Selecting a Continuing Education Course

It is your responsibility to determine if a continuing education (CE) course meets the requirements set forth in the California Code of Regulations. With the exception of the Regulatory Review course, the CBA does not pre-approve courses or providers. The following information is intended to assist licensees in selecting a CE course or program.

The prevailing consideration in determining whether a specific course or program qualifies as CE is that it must be a formal course or program of learning that contributes directly to the professional competence of a licensee in public practice. Courses or programs in the following subject areas are not acceptable CE: personal growth, self-realization, spirituality, personal health and/or fitness, sports and recreation, foreign languages and cultures, and other subjects that will not add to the professional competency of a licensee in public practice.

When selecting a CE course or program, you should ask the following questions:

• Live Presentations:
  • Does the provider retain attendance records?
  • Does the provider have written educational goals and specific learning objectives, as well as a syllabus?
  • Does the provider issue certificates of completion?
  
  The following types of live presentation programs are deemed to qualify as acceptable CE:
  • Professional development programs of national and state accounting organizations.
  • Technical session at meetings of national and state accounting organizations and their chapters, which are designed as formal educational programs.
  • University or college courses.
  • Other formal educational programs provided the program meets the required standards.
• Individual Study/Self-Study/Adaptive Learning Self-Study
  • Does the provider have written educational goals and specific learning objectives, as well as a syllabus?
  • Does the provider require a passing score on a test given at the conclusion of the course or program?
  • Does the provider issue certificates of completion?
  • Is the course or program interactive?

    NOTE: The final exam for self-study courses shall not include true/false type questions.

  • Only interactive self-study courses are accepted. For a course or program to be considered interactive, it must meet the following criteria:
    • Require frequent participant responses to questions that test for understanding of the material presented.
    • Provide evaluated feedback to incorrectly answered questions by specifying why the particular answer is wrong.
    • Provide reinforcement feedback to correctly answered questions by restating and explaining why the selected answer is correct.
• Webcast:
  • Does the provider monitor attendance throughout the program and retain attendance records?
  • Does the provider have a live instructor and a feature allowing participants to send questions/comments directly to the instructor and receive answers during the program?
  • Does the provider have written educational goals and specific learning objectives, as well as a syllabus?
  • Does the provider issue certificates of completion?
  • Does the provider have a written policy to address rescheduling and the granting of partial credit in the event of a technology failure?
  • If the CE course is a rebroadcast of an archived or recorded webcast program, does the provider have a live subject matter expert present to facilitate and answer questions? If not, does the webcast fulfill the self-study requirements?
  • If viewing a webcast as part of a group for CE, does the provider have a facilitator present to log into the program to ask questions on behalf of the group, as well as to document and verify group participation and attendance?
• Nano Learning Programs:
  • Is the program based upon materials specifically developed for instructional use?
  • Does the provider have written educational goals and specific learning objectives, as well as a syllabus?
  • Does the program contain a minimum of one learning objective in a minimum of 10 minutes and less than 20 minutes, including the test, through the use of electronic media and without interaction with a live instructor?
  • Does the provider require a passing score of 100% on a test given at the conclusion of the course or program?
  • Does the provider issue certificates of completion?
• Blended Learning Program:
  • Does the provider have written educational goals and specific learning objectives, as well as a syllabus?
  • Is the program based upon material specifically developed for instructional use?
  • Does the provider issue certificates of completion?
  • Does the program include both asynchronous and synchronous learning and provide clear instructions and information to participants that summarize the different components of the program and what must be completed or achieved during each component in order to qualify for continuing education hours?
  • If the primary components of the blended learning program are synchronous learning activities, do the continuing education hours for pre-program, post-program, and homework assignments constitute no more than 25% of the total continuing education hours awarded for the blended learning program?
  • If the primary components of the blended learning program are asynchronous, does the the program use a test to demonstrate achievement of the learning objectives of the program that measures no less than 75% of the learning objectives for the program?

The CBA recommends that you become familiar with Article 12 of the California Code of Regulations governing CE. Article 12 provides guidance on proper reporting of CE, retention of certificates of completion, and information regarding alternative methods of earning CE credits, such as being an instructor or author.