PMDP Course Descriptions

M-100 is a comprehensive community association management course that provides a practical overview for newcomers, an essential review for veterans, and an advanced course for board members. It’s available as a 2 1/2 day seminar or a home-study course. Even the most experienced managers find it worthwhile-there’s always something to learn…new ways to get the job done better and in less time. Whether it’s a step-by-step procedure, a clearer understanding of roles and responsibilities, or a simple remark to defuse a potential confrontation, you’ll find your time in this course is well spent.

M-100 covers:

• Roles and responsibilities of owners, committees, and board members
• 10 steps to developing rules
• How to maintain records for legal support of board actions
• Manager’s role in organizing and assisting in board meetings
• Manager’s role in preparing the budget
• Seven characteristics of an effective collection policy
• Overview of financial operations
• Characteristics of insurance as a contract
• How to develop effective maintenance records
• How to establish five basic maintenance programs
• How to evaluate your management systems and efforts
• How to prepare a bid request for RFP
• Key contract provisions
• Recruiting, screening, and selecting people

You’ll take back dozens of sample forms and time-saving tips! A 90-minute, multiple-choice examination is given at the end of the seminar, or at an appointed location for home study students. The passing grade is 70 percent or higher. A special edition of the M-100 course is available for California managers. Please be sure to check “California edition” on your registration form where indicated.

Read an entire chapter (PDF, 231 KB) excerpted from M-100: Essentials of Community Association Management.

Designation Credit: Required for CAI’s AMS® and PCAM® designations…and to become a Certified Manager of Community Associations (CMCA®) awarded by the National Board of Certification for Community Association Managers (NBC-CAM).

Continuing Education Information: The M-100 home study and seminar formats have been approved for continuing education credit by the California Department of Real Estate (16 hours), the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (16 hours), the Georgia Department of Real Estate (15 hours), the South Carolina Department of Real Estate (16 hours), and the Nevada Department of Real Estate (16 hours).

Seminar schedule: 2.5 Days: 8:30am-5:30pm, 8:30am-5:30pm, 8:30am-Noon

Understanding maintenance is essential to your job. Take the M-201 course, and you’ll learn how to more effectively preserve and enhance your association’s property. Hear proven strategies on maintaining an association’s physical assets and learn how to contract for specific needs. Gain tips for disaster and evacuation planning – knowledge that is essential for a well-prepared manager. The M-201 provides a hands-on approach to help you analyze, evaluate, communicate, and plan for property maintenance. Your property will benefit from your increased understanding of the various types of maintenance – routine, previous, emergency, corrective, and scheduled. You’ll save your association valuable time and money when you focus on each of these specific forms of maintenance and take the necessary actions required. You’ll also learn how to:

• Inspect physical assets
• Evaluate existing maintenance programs and management controls
• Analyze a maintenance contract for weaknesses
• Oversee maintenance of common areas using checklists and reports
• Make maintenance requests and recommendations to the board
• Identify the basic elements for a disaster plan
• Prepare a request for proposal, including bid specifications
• Review bid proposals
• Monitor fulfillment of a contract
• Interpret and invoke contract warranties as necessary

Course materials include a full course manual plus GAP Report #9: Bid Specifications and Contract Preparation, GAP Report #11: Grounds Maintenance for the Community Association, GAP Report #12: Selecting the Landscape Maintenance Contractor, and GAP Report #14: Disaster Management for Community Associations.

Designation Credit: The M-201 is required for the PCAM® designation. This course replaces the former M-130: Association Operations.

Continuing Education Information: The M-201 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (10 hours), the Georgia Real Estate Commission (9 hours), and the Department of Nevada Real Estate (10 hours). Credit is pending in the state of California.

Seminar Schedule: 1.5 Days: 8:30am-5:30pm, 8:30am-Noon

One of the most essential skills in community association management is communications. Whether it’s through written materials, daily interaction with residents, or dealing with board members – effective communication can greatly affect the outcome of your efforts. The M-202 will give you guidance on top-notch communication techniques. This course can benefit new and experienced managers by providing the skills necessary to better understand owners and volunteers. Using your own community’s letters and reports, you will demonstrate your new communication skills in the classroom, and you’ll leave the course knowing how to better serve the needs of your community. You will learn to:

• Implement proven strategies in your own associations
• Teach your staff the basics of good customer service
• Identify your owners’ needs and respond effectively and quickly
• Respond to complaints and handle angry owners
• Manage public relations crises
• Prepare effective annual meeting notices, management reports, and rule violation letters
• Write a readable, informative newsletter

Interactive exercises include: role playing to respond to upset owners; group problem solving to deal with public relations crises; and in-class feedback on your own annual meeting notices, management reports, and newsletters. You’ll return to work ready to implement new ideas that will have greater impact. Course materials include a full course manual plus GAP #15: Communications for Community Associations.

