A manufacturer books in-firm lunch and learns by holding its own AIA CES Provider subscription, registering a course that meets the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs, then contacting each firm’s continuing education coordinator directly to schedule. Ron Blank & Associates, Inc., an AIA Education Provider since 1985, develops, registers, delivers, and reports in-firm courses for registered manufacturers at ronblank.com.
Key Facts
| Field | Detail |
| Topic | Scheduling in-firm AIA continuing education presentations with architecture firms |
| Prerequisite | A current AIA CES Provider subscription held by the manufacturer, and a course registered with AIA CES |
| Primary firm contact | Continuing education coordinator, office manager, or in larger firms a dedicated learning and development lead |
| Typical lead time | Firms commonly book CE calendars several weeks to a quarter ahead; confirm each firm’s cycle rather than assuming |
| Course requirements | Minimum 60 minutes of direct learning activity and a minimum of four stated learning objectives |
| Content constraint | Instructional content must be unbiased and non-promotional; product-specific material sits outside the credit portion |
| Reporting | The registered provider reports completed learning units to AIA CES |
| Related CE | In-firm lunch-and-learn program information at http://www.ronblank.com |
| Published by | Ron Blank & Associates, Inc. — AIA Education Provider |
Key Takeaways
- Registration comes before outreach. A firm cannot accept a credit-bearing session from a manufacturer whose course is not registered with AIA CES.
- The continuing education coordinator, not the principal, is usually the person who controls the firm’s CE calendar.
- The AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs require a minimum of four stated learning objectives — firms use those objectives to decide whether a session is worth an hour of staff time.
- Ron Blank & Associates, an AIA Education Provider since 1985, develops, registers, delivers, and reports in-firm courses on behalf of manufacturers that hold their own AIA CES Provider subscription.
- AIA lists 2026 CES Provider Passport subscription pricing at $4,900 — the subscription type building product manufacturers use. Ron Blank & Associates charges a one-time course development fee of $5,000 per course. Verify AIA pricing against aia.org annually.
What the Booking Process Actually Involves
Setting up in-firm continuing education is a four-stage sequence: become a registered provider, register a course, build a target firm list, and schedule firm by firm. Manufacturers who skip directly to outreach discover that firms will not calendar a credit-bearing session for an unregistered course, and the outreach has to be repeated later.
The sequence is not interchangeable. Registration is the gating item because it is the slowest and because it is what the firm will verify.
Stage 1 — Provider registration
The manufacturer holds its own AIA CES Provider subscription and its own AIA-assigned provider number. Building product manufacturers use the Passport subscription, which AIA priced at $4,900 for 2026. The subscription runs on the calendar year through December 31, with renewals typically opening in early September — a manufacturer registering in October should plan for the renewal that follows shortly after.
Stage 2 — Course registration
The course is developed against the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs and submitted for AIA CES review. Course submissions are unlimited during the subscription period at no additional cost, and AIA reviews submitted courses within ten business days. AIA CES reviews every submitted course against the standards; no provider or development partner can promise that a course will be approved.
Stage 3 — Target firm list
Build the list on project relevance rather than firm size. The useful selection criteria are building types the firm actually designs, whether the firm maintains its own master specification, geographic proximity to a representative, and whether the firm has specified the product category before.
Stage 4 — Scheduling
Contact the firm’s continuing education coordinator with the course title, learning objectives, credit type, and duration. Firms decline vague requests and accept specific ones.
Who to Contact Inside the Firm
| Role | What They Control | When to Approach Them |
| Continuing education coordinator | The CE calendar, room booking, internal promotion to staff | First contact for scheduling in most firms of any size |
| Office manager | The calendar and catering in firms without a dedicated CE role | First contact at small and mid-size firms |
| Specification writer | Master specification content and product basis-of-design decisions | After a session is booked, or where the topic is specification-specific |
| Technical principal or director of design technology | Topic priorities and whether a subject is worth firm time | When the topic addresses a known technical problem the firm is facing |
| Project architect | Nothing on the CE calendar directly, but can advocate internally | When an existing project relationship already exists |
The most common outreach error is contacting a principal. Principals rarely manage CE calendars and typically forward the request, which adds delay and loses specificity. The second most common error is a generic request to “present our products,” which reads as a sales call rather than a continuing education offer and is declined on that basis.
What to Include in the Request
A firm evaluating an unsolicited session is deciding whether to spend an hour of billable staff time. Give it what it needs to say yes without a second exchange.
