Pre-Conference Courses


Boost your professional development with pre-conference courses ahead of CMAA2025 in Nashville! These courses are the perfect opportunity to combine expert-led learning opportunities with your conference experience, all in one trip! Whether you’re looking to deepen your expertise in construction management, broaden your skill set for career growth, or network with industry peers, these courses offer immense value.

Check out the list of courses below and add them while
registering* for CMAA2025 today!


*Additional fees will apply; see course details for more information.
In-Person Professional CM Course
Thursday, October 16 - Saturday, October 18
8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.


Based on CMAA’s Body of Knowledge, the In-Person Professional CM (PCM) Course is a comprehensive, live, instructor-led course offered over three full days. This valuable learning opportunity focuses on construction management core competencies and will benefit those wanting to build on their construction management skillset knowledge, as well as more experienced professionals seeking a refresher or continuing education.

 
Expand for more details. This course is recommended by CMAA as effective educational review for the Certified Associate Construction Manager (CACM) exam*. This course can also be used in conjunction with the CCM Build-Up Study group to prepare for the Certified Construction Manager exam.

Instruction will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 5:00 p.m., daily. An agenda will be provided at the start of the course. Live instruction covers professional practice, program & project management, contract administration, time management (with lab), sustainability, quality management, cost management & value engineering, and safety & risk management. 

*There are no required materials or courses to prepare for the CACM and CCM exams and participation in this course does not guarantee a passing exam score. Please review the relevant handbooks for additional information:

CACM Application Handbook
CCM Application Handbook

Registration Rates:
Member: $1325
Non-member: $1600

Cancellation & Refund Policy:
If you cannot attend, you may transfer to a future course within 12 months at no extra cost or request a refund of your registration fee minus a $75 processing fee and the cost of included publications. Refund or transfer requests must be emailed to
pd@cmaanet.org at least 15 days before the course starts. No transfers or refunds are allowed within 14 days of the course start date. 

Registration for PCM Course includes:
1. Electronic PCM Course slides (downloadable and printable) 
2. Construction Management Standards of Practice (eBook) 
3. CACM Study Guide (eBook)

Educational Credit:
Course participants earn 24 CMCI Recertification Points, Professional Development Hours, or AIA Learning Units. Partial credit is not assigned. All 3 days of the course must be completed to receive credit. For more information on recertification points, please visit 
https://www.cmaanet.org/recertification.
Train the Trainer
Thursday, October 16 - Friday, October 17
9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.


Want to learn to become a better trainer and public speaker? Join CMAA’s Train the Trainer course to get an overview of adult learners, learning styles, classroom management, teaching tools, and presentation techniques.  

Upon successful completion of Train the Trainer, you will be recognized publicly by CMAA as an Authorized Trainer – recognized for your presentation capabilities, knowledge, and professional experience. CMAA Authorized Trainers can teach any CMAA-run course, including Chapter and private courses, or be hired by organizations who license the course.

 
Expand for more details.Registration Rates:
Member: $825 
Non-member: $1100

Time:
Thursday: 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 
Friday: 8:00 a.m - 2:00 p.m.  

Train the Trainer includes both pre-recorded online materials and an in-person session. 

Pre-Recorded Online: Prior to the start of the course, you will receive links to view video of past Professional CM Courses. You do not need to view the entire recording or even an entire section. Recordings are provided to give you an idea of how past presenters have taught the material.

Additional references will be provided prior to the course start: Adult Education Toolkit, Leaning Styles of 4 Modalities, and presentation PowerPoints.

In-Person: We will start Thursday at 8:00 am with introductions and discussion, go over how the PowerPoint slides are set up, and everyone will have the opportunity to present a portion of one of the course sections. These presentations will be recorded and then played back for constructive feedback. Lunch is on your own.  

The course will conclude with two names being picked out of a hat to teach the last section of the concurrent PCM Course on Friday morning, followed by a debrief. Lunch is on your own.

Cancellation & Refund Policy:
If you cannot attend, you may transfer to a future course within 12 months at no extra cost or request a refund of your registration fee minus a $75 processing fee and the cost of included publications. Refund or transfer requests must be emailed to
pd@cmaanet.org at least 15 days before the course starts. No transfers or refunds are allowed within 14 days of the course start date. 