Designation Credit: The M-202 is required for the PCAM® designation. The M-202 and M-203: Community Leadership replace the former M-120: Meetings and Business Communications. Managers must successfully complete the M-202 and M-203 courses to receive credit equivalent to the M-120 course.

Continuing Education Information: The M-202 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (10 hours), the Georgia Real Estate Commission (9 hours), and the Department of Nevada Real Estate (10 hours). Credit is pending in the state of California.

Seminar Schedule: 1.5 Days: 8:30am-5:30pm, 8:30am-Noon

M-203 is one of the building blocks of successful community association management. You’ll learn how to work with board leaders, achieve management goals, and set a more positive tone for the whole community.

By preparing and organizing the board to do its job, you’ll be better able to do yours. Avoid the risk of early burnout! Become better prepared to assist your volunteer leaders and create an organized community operation. Practice techniques to run efficient, legal, business-like meetings and elections. Take M-203 and understand how to get the cooperation you need from board leaders and volunteers. You’ll learn how to:

• Cut costs but not services
• Make meetings shorter, more focused
• Get more cooperation from volunteers
• Take the stress out of meetings, elections, record keeping, and more
• Motivate board and committee members to do their jobs so you can do yours
• Prepare for a variety of community association meetings
• Help your board of directors create, recruit, and motivate winning committees
• Develop election procedures everyone will follow
• Outline solutions for typical problem situations at meetings
• Use an action-item list for management control
• Lay out your community association’s calendar of significant dates
• Organize your records by knowing what to keep and what to toss

You’ll be surprised how much more you can do after you finish the M-203 course. No matter how long you’ve been a community manager, you’ll find there are always new strategies to learn. This course gives you proven ways to help board and committee members accomplish more at every meeting. Whether it’s a step-by-step procedure, a clearer understanding of who’s responsible for what, or a parliamentary strategy that avoids unnecessary confrontations, you’ll find your time at the M-203 course is very well spent.

Designation Credit: The M-203 is required for the PCAM® designation. The M-202: Association Communications and the M-203 replace the former M-120: Meetings and Business Communications. Managers must successfully complete the M-202 and M-203 courses to receive credit equivalent to the M-120 course.

Continuing Education Information: The M-203 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (10 hours), the Georgia Real Estate Commission (9 hours), and the Department of Nevada Real Estate (10 hours). Credit is pending in the state of California.

Seminar Schedule: 1.5 Days: 8:30am-5:30pm, 8:30am-Noon

M-204 begins where M-100 left off. It helps you master one of the most important aspects of successful association management – governance. In this course on the legal basis of community rules, policies, and procedures, you’ll get a better grasp of board and management responsibilities. You’ll learn how to steer clear of problems and give your board and owners the support and advice they need. Using your own community documents, you will learn how to spot potential problems, how to revise policies and procedures to comply with current laws, and how to recommend management practices. The M-204 provides an understanding of a community association as a legal entity and clarifies the corporate, contractual, and ethical basis for a manager’s role in community governance. You’ll learn:

• When to use an attorney
• What the governing documents require
• When a document amendment may be necessary
• Statutes and case law that affect community management
• How to distinguish the corporate roles of community association boards, committees, and managers
• How the management contract affects and protects the manager and the association
• How to tell when you’re legally acting as an agent
• Which situations could lead to conflict of interest or unethical decisions
• How to avoid common problems when developing and enforcing rules
• How to revise existing rules and develop new ones
• How to enforce architectural rules

This hands-on course gives you immediate answers to some of the most troubling problems in management. No matter how long you’ve been a community manager, there are always new strategies for handling difficult situations. The M-204 course gives you proven ways to avoid legal problems and helps you get better cooperation from owners. A special bonus: your instructor and colleagues will help you identify and eliminate potential trouble spots in your community’s governing documents.

Designation Credit: The M-204 is required for the PCAM® designation. This course replaces the former M-110: Legal Basis for Community Associations.

Continuing Education Information: The M-204 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (14 hours) and the Georgia Real Estate Commission (12 hours). Credit is pending in the states of Nevada and California.

