Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

• How do Planetizen Courses work?
• When can I access the course after I enroll? How long do I have access to the course?
• About how long does it take to complete a Planetizen Course?
• Does Planetizen offer a certificate of completion or continuing education credits?
• Can more than one person take the course for the same price (within the same firm)?
• If not, could we get a group discount if there was enough interest?
• What are the minimum technical requirements for accessing Planetizen Courses?
• I am interested in purchasing an online courses, but I need to pay with a purchase order or check (not a credit card).
• Does the course contain everything I need, or do I need to purchase additional books?

How do Planetizen Courses work?

You can participate in a Planetizen course at your own speed.

You can decide to complete the entire course in one week, or spread the lessons out over a couple of months. A single lesson in the course is designed to be read in about 15-30 minutes, so you can complete one lesson per day at lunchtime, or at night after the kids go to bed.

Within one business day of the time you register for a course, you will receive by email your login information, which includes your username and password. You will use this information to access the course using a Web browser.

The first thing you should do when you access the course is to visit the "Introductions" discussion forum and post a brief message introducing yourself to the other students and the instructor. Then take a few minutes to get to know your classmates by reading through the introductions provided by other students.

The second thing you should do when you access the course is click on the link called "My Profile" and update the information that you would like other students to see about you. If you want, you can even add your photo to your profile. If you do this, then other students will be able to see your photo when you post messages.

The third thing you should do is to read each of the pages in the "Introduction" section. This section will explain a little bit more about how the course works, introduce you to the course instructor, explain what you need to do to pass the course, and offer some other tips.

Once you have completed these steps, you are ready to begin work on the lessons. The course includes a variety of topics. Each topic has several lessons. You work your way through each of the lessons by reading materials and accessing links in the course. When you are done with the topic, you will take a short quiz that will test your mastery of the lessons in that topic. In order to pass the course, you will need to get 70% of the answers on the quiz correct. If you fail the quiz the first time, you can retake it. However, the questions may be different when you retake the quiz.

If you have questions about the course materials or subject matter, you can visit the General Questions discussion forum, and post a message containing your question in the forum. Before you post your question, you may want to look over the other messages that have been posted by students, since the question you are asking may have already been asked by a student. The instructor will be notified when you have posted your question, and will typically reply to your question within 1-2 days. If your question is urgent or if you have questions about a technical aspect of the course, you can email the course facilitator or course technical support specialist, who will usually reply to your question within 8 hours on business days (Monday - Friday, 9am - 5pm, Pacific Time).

After you have completed all the topics, lessons, quizzes, and any assignments in the course, you are ready to take the final exam. The final exam may include a writing assignment, or it may include a 50-question multiple choice exam. In order to pass the course, you will need to score 70% or better on the final assignment or the multiple choice exam. If you fail the multiple choice exam the first time, you can retake it. However, the questions may be different when you retake the exam. If your final exam is a writing assignment or project, the instructor will grade your exam. If the instructor feels you have not done well enough on the exam to pass the course, the instructor will provide you with feedback and you can resubmit your exam after you have addressed the instructor's comments.

When can I access the course after I enroll? How long do I have access to the course?

Most Planetizen Courses are available for 6-month subscriptions. From the day you register, you will have 6 months of access to the online course material.

Planetizen's AICP* Exam Preparation Course runs in two sessions: January 15 - June 15 (Session One) and July 15 - December 15 (Session Two). You may enroll and gain immediate access to Session One anytime between January 15 and May 15, and have access through the end of the Session One term (June 15); if you enroll after May 15, you will gain access to Session Two, beginning on July 15, and have access through the end of the Session Two term (December 15).

Similarly, you may enroll and gain immediate access to Session Two anytime between July 15 and November 15, and have access through the end of the Session Two term (December 15); if you enroll after November 15, you will gain access to Session One, beginning on January 15, and have access through the end of Session One.

Please Note: Course sessions (January 15 - June 15; July 15 - December 15) only apply to PLAN-310: AICP* Exam Preparation Course.

About how long does it take to complete a Planetizen Course?

This depends on the course and the learner. However, we estimate that each course represents about 24-32 hours of study to successfully complete the course.

Does Planetizen offer a certificate of completion or continuing education credits?

Planetizen offers a certificate of completion upon successful completion of the course. To successfully complete the course, you must (a) invest a minimum of eight hours studying in the course; (b) Complete each topic quiz with a score of 70% or better; and (c) Complete the final exam with a score of 70% or better.

Selected Planetizen Courses have been approved to provide credits for the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) Certification Maintenance program. The number of credits varies by course, depending on the number of hours required for each course. Learn more about Planetizen's AICP Certification Maintenance Resources.

If you would like continuing education credits for a different program, please let us know (editor@planetizen.com) the name of the program, and we will look into providing credits for other programs as well.

Can more than one person take the course for the same price (within the same firm)?

No. The course fee includes a license for one learner (person) to access the course from multiple locations (home, work, travel, etc.), as often as desired for the entire duration of the enrolled session. It's not fair to the course instructor to allow multiple registrations under one license. The courses are priced affordably to hopefully make it possible for each learner to pay the course fee. The courses software system recognizes when multiple users are logged into the same account.

If not, could we get a group discount if there was enough interest?

Yes! Discounts of 10% are available for five or more registrations. Discounts of 20% are available for 10 or more registrations. A registration includes a learner/course combination. If two learners each sign up for three courses, this would represent six registrations, and the learners would qualify for the 10% discount.

What are the minimum technical requirements for accessing Planetizen Courses?

Planetizen courses are designed to accessible from any computer that has a modern standard web browser, (Including Firefox 1.0, Internet Explorer 6, Safari, Opera 1.0 and Netscape 6), and Internet access. Planetizen courses will work equally well on Windows, Macintosh, Linux or Solaris operating systems. In general, any computer that can run a web browser and connect to the Internet can access Planetizen courses.

Please note that the Planetizen AICP* Exam Online Preparation course includes an optional video section that does have additional technical requirements. For more information about these requirements, please see the details for the PLAN-310: Planetizen AICP* Exam Online Preparation Course.

I am interested in purchasing an online courses, but I need to pay with a purchase order or check (not a credit card).

No problem. Please contact us at info@planetizen.com and specify the exact course (and options, if you are ordering the AICP preparation course), and your full contact information, including mailing address and your email address. We will email to you an invoice. We will activate your Planetizen courses account within one business day of the time receive payment for the invoice.

Does the course contain everything I need, or do I need to purchase additional books?

The courses include all the materials that you will need to successfully complete the course. In some cases, you will need to access other websites or online materials in order to research topics in which you are interested, or to complete exercises. However, no printed books or course readers are necessary. The one exception is the AICP* Exam Preparation Course. This course offers two additional options for a core reader and supplemental reader. If you order these readers, they will be shipped to you according to the method indicated on the course page.

*AICP is a registered trademark of the American Planning Association (APA) and the APA's institute. Neither APA nor AICP are affiliated with Planetizen or this website.