The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) Public Comment Period Opens: What You Can Do
The Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) has opened a public comment period on proposed updates to accreditation criteria that emphasize lifelong learning and continued professional development for MPH programs. This is a timely opportunity for the CHES® community to elevate the value of health education as a profession and to strengthen the public health workforce pipeline.
Please advocate for inclusion of the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) credential as a recognized pathway for demonstrating professional competence, especially for MPH programs with a social and behavioral science focus. Naming CHES® in the criteria helps clarify workforce expectations, supports professional identity, and builds capacity by encouraging graduates to pursue a nationally recognized standard for practice.
The Value of CHES as a Competency Pathway
The CHES® credential, administered by the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC), aligns with nationally recognized competencies and supports ongoing professional development across a career. Including CHES® within CEPH’s lifelong learning criteria would strengthen the connection between academic preparation and professional practice, reinforce quality and accountability in health education services (including programs such as community health education, health promotion, and health behavior), and help grow a prepared, credentialed workforce.
Proposed Lifelong Learning Criteria
The proposed Lifelong Learning criteria (MPH.8) are:
Unit defines plan to ensure cultivation of skills and mindsets needed for ongoing learning and growth as a public health professional throughout graduates’ careers.
- All students exposed to professional structures to support lifelong learning, specifically:
- APHA & state or regional PHAs as appropriate
- CPH credential
- Any other relevant orgs or credentials specific to the unit and/or plan of study, as applicable
Read the full proposed revised MPH criteria
Public comments close May 19, 2026 — your voice matters.
Help shape how lifelong learning is defined and recognized in public health education.
If you are a CHES®/MCHES® professional, we encourage you to:
Submit a public comment and ask CEPH to explicitly name CHES® as a credentialed pathway that supports lifelong learning for MPH graduates. reference line 325 (question #6 on the comment form).
Key points CHES® advocates may wish to include:
- CHES®/MCHES® is a competency-based credential grounded in health education practice and sustained through continuing education.
- Naming CHES® gives MPH programs a clear, existing way to operationalize “lifelong learning” beyond general or singular encouragement.
- Explicit recognition helps build a credentialed workforce by signaling a professional standard to students, employers, and community partners.
- Recognition supports the profession by improving role clarity, strengthening hiring consistency, and supporting advancement pathways for health educators.
- CHES® competencies directly support common MPH practice areas such as community health education, health promotion, and health behavior/behavior change programming.
Sample comment language
Option 1:
“I strongly support CEPH’s emphasis on lifelong learning and continued professional development within MPH accreditation criteria. As a CHES®/MCHES® professional, I encourage CEPH to explicitly recognize the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) credential as a validated pathway for ongoing professional development. Naming CHES® would strengthen alignment between academic preparation and workforce expectations, particularly for graduates pursuing health education and social/behavioral public health roles.”
Option 2:
“As a CHES®/MCHES® professional, I urge CEPH to explicitly recognize CHES® within its lifelong learning criteria to support the health education profession and strengthen workforce readiness and capacity.”