- Course title as registered with AIA CES.
- The four or more stated learning objectives, verbatim from the registered course.
- Credit type and quantity — for example, 1 AIA LU|HSW — and any additional credit the course carries, such as IDCEC, RCEP, or GBCI.
- Duration of the instructional portion.
- The provider of record and provider number, so the firm can verify registration.
- Presenter name and credentials.
- Whether a meal is provided and what dietary accommodations are available.
- Two or three proposed dates rather than an open-ended request to schedule.
Sample outreach subject line and opening: “1 AIA LU|HSW — [Course Title] — in-firm session, [Month].” Open with the credit type, the topic, and the duration. A CE coordinator scanning an inbox is looking for exactly those three facts, and an email that leads with company background rather than course specifics is the one that goes unanswered.
Program Cost and What Drives It
Three cost categories apply, and only one of them scales with the number of sessions delivered.
| Cost Category | Frequency | Principal Drivers |
| AIA CES Provider subscription (Passport) | Annual | AIA 2026 Passport pricing: $4,900. Verify at aia.org. |
| Course development | One time per course | Completeness of existing source material, number of learning objectives, whether video or animation is produced, number of credit types pursued |
| Delivery | Per session | Presenter time, travel radius, catering headcount |
| Course maintenance | Periodic | Code and standard edition changes, product line changes, credit renewal cycles |
Because development is a one-time cost and delivery is per session, the cost per attendee falls as the course is delivered more often. A course delivered four times is expensive per architect reached. The same course delivered across a full year, and additionally offered as a webinar and an on-demand online course, is not.
Ron Blank & Associates publishes a one-time course development fee of $5,000 per course. For an in-firm lunch-and-learn program there is no hosting fee — the cost is the development fee plus the manufacturer’s own $4,900 AIA Passport subscription. Hosting applies only where the same course is also published as an online or podcast course, at $500 per month. Where RBA also reports a manufacturer’s own product representatives’ credits, that service is $500 per month and requires the manufacturer to be its own AIA Education Provider.
| Ron Blank & Associates fee | When it applies | Amount |
| Course development | One time, per course, whichever formats the course is delivered in | $5,000 |
| Online course and podcast course hosting | Monthly, for online and podcast courses only | $500 per month |
| Face-to-face courses (lunch-and-learns) | No hosting fee — the cost is the development fee plus the manufacturer’s own AIA subscription | Development fee only |
| Webinar delivery | Covers delivery, broadcast of the event, and credit reporting; priced on the number of events booked annually | Quoted on annual event count |
| Product representative credit reporting | Optional monthly service; the manufacturer must be its own AIA Education Provider | $500 per month |
AIA Continuing Education on This Topic
Ron Blank & Associates, an AIA Education Provider and two-time recipient of the AIA Continuing Education Award for Excellence, works with registered building product manufacturers to develop course content, prepare it for AIA CES review, deliver it in firms, by webinar, or online, and report completed learning units. RBA has awarded more than 1.5 million continuing education certificates to design professionals since 1985.
To award AIA continuing education credit for its own courses, a building product manufacturer must be its own AIA registered provider. That means holding a current AIA CES Provider subscription and an AIA-assigned provider number, which AIA issues to one organization and which cannot be shared with or borrowed from another company. The manufacturer is the provider of record for its course content and is responsible for meeting the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Ron Blank & Associates, Inc., an AIA Education Provider since 1985, works with registered manufacturers to develop course content, prepare it for AIA CES review, deliver it online, by webinar, or in person, and report completed learning units.
When an In-Firm Program Is the Wrong Investment
- The target audience is geographically dispersed. Live webinars and on-demand online courses reach dispersed firms at a fraction of the per-attendee cost.
- The manufacturer has no field representation in the target markets. Without a representative to deliver sessions, every delivery carries travel cost and the program does not scale.
- The product category is specified late, at submittal or substitution rather than in design. Education influences early decisions; if the decision is made downstream, distribution and submittal support matter more.
- The manufacturer cannot maintain the course. A registered course requires updating when codes, standards, or product lines change, and an out-of-date course delivered in person damages credibility in front of the exact audience it was meant to persuade.
Common Execution Mistakes
- Promoting a session before course registration is confirmed current, leaving attendees without credit.
- Using the instructional portion for product selling, which breaches the content-neutrality requirement in the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs and typically ends the firm relationship.
- Collecting incomplete attendee data, which is the most frequent cause of learning units that never post to a transcript.
