Council on Optometric Practitioner Education

Council on Optometric Practitioner Education


4340 East West Highway, Suite 401,Bethesda, MD 20814-4411,
(800)-758-COPE, (301)-718-6507, (301)-656-0989



Dear Continuing Education Administrator:

One-stop CE approval by a large number of states, with no headaches! That’s why the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE)® has been developed by the International Association of Boards of Examiners in Optometry (IAB).

While COPE’s main purpose is to assist state boards of optometry to review and approve optometric continuing education (CE) for license renewal, this centralized approval process for CE courses will benefit you as well. It will reduce the amount of work and effort you expend in obtaining approval of your program from individual state boards. Standardized forms and processes shared by IAB member state boards eliminates needless redundancy and confusion for everyone. Using the COPE symbol for Approved Courses in your promotional materials will tell doctors seeking CE that your courses are already accepted for license renewal. Also, you may receive a list of all COPE Qualified Courses which will give you access to more courses to choose from when planning your CE program.

COPE program approval occurs in a simple two-step process. First, you submit an application to become a COPE Qualified Administrator. Independent of your application, course instructors submit their course(s) to become COPE Qualified at any time during the year. Then, when you send us a list of the courses selected for your program, those that are COPE Qualified will be certified as COPE Approved and can be promoted as such in your marketing efforts.

All the information and the materials you need to apply are enclosed. Please read all the information provided before completing the application. This will expedite the qualification process. Also, we recommend that you submit your application as early as possible when planning your program.

Should you need further information about COPE, or if you need help in completing your application, please call us at (301) 718-6507, or fax your concerns to us at (301) 656-0989.




Robert W. Smalling, O.D.
Chair
Council on Optometric Practitioner Education

a committee of the International Association of Boards of Examiners in Optometry, Inc.


Suggestions to: (Ernie Patterson)

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