Maintaining Accreditation
Responsibilities
Maintaining accreditation with the BOC is a simple and easy annual process. Active BOC Approved Providers have three responsibilities:
- Post all programs to the program directory at least 10 calendar days prior to the start of a program. (*Note - The software will NOT allow you to post an event if it is less than 10 calendar days from the event. This keeps BOC Approved Providers within their accreditation requirements, and ensures appropriate planning and adequate program promotion time.)
- Pay your annual fee (*The window to pay is November to December 31). *If your fee is not paid within this window, your BOC Approved Provider status will automatically expire.
- Complete an annual report (*The window to complete automatically opens once the annual fee is paid; the annual report is due by March 31). *If your annual report is not submitted by March 31, your BOC Approved Provider status will automatically expire.
Additional Duties and Basic Expectations
In addition to the stated three responsibilities above, there are several basic expectations the BOC has of every BOC Approved Provider. As a BOC Approved Provider, you must:
- Comply with the "Standards for BOC Approved Providers" (Standards) and "Policies & Procedures for BOC Approved Providers" (Policies & Procedures) (see buttons to the left.)
- Respond to all BOC staff inquiries and customer complaints.
- Not assign or transfer your approved provider number to another individual or organization.
Program Directory
The program directory provides an easy and effective method for Athletic Trainers to find continuing education units they need for certification. Every Category A program available to Athletic Trainers in the United States can be found in this searchable directory. Programs may be showcased on this directory either by demand, through paid sponsorship, or by distinguished reviews from Athletic Trainers who have previously taken the program. Click here to visit the program directory.
Non-Compliance Result: Failure to upload programs to the directory at least 10 calendar days prior to the start of the program will result in discipline. The program directory will not allow a BOC Approved Provider to upload programs with a start date that is less than 10 calendar days away. At this point, you must contact the BOC for assistance. This instance will be documented in your profile. If this occurs twice in a calendar year, you will be placed on probation.
Annual Fee and Annual Report
The $300 annual fee is collected from November through December 31 each year. Should a BOC Approved Provider neglect to pay the fee during this window, their status will expire (see “Status Change - Expired” below for further explanation).
The ability to submit your annual report is triggered by payment of your annual fee. Completion of your annual report is due March 31 each year. Should a BOC Approved Provider neglect to complete their annual report, or if they are found to be non-compliant for two successive years, their status will expire (see Status Explanations to the left for further explanation.)
It is important to note there may be one or more items in your annual report earmarked as a “suggestion” or designated as “non-compliant”. A “suggestion” from the BOC denotes an area of importance in creating quality educational programs and is designed to help educate and guide a BOC Approved Provider. An item that is marked “non-compliant” denotes a critical area in creating quality educational programs. Please read more on non-compliance below to understand the consequence of not meeting that area satisfactorily.
Non-compliance
It’s important to know that a full list of all policies and procedures for BOC Approved Providers are found in the "Policies & Procedures” section of the website. However, we have organized this section according to the items of critical importance. This provides a snapshot of all items that would result in discipline. Examine this list throughout the development and production of each educational program.
What is it?
Items of non-compliance denote critically important areas relevant in creating quality educational programs. Should a BOC Approved Provider not meet these critical expectations, their annual report will be denied placing them on Probation (first offense) or Expired status (consecutive second offense). A full explanation of status changes is below. As you develop your educational programs, keep the items of non-compliance in mind. Non-compliance items listed below are solely related to your annual report. (There are additional areas of non-compliance aside from the annual report; to view these, please see our Policies & Procedures page.)
Please note: if any ONE item is marked non-compliant on an annual report, the report will be denied. Study the list below to develop your programs to specification:
Annual Report Non-Compliance
- Practice Gap - This is related to Standard 1 “Evidence”, Essential Element A: Practice Gap, which states, “Identify the professional practice gap and/or educational need the content addresses.” The gap should answer: What is it that Athletic Trainers do not know or what are not they doing? (Question 1 on the annual report)
- Measurable Learning Objectives - This is related to Standard 1 “Evidence”, Essential Element B: Objectives, which states, “Develop measurable learning objectives that define the knowledge and/or skills the AT is expected to acquire through the completion of the program (e.g. written to most current edition of Bloom’s Taxonomy).” The learning objectives should follow the acronym, “M.O.V.” which means objectives should be measurable, observable, & visual. Avoid words that do not satisfy M.O.V. such as “learn”, “understand”, “know”, etc. (Question 2 on the annual report)
- Alignment of Assessment with Objectives - This is related to Standard 6 “Participant Assessment” to both Essential Element A & B. There must be a clear alignment between what you are asking the learners to do (the learning objectives) and how you are measuring their ability to complete or demonstrate progress or mastery (the assessment). (Question 7 on the annual report)
- Program Evaluation - This is related to Standard 10 “Evaluation”, Essential Element A “Target Areas”. (Question 11 on the annual report) The program evaluation must include:
- Program content that is practical, useful, appropriate and adequately in-depth
- Achievement of stated learning objectives
- Effectiveness of teaching and learning methods
- Quality and effectiveness of faculty
- Usefulness of educational materials
- Appropriateness of participant assessment and the alignment with the learning objectives
- Perception of bias or commercialism
- Promotional Materials - This is related to Standard 18, Promotional Materials. (Question 17 on the annual report) Promotional materials must include:
- Learning objectives
- Schedule and format
- Fee(s)
- Cancellation/refund policy,
- Program faculty and credentials
- Number of contact hours/CEUs that will be made available
- Sponsors
- Required materials and equipment
- Certificate - This is related to Standard 19, Certificate. (Question 18 on the annual report) The certificate must include:
- Participant name
- Program title
- Completion date
- BOC Approved Provider CE statement, including number of CEUs
- BOC Approved Provider name, number and seal
Status Explanations
A provider can have one of three statuses: Active, Active-Probation and Expired.
Active - Illustrates a provider in good standing: 1) annual fee paid 2) annual report completed and 3) programs uploaded to the program directory within 10 calendar days of start date.
Active-Probation – This is merely a warning status. A provider in this status may still offer CEUs for the year. The BOC does not require an action or response by the provider at the time of decision. It is highly suggested the AP reviews non-compliant items to ensure future programs are adjusted accordingly. Note: Athletic Trainers do not see your probation status. Providers will see this status when logging into BOC360 .
A BOC Approved Provider will enter probation immediately upon a BOC decision based on non-compliance. This status remains until a successful outcome of a subsequent annual report. For example, if a BOC Approved Provider is found to be non-compliant on the annual report in early 2021, the probationary status will remain until the following annual report. If the annual report is accepted without any items in non-compliance, status will revert to active in early 2022 upon BOC decision to approve the annual report.
Expired – Means the provider may not offer Category A CEUs and may not upload programs to the program directory (access is revoked). Several conditions will prompt an expired provider status.
Condition 1:
A provider is on probation from a previous year and is found to be non-compliant on a subsequent annual report.
Condition 2:
The annual fee was not paid within the November to December 31 window.
Condition 3:
The annual report was not completed within the November to March 31 window.
Recourse
If you are in Expired status, you may offer Category D CEUs (please see Categories ).
As recourse, a BOC Approved Provider may re-apply for accreditation by completing an initial application and paying the initial application fee.