Summary of Criteria & Procedures of the American Psychological Association




	For Approved Sponsors CE Calendar

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Summary of Criteria

Applicants who are found to meet APA criteria are initially offered Two Year Preliminary Approval. After successful completion of the two year approval period, sponsors are then eligible to apply for Five Year Full Approval. One Year Conditional Approval may be granted at any review if the sponsor fails to comply with thecriteria. During any of the above approval periods, any continuing education activities that meet the criteria may be offered for CEcredit.

Briefly, these criteria include (but are not limited to):

Goals

Your continuing education program should be designed to meet the specific needs of postgraduate professionals within the field ofpsychology.

Administration

You must have a clearly designated administrator of your CEP program, direct input and involvement in the planning of your programs by psychologists and a mechanism for maintaining awareness of APA policies and principles.

Budget and Resources

You must document sources of financial support and show that they are sufficient to meet financial obligations associated with your program offerings.

Facilities

Adequate facilities and materials that are private enough to safeguard confidentiality of case materials are required. Facilities are expected to accommodate and be accessible to persons who are physically challenged. This includes the room in which the activity takes place, restrooms, parking spaces, overnight and meeting rooms.

Program Selection and Development

CEP offerings for psychologists should be based on interests and needs that have been identified through solid assessment procedures. You will have to demonstrate that you have methods for determining psychologists' learning needs, interests, and objectives and you must be able to describe the basis on which program topics are chosen.

Instructional Personnel

The quality and value of CEP programs depend in large part on the instructor's expertise, competence in subject matter and ability to facilitate learning. It should be evident that instructors are expert in the areas in which they will teach. Teaching ability should be a prerequisite for your selection of CEP instructors.

Curriculum Content

Effective CEP programs are up to date with respect to the topics and the empirical, theoretical and practice literature, use current data, and address predetermined educational objectives. Your CEP programs must be relevant to psychological practice, theory, and method.

Program Evaluation

You will be required to have a procedure that assesses the participants' satisfaction with the overall program and their degree of perceived (self report) and/or achieved (objective) learning relative to the program's specific educational objectives. These procedures must be a part of each CEP activity for which APA-approved credit will be awarded.

Standards for Awarding Credit

In addition to complying with criteria outlined in the Manual, you will be required to fulfill other requirements such as:: Providing documentation that states the number of CE credits earned;; Proper use of the APA Statement of Approval;; Verification of attendance and awarding of CE credit and the capacity for keeping this information on file for 3 years;; For home study programs, evidence of a consistent method used for determining the number of CE credits.

Ethics

CE affairs and activities associated with CEP programming should conform to APA's Ethical Principles of Psychologists.

Promotion and Advertising

Participants must have access to the following information before enrolling:: Educational objectives;; Indication of participants for whom the activity is designed and skill level;; Schedule and format;; Cost of activity, refund/cancellation policy;; Faculty credentials;; The number of CE credits offered.

Fees

Application fees are due with the application or reapplication. Recognition fees, due upon initial approval, are one-time fees for as long as the organization maintains continuous approval. Annual fees are due every year on the approval anniversary.

APA Divisions, State or Regional Psychological Associations: Application fee:$180Recognition fee:$360Annual fee:$240
Other Organizations: Application fee: $300 Recognition fee: $600 Annual fee: $400

Benefits

Besides having the recognition of one of the world's most prestigious professional associations, APA-approved sponsorship entitles you to certain benefits. You'll receive a complimentary subscription to the APA Monitor, a monthly publication produced for APA members; free CEP activities listings in the Monitor's 'CE Calendar'; the CEP-SAS, a newsletter written exclusively for APA-approved sponsors and reduced fees for mailing lists maintained by APA.

If, after reading this summary, you intend to apply for APA approval of continuing professional education, please complete and mail to us your order for our Criteria and Procedures Manual and application. If you have any questions regarding criteria or the application and approval process, please call the Sponsor Approval System at 202-336-5990.

Sponsor Approval System Staff:

Karen Kanefield,Sponsor Approval Officer

Deadlines for application are February 1 and August 1. Applications that are submitted on or before these deadlines will be reviewed at the subsequent meeting of CEPC, approximately 6-8weeks following the deadline.

ORDER FORM

___ Please send me the Criteria and Procedures Manual, which includes an application for APA approval of continuing education for psychologists. No fee is required for these materials.

___ Please send me a copy of the application form on a 3.5 inch computer disk. No fee is required for the disk.

___ MS Word ___ Word Perfect 5.0/5.1 ___ Word Perfect 6.0/6.1

Please send to: _____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Return form to: APA Sponsor Approval Program, 750 First Street NE,Washington, DC 20002-4242 or e-mail your request with address information to Karen Kanefield

© 2009 American Psychological Association
Continuing Education in Psychology • Sponsor Approval System
750 First Street, NE • Washington, DC • 20002-4242
Phone: 800-374-2721 ext. 5991 • TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123
Fax: (202) 336-6151 • E-mail
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