Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

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

  • 09/02/15

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

  • Designing Third Spaces That Do What AI Can't

    In 2026, education is evolving faster than ever. With AI reshaping everything from lesson planning to personalized instruction, schools and universities are turning their attention to what AI can’t replicate: spaces that foster collaboration, community, and creativity.

  • Georgia State University Opens New Research Tower

    Georgia State University in Atlanta, Ga., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new, nine-story, 155,000-square-foot Research Tower, according to university news. Amenities include academic classrooms, a large lecture space, teaching labs, faculty research space, and the uppermost floors reserved for future expansion.

  • Missouri K–12 District Cuts Ribbons on Two New Middle Schools

    Springfield Public Schools in Springfield, Mo., recently celebrated the completion of two new middle school facilities with ribbon-cutting ceremonies, according to a district news release. The district officially opened the new Pipkin Middle School and Reed Academy on Sept. 3, both of which were funded through the $220-million Proposition S bond program approved by voters in 2023.

  • Construction Begins on 100+ Acre K–12 Campus Designed for Lakota Culture

    The Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe (CRST) and the Cheyenne-Eagle Butte School District in Eagle Butte, S.D., recently broke ground on a new K–12 campus that will cover more than 100 acres and serve students and families across 1,600 square miles, according to a news release.