The Associate designation for the SSCP lasts for 2 years I believe, with the point being you earn 1 year of experience in this time. In the CPE handbook it says the CPE requirements for the Associate are 15 CPEs but these are listed as a "suggested" annual amount with no specific, mandatory requirement stated. Which seemingly means you could not earn a single CPE over the 2 years and still be eligible for endorsement! However, to counter this ambiguous position, it also states in the Policies and Procedures page of the CPE handbook that you have to earn CPEs to maintain your Associate status, so it seems you need to earn at least 2!
If it were me in this situation, I would look at the length of time I would require to be an Associate and complete the appropriate amount of suggested CPEs on a pro rata basis.
e.g.
If you've been an Associate for a full year by the time your endorsement process is completed then I would look to have completed 15 CPEs.
If you've been an Associate for 18 months by the time your endorsement process is completed then I'd look to have completed 22.5 CPEs.
I don't think anyone could argue with this approach. You are fulfilling your requirement to earn CPEs to maintain your Associate status, in line with the suggested amount, for as long as it's needed to earn the experience to support your endorsement application.
Sure you could possibly get away with earning fewer CPEs but you're only denying yourself the learning opportunities if you do that.
