Course not listed on the Recognized Courses page?  PLAR gives members the opportunity to submit their external courses to be reviewed for exemption or challenge exam. Before submitting, please review the important details below. 

External Course Requirements

To be eligible for exemption, an external course must cover a minimum of 75% of the content of a corresponding IMA course.Members are encouraged to review the IMA course descriptions to compare lessons, learning outcomes and content against those of the external course. 

Process and Outcomes

Submissions are reviewed by the Accreditation Committee. Courses that meet the minimum 75% threshold will be approved for exemption of a corresponding IMA course.

Courses that do not meet this minimum may be eligible for challenge exam at the discretion of the Committee. For challenge exams, members are not required to complete the entire IMA course, but must successfully complete the corresponding IMA course exam with a passing grade of 70% within 90 days of application approval.

Application Requirements

• Be an active IMA member
• External course syllabus
• A detailed summary identifying how the external course addresses the material/learning outcomes of a corresponding IMA course
• Transcript confirming successful completion of the external course

Application Review and Timeline

The Accreditation Committee will review each request and provide a response within 30-days. Courses approved for exemption or challenge exam will be added to the Recognized Courses list and corresponding PLAR application.