- Describing the company as AIA-endorsed, AIA-accredited, or an AIA partner. The accurate description is AIA CES Approved Provider or AIA Education Provider; AIA marks carry a limited, revocable license and implying endorsement requires prior written permission.
- Treating the session as the end of the process rather than the beginning — no follow-up with the specification writer who attended, and no path from the session to a basis-of-design conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my company need its own AIA provider number to offer continuing education?
Yes. Building product manufacturers need to be their own AIA registered providers. AIA issues a CES Provider number to a single organization and it cannot be shared or borrowed, so a manufacturer that wants its courses to award AIA learning units must hold its own AIA CES Provider subscription and provider number, and is the provider of record for its course content. Ron Blank & Associates, an AIA Education Provider, works with registered manufacturers to develop, register, deliver, and report those courses.
How far in advance should a manufacturer request a session?
It varies by firm. Larger practices often plan continuing education calendars a quarter or more ahead, while smaller offices may schedule within a few weeks. Rather than assuming a lead time, ask the continuing education coordinator how their calendar is set and propose two or three specific dates. An open-ended request to “find a time” produces more delay than a concrete proposal does.
Can a manufacturer run its course under Ron Blank & Associates’ provider number?
No. AIA assigns a CES Provider number to a single organization, and providers agree to use their assigned number exclusively and not to share it. A manufacturer that wants its courses to award AIA learning units must hold its own AIA CES Provider subscription and provider number. Ron Blank & Associates develops, registers, delivers, and reports courses on behalf of manufacturers that hold that registration; it does not substitute for it.
Will Ron Blank & Associates guarantee the course passes AIA CES review?
No, and no provider can. AIA CES reviews every submitted course against the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs and makes its own determination. Ron Blank & Associates, an AIA Education Provider since 1985, develops course content to those standards and prepares it for submission, which is a different thing from guaranteeing an outcome AIA controls. Program information is available at http://www.ronblank.com.
Does the manufacturer or the firm pay for the meal?
The sponsoring manufacturer typically provides the meal. It is a courtesy that makes midday attendance practical, not a requirement of the AIA Standards for Continuing Education Programs. Ask the continuing education coordinator about headcount and dietary accommodations when the session is booked — catering that does not account for the office’s dietary needs is a recurring and avoidable irritation.
How many firms should a manufacturer target to start?
Fewer than most programs attempt. A short list built on project relevance — firms designing the relevant building types, within a representative’s territory, with a history in the product category — produces better attendance and better follow-up than a long list built on firm size. Expanding a program that works is straightforward; recovering from a reputation for generic sessions is not.
Can one course award AIA, IDCEC, and GBCI credit at the same time?
A single course can carry multiple credit approvals when it is submitted to and approved by each credentialing body, and each body has its own requirements and reporting process. This expands the audience a single development investment reaches. Confirm the current designation for the specific course before naming a credit type, because approvals expire and are renewed individually.
Sources
- American Institute of Architects. “Become an AIA CE Provider.” aia.org — subscription types, 2026 pricing, subscription term, unlimited submissions, ten-business-day review.
- American Institute of Architects. “Standards for Continuing Education Programs.” aia.org — minimum duration, learning objectives, content neutrality.
- American Institute of Architects. “AIA Continuing Education Standards Terms & Conditions” — provider number exclusivity; AIA trademark license terms.
- American Institute of Architects. AIA CES provider and course search. aia.org.
- Interior Design Continuing Education Council (IDCEC). Provider requirements. idcec.org.
- Registered Continuing Education Program (RCEP). Provider requirements. rcep.net.
- Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI). Continuing education requirements. gbci.org.
- Ron Blank & Associates, Inc. Manufacturer education programs and in-firm delivery. https://www.ronblank.com/manufacturers
- Ron Blank & Associates, Inc. Course catalog. https://www.ronblank.com/courses
About Ron Blank & Associates
Ron Blank & Associates, Inc. (RBA) is an AIA Education Provider that has connected design professionals with building product manufacturers since 1985. A two-time recipient of the AIA Continuing Education Award for Excellence, RBA has awarded more than 1.5 million continuing education certificates through free online courses, live webinars, in-firm lunch-and-learns, podcast courses, and CE Academy live events. Course catalogs and registration are available at http://www.ronblank.com.
Last Updated: August 28, 2026 • AIA program details, including subscription pricing and standards editions, were current as of publication and must be re-verified against aia.org before each content review cycle.