource is low. In other words, you may have several applications running, and your computer may not have sufficient RAM to open another PDF document. In this case, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader.

2. You may not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer or you may have an earlier version. Please click the button below to download the latest FREE version of Acrobat Reader.

35. What kinds of activities are qualified as PDH activities?

• Completing online courses or correspondence courses on topics related to the licensee's professional practice (a test is required at the end of the course).
  
• Completing or attending seminars or in-house training programs which relate to the licensee's professional practice.
• Attending technical or professional society meetings when a topic related to the licensee's professional practice is presented as a principal part of the program.
• Teaching a course for the first time or expending substantial time updating material previously taught.
• Completing management or ethics courses which improve one's business or profession.

For additional information on typical qualifying and non-qualifying PDH activities, please visit your board website.

36. What does HSW mean for AIA/CES registered courses?

HSW stands for Health, Safety and Welfare. American Institute of Architects (AIA), many state architectural boards and some state engineering boards require that a certain number of continuing education hours are in the subject areas that relate to the health, safety and welfare of the public. All PDH online courses that qualify for AIA HSW credits are clearly indicated in the course titles.

37. Do I have another chance to take the quiz if I fail on the first attempt?

Yes, you may repeat the quiz until you pass (at no additional charge within one year of purchase). Once you pass the quiz, you can still access the quiz within 30 days.

38. Do I have to be online the entire time to take a course?

No, you may print the course materials and study them off-line, at your convenience.

39. Do I need to submit a copy of the certificate of completion to my state board?

Usually you do not need to mail your certificates of completion to your board unless you are asked to do so on the renewal form or when you are audited. However, you should keep a copy of the certificate of completion for your own record.