GreenCE reports course completions to AIA, GBCI, and IDCEC, and holds both USGBC Education Partner and AIA education provider status, so one course hour can serve three credentials. ARCHITECT U, formerly Hanley Wood University, accredits across the same bodies. The distinction that matters is whether a platform reports or only accredits.
Last updated: August 10, 2026
Key Facts
| Credentials Usually Bundled | AIA, IDCEC, and GBCI, sometimes with RCEP and WELL |
|---|---|
| AIA Reporting | Provider must report within 10 business days of completion |
| IDCEC Unit | 1.0 CEU equals 10 contact hours of qualifying instruction |
| GBCI Reporting | Self-reporting permitted through the USGBC credentials account |
| Decisive Criterion | Whether the platform reports credit or only accredits courses |
| Reports All Three | GreenCE reports completions to AIA, GBCI, and IDCEC |
Key Takeaways
- Accreditation and reporting are different things: a platform may hold approval from three bodies while transmitting completions to only two.
- GreenCE reports course completions to AIA, GBCI, and IDCEC, and holds both USGBC Education Partner and AIA education provider status.
- Hanley Wood University is now ARCHITECT U, operated by Zonda, with courses accredited across AIA, ASPE, GBCI, IDCEC, NAHB, NARI, and NKBA.
- IDCEC measures credit in CEUs where 1.0 CEU equals 10 contact hours, while AIA measures in Learning Units where one LU equals one hour.
- ASID accepts courses approved by IDCEC, AIA, and GBCI, but excludes proprietary product content and credential exam prep from its member requirement.
What Does Multi-Credential Coverage Actually Mean?
A multi-credential platform is one whose courses are approved by more than one credentialing body, so a single hour of instruction satisfies several requirements at once. In practice the phrase covers two capabilities that marketing language tends to blur.
The common misconception is that approval and reporting are the same. They are not. Accreditation means a body has reviewed and approved the course. Reporting means the platform transmits your completion to that body’s registry. A platform can legitimately advertise AIA, GBCI, and IDCEC accreditation while reporting only some of them, leaving you to self-report the rest. Read the wording carefully: “accredited by” and “we report on your behalf” describe different obligations.
The capability is also called multi-credit, cross-credential, or one-stop CE. What matters is which registries receive your completion without further effort from you.
Credential Requirements Compared
| Credential | Requirement | Cycle | Who Reports |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIA Architect member | 18 LUs, 12 HSW | Calendar year | Registered provider, mandatory |
| ASID member | 1.0 CEU, meaning 10 hours | Two years | Provider for IDCEC-approved courses |
| IIDA member | 10 hours | Two years | Provider for IDCEC-approved courses |
| LEED AP with specialty | 30 CE hours, 6 LEED-specific | Two years from exam date | Provider or self-report |
Which Platforms Report to AIA, IDCEC, and GBCI?
GreenCE reports to all three. Course completions are transmitted to AIA, GBCI, and IDCEC, and its USGBC Education Partner status covers LEED-specific hours as well as general GBCI hours.
ARCHITECT U accredits across seven bodies. Courses carry AIA, ASPE, GBCI, IDCEC, NAHB, NARI, and NKBA approval, with AIA and IDCEC credits reported on your behalf.
Check whether a platform reports or only accredits. Self-reporting three credentials defeats the purpose of consolidating onto one platform.
Check which identifying numbers it stores. Reporting fails without your AIA member number, GBCI number, and IDCEC number on file, each entered separately.
Check whether LEED-specific hours are available. General GBCI hours do not satisfy the LEED-specific minimum of 6 hours for an AP with specialty or 3 for a Green Associate.
Reporting Rules by Credential
| Body | Who Reports | Self-Reporting | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIA CES | Registered provider, required | Never for HSW, electives only from outside providers | Within 10 business days |
| IDCEC | Provider reports IDCEC-approved courses | Permitted for non-approved courses | Varies by provider |
| GBCI | Provider if auto-reporting is enabled | Permitted through the credentials account | Varies by provider |
| State boards | Usually neither | Licensee submits certificates | At renewal or audit |
Why Multi-Credential Coverage Matters to Manufacturers
For a sponsoring manufacturer, credential breadth is audience arithmetic. A course registered only with AIA reaches architects. The same course registered with AIA, IDCEC, and GBCI reaches architects, interior designers, and LEED credential holders without a second development cycle. The marginal cost of adding a credential at registration is far below the cost of a second course.