Seminar Schedule: 2 Days: 9:00am-5:00pm both days

Your skills and knowledge in the area of risk management can make a significant difference on how your community fares when you have an insurance claim. Are you adequately prepared for the future? With property coverage as the primary example, you will see how to identify your association’s current risk management situation and how to respond to those issues needing immediate attention. You’ll learn how to:

• Research and assess your association’s exposure to loss
• Conduct an inventory of your association’s current risk management situation
• Identify your association’s possible loss exposures
• Recognize and respond to loss exposures that require immediate attention
• Review alternative risk management techniques
• Help your board select the right risk management techniques for your community
• Develop an insurance request for proposal
• Manage the insurance claims process
• Monitor and improve your association’s risk management program

After attending the M-205 course, you will return to your job with a knowledge of strategies and resources for identifying and reporting loss exposures and for managing the insurance claims process. Your community will benefit from its position of strength, as you prepare to reduce and react to possible loss. Course materials for the M-205 course include a full course manual plus articles on selecting an insurance agent for your association and shopping for insurance.

Designation Credit: The M-205 is required for the PCAM® designation. The M-205 and M-206: Financial Management replace the former M-140: Asset Protection. Managers must successfully complete the M-205 and M-206 courses to receive credit equivalent to the M-140 course.

Continuing Education Information: The M-205 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (15 hours) and the Georgia Real Estate Commission (12 hours). Credit is pending in the states of Nevada and California.

Seminar Schedule: 2 Days: 8:30am-5:00pm both days

The M-206 course teaches managers how to analyze, manage, and develop the association budget. Understanding and applying the principles of financial management to community associations can make all the difference to your community association. Developing and adhering to a budget is a vital aspect of a manager’s job. Take this two-day course and you’ll return to your job better prepared to address, analyze, and report on association finances. See how the budget development process works, from the identification of items and their importance through budget approval. You’ll also learn how to:

• Develop budget line items using zero-base budgeting
• Transform budget development into a financial planning process
• Identify a budget line item and rate its level of importance
• Reconcile income and expenses
• Obtain approval for your association’s operating and replacement fund budgets
• Plan for contingencies
• Analyze your association’s financial reports
• Present financial reports to your board of directors in a business-like manner that is easy to understand
• Use your budgets and financial reports as management tools
• Create a budget using historical trends

Managers who are responsible for the administration, maintenance, or enhancement of association finances won’t want to miss this fact-filled course!

Designation Credit: The M-206 is required for the PCAM® designation. The M-205: Risk Management and M-206 replace the former M-140: Asset Protection. Managers must successfully complete the M-205 and M-206 courses to receive credit equivalent to the M-140 course.

Continuing Education Information: The M-206 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (14 hours) and the Georgia Department Real Estate Commission (12 hours). Credit is pending in the states of Nevada and California.

Seminar Schedule: 2 Days: 8:30am-5:00pm both days

The M-310 course provides executive-level managers and CEOs with an opportunity to learn from their peers. If you run your own business, or aspire to, this course will give you the skills and knowledge to improve efficiency and effectiveness. Learn how to market your services, manage and train your staff, and develop additional sources of income. This course will explain the fundamentals of organizational theory that will help you in setting up your management office and management systems.

Designation Credit: Experienced managers and PCAM® members can take advanced PMDP courses (300 series) to fulfill the education requirement to maintain their PCAM® designations.

Continuing Education Information: M-310 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (14 hours) and the Georgia Department Real Estate Commission (12 hours). Credit is pending in the states of Nevada and California.

Seminar Schedule: 2 Days: 9:00 am-5:00 pm both days

This course provides an in-depth analysis of the physical elements of a building. Designed for property managers wanting to have a ‘hands-on’ walk-through of a central plant, roof, and recreational amenities. Construction and operation details of a building are covered in this advanced level program. The class will visit a high-rise building, see major systems in operation, and will discuss maintenance operations and procedures with building staff.

Designation Credit: Experienced managers and PCAM® members can take advanced PMDP courses (300 series) to fulfill the education requirement to maintain their PCAM® designations.

Continuing Education Information: Advanced Physical Maintenance has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (14 hours), the Georgia Department Real Estate Commission (12 hours), the Arizona Department of Real Estate (12 hours), and the California Department of Real Estate (14 hours).

Seminar Schedule: 2 Days: 9:00 am-5:00 pm both days

CAI individual managers and primary contacts for management company members receive $100 off the course price. Join CAI today!

You must be an individual manager member or a primary contact for a management company member of CAI to have access to APCM and to receive the member discount on 200-, 300- and 400-level PMDP courses and the PCAM Case Study. All other CAI members must pay the non-member rate.