Educational Credit:
Course participants earn 16 CMCI Recertification Points, Professional Development Hours, or AIA Learning Units. Partial credit is not assigned. To receive credit, all three days of the course must be completed. For more information on recertification points, please visit https://www.cmaanet.org/recertification.

 
Construction Management Principles
Saturday, October 18
9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.


Based on Capstone: An Introduction to the CM Profession, What’s Your Construction Management IQ?, and What’s Your Construction Management EQ?, the Construction Management Principles (CMP) course provides a basic understanding of construction management and the role of the construction manager (CM). This course will provide an overview of owners and project types, contracts and agreements, CM project management (including time, cost, quality, contract, safety, risk, sustainability, and technology), leadership, ethics, soft skills, and career development.

 
Expand for more details. View the Course Syllabus.

Registration Rates:
Member: $350
Non-member: $500

Time:
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Cancellation & Refund Policy:
If you cannot attend, you may transfer to a future course within 12 months at no extra cost or request a refund of your registration fee minus a $75 processing fee and the cost of included publications. Refund or transfer requests must be emailed to
pd@cmaanet.org at least 15 days before the course starts. No transfers or refunds are allowed within 14 days of the course start date. 

Course Materials: 
Capstone: An Introduction to the CM Profession
What's Your Construction Management IQ?
What's Your Construction Management EQ?

 
Educational Credit:
Course participants earn 6 CMCI Recertification Points, Professional Development Hours, or AIA Learning Units.

Not all courses and educational activities offered are acceptable for continuing education credit in your state. Please check your state licensing board’s requirements before submitting your credits. All courses approved by CMAA count toward CCM or CACM recertification points. For more information on recertification points, please
visit https://www.cmaanet.org/recertification.
 
Advanced Scheduling for CMs
Saturday, October 18
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.


The schedule is the heart and soul of a construction project.  It impacts all parties – owners, builders, designers, engineers, and others – on a daily basis. Whether the impact is positive or negative depends on the quality of the schedule, its realism, and how well each party understands the schedule and the scheduling process. 

Advanced Scheduling for CMs covers the CM’s role in schedule management, how to develop a master schedule, schedule review best practices, identifying “red flags” in a schedule, earned value analysis, time impact review and evaluation methods, mitigating time impacts, claim prevention and avoidance, and time-related overhead and liquidated damages.

Prerequisites: 
Understanding of basic scheduling concepts. This is not a fundamentals course.

 
Expand for more details.Registration Rates:
Member: $700 
Non-member: $1000

Time:
Saturday, October 18
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.  
Includes 1 hour break for lunch (not included) 

Cancellation and Refund Policy:
If, for some reason, you are unable to attend, you may transfer to a future course at no additional charge within 12 months of the course you originally registered for or you may receive a refund of your original registration rate, less a $75 processing fee. Refund or transfer requests must be submitted by email to pd@cmaanet.org at least 15 days prior to the course start date. No transfers or refunds will be made within 14 days of the course start date.

Educational Credit:
Course participants earn 7 CMCI Recertification Points and 7 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Partial credit is not assigned. For more information on recertification points, please
visit https://www.cmaanet.org/recertification.


Negotiating Success: How to Achieve Successful Outcomes
Saturday, October 18
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.


Emphasizing the pivotal role of the construction manager, the course will explore strategies for facilitating constructive dialogue and reaching mutually beneficial agreements among project stakeholders using real-world examples. By honing their negotiation techniques in a simulated environment, participants will gain confidence in navigating disputes and fostering collaboration in construction projects.

 
Expand for more details. Learning objectives:
1. Review common contractual elements and language that can minimize disputes and claims.
2. Define the elements of common negotiation methods
3. Review real-world design specification examples that have led to project disputes and how they could have been improved.
4. Understand the role of the construction manager in bringing project parties to a negotiated agreement when issues arise.
5. Provide attendees with negotiation strategies to implement on future projects.

Registration Rates:
Member: $250 
Non-member: $400

Time:
Saturday, October 18
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Cancellation and Refund Policy:
If, for some reason, you are unable to attend, you may transfer to a future course at no additional charge within 12 months of the course you originally registered for or you may receive a refund of your original registration rate, less a $75 processing fee. Refund or transfer requests must be submitted by email to pd@cmaanet.org at least 15 days prior to the course start date. No transfers or refunds will be made within 14 days of the course start date.

