2003 Annual Reports for Boards and Committees

Continuing Professional Education Committee 2003 Annual Report

Continuing Professional Education Committee (2003): Ellen L. Nuffer, EdD (chair); Gerald C. Davison, PhD; Alan M. Goldstein, PhD; John W. Hall, PhD; A. Catherine Higgs, PhD; W. Jake Jacobs, PhD; William G. Johnson, PhD; Douglas H. Lamb, PhD; Edna Mulgrew, PhD; Shari K. Neul, PhD; Lawrence G. Ritt, PhD; David F. Tolin, PhD; Jacqueline Wall, PhD; Jonathan Weinand, PhD. Staff Liaison: Karen Kanefield

CPE Activities at the 2003 APA Convention in Toronto, Canada

• The CPE Committee reviewed more than 100 workshop proposals, from which they selected 58 workshops for presentation at the 2003 convention in Toronto. There were a total of 635 enrollments in the CPE workshops. Evaluation data from workshop participants continue to reflect a high level of satisfaction with the quality and value of these programs.

• CE credit for general convention sessions continued at the 2003 APA Convention in Toronto, with 175 sessions offered for CE credit. Approximately 3,500 individuals took the initial step to claim CE credit (i.e., swiping in/out of session). Approximately 1,000 of these individuals completed the follow-up materials to request CE credit for their attendance. We expect 200+ sessions to be approved for CE at the 2004 convention in Honolulu, Hawaii.

• The Committee hosted an Open Forum for the purpose of discussing the proposed revisions to the Sponsor Approval System criteria. Representatives from approximately 20 APA-approved sponsors attended the forum.

Sponsor Approval System

During 2003, the Continuing Professional Education Committee reviewed a total of 241 applications from organizations seeking approval as sponsors of continuing education for psychologists.

• 72 were new applications of which 46 were approved, 24 were denied, and 2 were deferred. Of the currently approved organizations submitting an application for continued approval, 6 were denied.
• CPEC held a policy meeting in January 2003 to continue its work on the revision of the SAS criteria. The criteria were made available for a 90-day public comment period in June 2003, and CPEC considered these comments at its October 2003 meeting.
• As of December 31, 2003, 724 organizations were listed as APA-approved sponsors of continuing education for psychologists.
• CPEC reviewed 35 applications for one-time course approval, of which 11 were denied.

Other Continuing Professional Education Initiatives and Programs

Other Continuing Education Initiatives and Programs

• APA's Independent Study Program currently consists of 70 programs developed from APA publications. A collaborative agreement between APA and the APA Insurance Trust continues to provide APA members with discounted programs that offer CE credits in addition to a reduction in liability insurance premiums.

• The Office of CEP began to develop in 2002 and instituted in 2003, a pilot program of multimedia, on-line CE. The first program is a collaboration between the Office on AIDS and the CEP Office. It is a 4 hour course on HIV and adherence issues. Working with the APA Ethics Office, the second program will be an in-depth review of the newly adopted APA Ethics Code. The third will center around the 2002 Distinguished Speaker Seminar topic, “Providing Psychological Service During Traumatic Events: How to Prepare for Duty.” And the fourth will be a series of workshops and keynote presentations recorded at the Third Biennial Niagara Conference on Evidence-Based Treatments for Childhood and Adolescent Mental Health Problems.

• APA Independent Study Programs are now available for purchase online, with the option of purchasing an online version of exams that may be completed and submitted electronically. This includes selected articles in the American Psychologist that are available for CE credit exclusively at CE-Online.

Continuing Professional Education Committee Chairs