Timeframe

Enrollees have four years from their enrollment date to complete the program.* Program participants can count previous workshops and experiences that meet program requirements up to one year prior to their official enrollment date. Visit our enrollment page for more information on how to get started.

Program Portfolio

This self-paced, experiential program includes six different components. Click on each Criteria for a full description.

1 - Approved Instructional Workshops Criteria I 

2 - Outdoor Environmental Education Experiences Criteria II

3 - Knowledge of Environmental Education Resources and Facilities Criteria III

4 - Teaching Criteria IV

5 - Community Partnership Project Criteria V

6 - Continuing Education in Environmental Education Criteria VI

**Please note that there is no required order or sequence for completing Criteria I, II, III, Teaching or the Project. Please take workshops, classes, programs, site visits, etc. for credit as they come available. This includes documenting teaching and documenting work on (and submitting) your project. 

Submitting Documentation

Criteria I through III and continuing education credits are documented with an EE Form which can be scanned and emailed to EEcertificationNC@lists.deq.nc.gov or mailed to the Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs, 1601 MSC, Raleigh, NC 27699-1601. Criteria IV and V submissions are entered directly by you into your online portfolio account which is created when you enroll. If you forget your password, a reminder can be sent to you. Just click "My Account" on our homepage. If you do not receive a password reminder within a few minutes, please contact us. Please do not hold EE Forms--it is best to submit them soon after you you earn the credits. Even one form at the time is fine. This allows us to review forms and give you timely feedback, and it also gives you a better view of your progress. 

We strongly recommend that enrollees keep copies (hardcopy and/or scanned copies) of their EE Forms for their own records. The office does not maintain hard copies of program documentation.

* Due to closures, delays and shifts to online professional development that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, the N.C. Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs granted individual extensions to those who were actively enrolled in the program during the pandemic-related state of emergency in North Carolina. This extension was only considered for participants who enrolled or had active accounts between March 10th of 2020 to August 15th of 2022. This extension does not apply to individuals who enrolled on or after August 15th, 2022. Enrollees who still feel their completion schedule was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic should contact the EE Certification Program Managers for more information.