Educational Credit:
Course participants earn 2 CMCI Recertification Points and 2 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Partial credit is not assigned. For more information on recertification points, please visit 
https://www.cmaanet.org/recertification.


Ethical Practices in Construction Management
Saturday, October 18
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.


The CMAA Code of Professional Conduct requires CMs to have a zero-tolerance policy for any form of harassment and hold paramount the health, safety, and welfare of the workplace and the public. Explore these two fundamental principles (ethical practice and responsibility to the public) using real-life scenarios in an interactive session.

 
Expand for more details. Learning Objectives:
1. Issues that could impact worker safety on construction sites
2. Effective strategies to ensure public safety on projects
3. Creating healthy workplace environments when leading teams
4. A focus on mental health post pandemic

This session will introduce four scenarios taken from actual projects that deal with issues of professional conduct, integrity and human behavior.  The audience will be divided up into four groups to discuss their scenario and develop and approach.  CMAA Fellows will be assigned to each table to facilitate and answer questions.  Each group will report on their scenarios and solution(s).  The Fellows will tie the responses to the CM Code of Conduct and the concepts of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion.

This will be a highly collaborative activity. After an introduction by the Fellows of the code of conduct, concepts of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion, the audience will be divided into four groups to reach, assess, discuss and solve the dilemma(s) presented in each scenario.  The Fellows role is to facilitate, answer questions and promote interaction within each group.
  • Upon completion the participant will have achieved a better real world understanding of the Construction Management Code of Professional Conduct          
  • The participant will have examined and have an understanding of how his/her/their own actions support the Professional Code of Conduct 
  • The participant will be able to problem-solve issues involving human behavior that reflect the guidelines of the Professional Code of Conduct         
  • The participant will be able to demonstrate with others in the presentation their ability to resolve issues that involve integrity, honesty, inclusion, diversity and equality

Registration Rates:
Member: $300
Non-member: $450

Time:
Saturday, October 18
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Cancellation and Refund Policy:
If, for some reason, you are unable to attend, you may transfer to a future course at no additional charge within 12 months of the course you originally registered for or you may receive a refund of your original registration rate, less a $75 processing fee and plus the cost of the Professional Practice Guidelines ($50 members/$100 non-members). Refund or transfer requests must be submitted by email to
pd@cmaanet.org at least 15 days prior to the course start date. No transfers or refunds will be made within 14 days of the course start date.

Educational Credit:
Course participants earn 3 CMCI Recertification Points and 3 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Partial credit is not assigned. For more information on recertification points, please visit 
https://www.cmaanet.org/recertification.


Facing the Fire: Preparing for Your Deposition
Saturday, October 18
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.


Being deposed can be one of the most intimidating and high-stakes experiences for a construction manager. This interactive, scenario-based course is designed to give you the knowledge and confidence to face it head-on. You will learn how to prepare and manage documents, navigate objections, and deliver clear, professional testimony under pressure.

Throughout the course, you’ll watch and analyze real deposition examples drawn from actual cases involving breach of contract, failure to follow contract documents, delay claims, and safety compliance. Interactive exercises and participant discussion will help you anticipate the tactics attorneys use and avoid common pitfalls. More importantly, you’ll leave with actionable strategies to improve how you manage your projects — long before legal trouble arises.

 
Expand for more details Learning Objectives:
  1. Explain the deposition process and its role in legal proceedings.
  2. Identify key preparation steps, including document organization and messaging strategies.
  3. Recognize common questioning tactics and objections used by opposing counsel.
  4. Deliver clear, professional testimony with confidence.
  5. Apply lessons from real-world cases to improve project management practices and risk mitigation.

Registration Rates: 
Member: $250 
Non-member: $400

Time:
Saturday, October 18
2:00 - 4:00 p.m.

Cancellation and Refund Policy:
If, for some reason, you are unable to attend, you may transfer to a future course at no additional charge within 12 months of the course you originally registered for or you may receive a refund of your original registration rate, less a $75 processing fee. Refund or transfer requests must be submitted by email to
pd@cmaanet.org at least 15 days prior to the course start date. No transfers or refunds will be made within 14 days of the course start date.

Educational Credit:
Course participants earn 2 CMCI Recertification Points and 2 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). Partial credit is not assigned. For more information on recertification points, please visit 
https://www.cmaanet.org/recertification.