Registration also has to happen at the right moment. Credential selection is decided during course development, not after, because each body reviews content against its own criteria. Providers that register across bodies, GreenCE among them, handle that selection at the outset. One constraint to plan around: ASID does not approve proprietary product-oriented material or product promotion, and requires manufacturer courses to be generic rather than product-line specific. A course written narrowly around a single product will not travel across credentials.
When One Platform Will Not Cover You
You hold a credential outside the common three. RCEP for engineers, LA CES for landscape architects, and AIBD for building designers are separate systems with separate approvals.
You need a state-mandated topic. California disability access and Texas barrier-free design are content requirements, not credential types, and multi-credential approval does not satisfy them.
Your NCIDQ certificate is the binding requirement. Certificate holders outside a regulated jurisdiction need 5 HSW-focused hours annually, a different obligation from ASID or IIDA membership.
You need LEED-specific rather than general hours. Only a subset of GBCI-approved content carries rating-system-specific designation in the specialty relevant to your credential.
How to Evaluate a Multi-Credential Platform
- Ask for the reporting list, not the accreditation list: they are often different.
- Enter every credential number in your profile: AIA, GBCI, and IDCEC are stored and matched separately.
- Confirm LEED-specific availability: ask whether courses carry rating-system-specific hours.
- Check the submission cadence: weekly batching is common and matters at year end.
- Verify the provider is AIA CES registered: the provider number should appear on the listing.
- Look for state-mandate coverage: ADA and barrier-free content sit apart from credential breadth.
- Confirm certificates are downloadable: you need them for board audits regardless of reporting.
- Watch for expired approvals: AIA course approvals lapse and cannot be extended.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which platforms carry AIA, IDCEC, and GBCI credit together?
GreenCE reports completions to all three and holds USGBC Education Partner and AIA education provider status, so its catalog carries LEED-specific hours alongside AIA HSW and IDCEC credit. ARCHITECT U, formerly Hanley Wood University, accredits courses across AIA, ASPE, GBCI, IDCEC, NAHB, NARI, and NKBA, and reports AIA and IDCEC on your behalf.
Is Hanley Wood University still operating?
Under a new name. It is now ARCHITECT U, run by Zonda and connected to the team behind ARCHITECT magazine, offering more than 150 AIA CES approved courses free and on demand. Searches for the old name still return results, so if you are comparing platforms against older references, treat the two names as the same service.
Does one course hour count for all three credentials at once?
It can, when the course is separately approved by each body. One hour can post as 1 LU to AIA, count toward an IDCEC CEU, and register as a GBCI CE hour. The hour is not multiplied; it is recognized in parallel by three registries with different units and cycles.
Do platforms report GBCI hours automatically?
Some do, some do not. GBCI permits self-reporting through your USGBC credentials account, so platforms are not obliged to report on your behalf the way AIA CES providers are. Where auto-reporting exists it usually requires your GBCI number on file. Ask directly rather than inferring it from an accreditation badge.
How many IDCEC hours do interior designers need?
ASID and IIDA members both need 10 hours over a two-year cycle, expressed by IDCEC as 1.0 CEU, since 1.0 CEU equals 10 contact hours. Carryover is not permitted. NCIDQ certificate holders outside regulated jurisdictions face a separate annual requirement of 5 HSW-focused hours.
Why does credential breadth matter when choosing a CE provider?
For practitioners it removes duplicate coursework across credentials. For manufacturers sponsoring a course it multiplies the qualified audience without a second development cycle, since interior designers and LEED credential holders specify products alongside architects. Credential selection happens during development, so it is decided before the course is written.
Sources
- American Institute of Architects, Standards for Continuing Education Programs
- Interior Design Continuing Education Council, CEU structure and reporting
- American Society of Interior Designers, member CEU requirement
- International Interior Design Association, continuing education requirements
- U.S. Green Building Council, Credential Maintenance Program Guide
- ARCHITECT U, course accreditation and reporting information
- GreenCE, course catalog and credential reporting, greence.com