CEFPI Launches New Professional Certification Program: Accredited Learning Environment Planner (ALEP)

Washington, D.C. — CEFPI is pleased to announce the next evolution in professional excellence within the educational facilities industry as the association takes a step forward with its worldwide professional certification program. Synonymous with the name of the association, the Certified Educational Facility Planner (CEFP) program was an initiative that began in the 1980’s with CEFPI’s Recognized Educational Facility Planner (REFP). Today the program stands as the industry’s benchmark for professional knowledge and excellence.

After years of assessment and refinement, the CEFP Commission, which governs the association’s credential, is heralding the most comprehensive professional program in the educational facility industry, the Accredited Learning Environment Planner (ALEP).

The credential is changing to reflect inclusiveness of every facet in the educational facility industry. Through a comprehensive overhaul in its membership structure and professional content development last year, CEFPI is now embracing more disciplines and professions than ever before. The association’s content catalog now allows all planners and professionals within the field to have one organization that they can turn to as a resource.  There will be a new study program, source material, continuing education requirements and a comprehensive examination in order to become an ALEP.

The ALEP will replace CEFPI’s current certification program and all those who have earned that designation will be awarded the new credential.   CEFPI and the Commission will begin accepting candidates for the new ALEP program beginning in October, 2015.  Like the association’s credentials in earlier eras, the ALEP is now the association’s industry standard for all professionals engaged in planning, designing, operating, maintaining, and equipping learning environments at all levels of education.

The Council of Educational Facility Planners International (CEFPI) is the only professional organization whose principal purpose is improving the places where children learn.  CEFPI embraces a collaborative network of professionals with one single goal – building healthy, safe, resilient and sustainable 21st Century learning places that enhance student and teacher performance and support culture and community vitality.  To learn more, visit www.cefpi.org.

Featured

  • Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The College of Western Idaho's Agricultural Sciences Complex has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.

  • GeoCam and UCLA: Modernizing Campus Accessibility Mapping

    In early 2025, UCLA partnered with GeoCam to capture and modernize its pedestrian infrastructure data. The goal was ambitious but clear: to produce a high-accuracy, imagery-backed digital map of every sidewalk, pathway, ramp, and ADA-related feature on UCLA’s 419-acre campus.

  • Sam Houston State University Completes Athletic Stadium Renovations

    Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, recently announced the reopening of Elliott T. Bowers Stadium after an extensive renovation project, according to a news release. The university partnered with Stantec and DLR Group for the project’s design.