MIA Expands CEU Program to Facility Tours

CLEVELAND –  The Marble Institute of America (MIA) expanded its popular continuing education (CEU) program today for architects, designers, kitchen/bath dealers, and landscape architects to now include CEU credit for facility tours.

The Natural Stone: The Evolving Marketplace, Technology & Product Applications (facility tours) course evolved from an MIA member concept into a collaborative effort to receive approval for the educational credits.

“With over 75 member companies delivering CEU classes to the design community,” says Joshua Levinson, MIA’s education-committee chair, “the natural question was; how can we also offer credit for a tour following the traditional classroom CEU?”  

A team at Kansas City, Kan.-based Sturgis Materials offered the program concept, and more than 20 MIA members pitched in to create the necessary outlines for approval of the facility tours CEU credit by:

* American Society of Interior Designers (ASID);
* American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA);
* Interior Designers of Canada (IDC);
* Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC);
* International Interior Design Association (IIDA); and,
* National Kitchen & Bath Association (NKBA)

With a variety of stone operations in North America, the MIA group developed individual guidelines for facilities with only a stone showroom; locations with a showroom and tile/slab warehouse; fabrication shops with a showroom & tile/slab warehouse; and quarries with a production/fabrication facility.

“Given the diversity of the industry, it was important that we create a program that accounts for different types of facilities and maintains a high level of education for the design professionals,” Levinson adds. “I believe this program is a great way for stone companies to connect with the design community.”  

Additionally, this course can be used as a stand-alone CEU credit or combined with another CEU course to offer the design professional multiple credits.

Natural Stone: The Evolving Marketplace, Technology & Product Applications (facility tours) is one of six CEU classes now available.  Three new classes will be rolled out later this year.  

To learn more about the MIA CEU program, go here.