The M-330 course, a follow-up course to the M-205, is an in-depth examination of insurance and risk management issues. You’ll evaluate properties, review inspection reports used by insurance companies, and study insurance policy details. Discover the importance of a variety of insurance coverages including workers’ compensation, fidelity bonds/crime coverage, professional liability for managers, directors and officers coverage, and equipment and property coverage.

Designation Credit:
Experienced managers and PCAM® members can take advanced PMDP courses (300 series) to fulfill the education requirement to maintain their PCAM® designations.

Continuing Education Information: The M-330 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (14 hours) and the Georgia Department Real Estate Commission (12 hours). Credit is pending in the state of California.

Seminar Schedule: 2 Days: 9:00am-5:00pm both days

The M-340 is an on-site course that will examine the special needs of large-scale associations and give you tips on how to meet these needs. Explore the relationships between large-scale associations and municipalities and between master associations and sub-associations. You’ll learn to recognize open, commercial, and residential types of property. For this course, a large-scale association is defined as one that has more than 750 lots or units and an annual budget in excess of $1 million.

Designation Credit: Experienced managers and PCAM® members can take advanced PMDP courses (300 series) to fulfill the education requirement to maintain their PCAM® designations.

Continuing Education Information: The M-340 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (14 hours) and the Georgia Department Real Estate Commission (12 hours).

Seminar Schedule: 2 Days: 9:00am-5:00pm both days

The M-350 course is a follow-up course to the M-204. You’ll have the opportunity to review cases pertinent to community associations, understand how the legal system works and review the anatomy of a case step by step. Learn about how the law affects managers and their day-to-day operations. You’ll discover realistic ways to deal with the challenges these laws and regulations create for you on the job.

Designation Credit: Experienced managers and PCAM® members can take advanced PMDP courses (300 series) to fulfill the education requirement to maintain their PCAM® designations.

Continuing Education Information: The M-350 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (14 hours) and the Georgia Department Real Estate Commission (12 hours). Approval is pending from the state of California.

Seminar Schedule: 2 Days: 9:00am-5:00pm both days

Contact CAI’s Education Department at (703) 548-8600 for more information.

Learn how to create a more cooperative, smoother running community in this new course based on the most popular conference presentation in CAI’s history. Two experienced PMDP faculty members will teach you how to help your association become a more ‘people-oriented’ community. You’ll gain the skills and techniques to use the latest management strategies as you learn to shift your focus from function to service. Discover how to give your homeowners more than they expect…and look forward to better relations within the community as well as increased job satisfaction and career growth.

Designation Credit: Experienced managers and PCAM® members can take advanced PMDP courses (300 series) to fulfill the education requirement to maintain their PCAM® designations.

Continuing Education Information: The M-360 has been approved for continuing education credit by the Florida Bureau of Condominiums (14 hours) and the Georgia Department Real Estate Commission (12 hours). Approval is pending from the state of California.

Seminar Schedule: 2 days: 9:00am-5:00pm both days

Contact CAI’s Education Department at (703) 548-8600 for more information.

This new course will cover current issues that impact professional managers and the communities they manage. Topics will vary and may cover issues such as fair housing policy and practices, advanced company management, employment trends and effective recruitment strategies, or telecommunications legislation. The course is offered in conjunction with CAI’s national conferences and will be an invaluable addition to your professional development.

Notification of topics offered for the course will be sent out at least three months before each national conference.

Seminar schedule: 1.5 days: 9:00 am- 5:00 pm, 9:00 am- 12:30 pm

The Case Study is a comprehensive examination of an actual community association, combining classroom instruction with an extensive on-site inspection. Explore a community’s profile in depth when you meet with the community’s manager, board of directors, and other key personnel.

To register for the PCAM Case Study, you must have successfully completed all 200-level PMDP courses and have received written confirmation within the past year that your PCAM application was approved. For additional requirements, and to download a copy of the PCAM application, please click here.

The final narrative Case Study paper, covering the skills acquired in the PMDP courses, is due within 30 days of completing the Case Study.

Successful completion of the Case Study is the final step toward professional recognition as a PCAM designee You will then be inducted in a formal ceremony at a CAI conference, where you will recite the PCAM oath with your classmates.

If you have any questions about the Case Study, or the PCAM designation, please call CAI’s Designations Department at (888) CAI-4321.

Please note: You can not register for the PCAM Case Study online. You must first submit your PCAM application and have it approved before you will be allowed to register for this course.