What Does COPE Do for Program Administrators?
While COPE was developed originally to reduce the amount of duplicative work carried out by state boards when reviewing courses for CE credit for license renewal, this program has some major benefits for program administrators. In the past, sponsors of CE (administrators) were required to submit their program to several state boards based on the likely attendance. National and regional meetings obviously had a greater burden than state meetings. All states had different requirements, and the administrative time needed to obtain approval of the program was usually significant.
Under the COPE program, instructors submit their course(s) for Qualification once every three years, no matter how many times they are offered. And by developing standardized review criteria, all courses that are Qualified are immediately acceptable to the participating state boards when presented by a Qualified Administrator. When a program sponsor agrees with the reasonable standards for program administrators detailed in this booklet, and becomes Qualified, COPE will then give Approval status to courses in the program that are Qualified. Having a large number of COPE Approved Courses in a CE program will attract attendance.
Upon request, COPE will provide administrators with a listing of all COPE Qualified Courses to aid CE program committees when developing the program. This will provide the opportunity to add courses already acceptable to state boards to your program. Thus, COPE will considerably reduce the burden on sponsors of CE in obtaining state boards approval AND will add a new dimension to marketing the CE program.
What Does COPE Do for Course Instructors?
COPE allows an instructor to submit courses for qualification to a central agency that acts on behalf of state boards, which have ultimate authority for the approval of optometric CE for license renewal. While in the past instructors have relied on CE program sponsors to obtain state board approval, courses that are already COPE qualified reduce the amount of work required of sponsors and hence are more attractive to their programs. Also, instructors participating in the COPE program will help improve the standards of optometric CE.
Perhaps the major benefit to instructors is the potential for greater acceptance of their courses once they are COPE Qualified. As COPE Qualified Courses offered by a COPE Qualified Administrator will receive the Approved status, this will impact on the number of participants attending a course because it will be automatically approved by a large number of state boards.
COPE will provide a list of all COPE Qualified Courses to program administrators on request. Consequently, if your courses are Qualified they will receive considerable exposure to CE program planning committees nationwide. Being Qualified they are more likely to be accepted by such committees.
What Does COPE Do for State Boards?
COPE decreases the amount of paper work currently required of licensing agencies to approve the hundreds of optometric continuing education (CE) courses reviewed by state boards annually. By endorsing a representative body (COPE) to review proposed continuing education courses on their behalf, each agency or state board no longer needs to review each individual course. At the same time, as the administration of courses is important to the overall effectiveness of CE, COPE reviews the procedures and policies of the program administrator to assure compliance with reasonable standards. Thus, COPE is a national clearinghouse and as such provides information on COPE Approved Courses (i.e., COPE Qualified Course presented by a COPE Qualified Administrator) offered nationally to all licensed optometrists.
Use of the COPE symbol for COPE Approved Courses in publications announcing optometric CE programs helps licensed optometrists select programs to attend. When the COPE symbol appears on course promotional material, doctors licensed in states that accept COPE Approved Courses can be confident that the courses they attend meet the CE requirements for license renewal of those states.
In addition, COPE allows licensing jurisdictions to influence optometric CE by creating a system that enhances continuous learning and that will more appropriately fulfill the CE goals of monitoring continued competence of licensed optometrists.
How Do States Know What Courses are Approved?
At regular intervals, COPE sends an updated report of COPE Approved Courses to every participating state board. The complete list is maintained at the COPE office, and is continuously updated as courses are approved. Each state board report contains the following information:
Has COPE Taken Over CE Course Approval From the State Boards?
No. COPE is an element of the state board's national association (IAB) and was established to provide a useful service to member state boards. Those state boards that choose to accept COPE Approved Courses for state, regional, and national programs, limit their own approval process to CE provided on a local basis. A current listing of participating boards of Optometry can be obtained by contacting the IAB/COPE office.
If the Same Course is Presented at Multiple Sites and On Different Dates, Does the Instructor Have to Submit a Course Qualification Application for Each Site? No. The instructor submits the course only once for Qualification (Valid for 36 months). It is the Administrator's responsibility to obtain Course Approval. COPE Approves those Qualified Courses that are included in the final selection of courses for each assembly (meeting, conference, congress) of a Qualified Administrator.
Is COPE a Provider of Continuing Education?
No. COPE's mission is to help set and maintain standards of optometric continuing education (CE). COPE's job is to assist state boards approve CE, not to act as a provider of CE. Also, COPE believes that its system of Administrator Qualification will help providers of continuing education to establish reasonable administrative standards to support high quality CE.
Is COPE a Separate Organization From the IAB?
No. COPE has been developed as a committee of the IAB, and provides a service to the IAB member state boards. All members of COPE are currently serving state board members, and represent their colleagues on participating state boards.
What Courses Does COPE Approve?
COPE approves courses of a state wide, regional or national scope. COPE usually does not approve courses that are of a limited drawing area, i.e., local in nature. However, COPE will review any application for qualification from any administrator or course instructor.
Who Pays for COPE?
COPE charges instructors a fee to review a course when it is submitted for COPE Qualification. While there is no fee to become a COPE Qualified Administrator, an administrative fee is charged when the administrator submits the list of selected courses, and COPE identifies those that are COPE Qualified and designates them "COPE Approved Courses". All fees are kept as low as possible, and are set to cover the functioning of COPE only. Participating state boards are not charged a fee, as COPE is an IAB service to its member state boards.
Is There an Appeals Process for Administrators Whose Application is Denied?
Yes. However, as the application requires only that the Administrator certify an agreement to comply with the Program Administration Criteria, it is unlikely that an unqualified administrator will apply in the first place. COPE will provide feedback to all Qualified Administrators on how well they complied with the criteria after the program is presented. This report will be taken into account when applying for renewal of Qualification.
Is There an Appeals Process for Instructors Whose Course Application is Denied?
Yes. Should the initial reviewer deny Qualification for a course submitted by an instructor, the instructor may rectify the reason for the denial and re-submit the course and/or may request an immediate second review by another COPE reviewer. Should the second review also deny Qualified Course status, the instructor may submit an appeal to the Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (COPE) itself, i.e., the committee of the IAB that is comprised of sitting state board members. The decision of COPE shall be final.
As a Qualified Administrator, can I file courses on behalf of instructors and pay the fees?
Yes, providing the instructor is informed and understands what you are doing. It is important to note that an Application for Course Qualification is NOT considered complete until the instructor signs the application form.
Once a course is considered COPE Approved (see reverse of this page) is it automatically accepted by all participating boards?
Boards of optometry are not required to accept all COPE courses without exceptions. Boards may establish in their rules/regulations exactly which COPE courses they will accept. For example, Wisconsin accepts all COPE courses except those submitted as a major content under Category 1 (practice management.) See page 4 of the Information and Application for Course Qualification booklet for a list of subject areas. Participating boards may specify those categories for courses it chooses to accept and notify practitioners who contact the board office of those accepted categories.
Suggestions to: (Ernie Patterson)
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