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 mid-October 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. To facilitate your annual report ONE past program will be randomly selected for review. Regardless of whether you had an CE events in the previous calendar year, you are still required to verify this by clicking on "Annual Report" in your BOC Approved Provider dashboard. If you do not click on this link and confirm, your provider account will expire on March 31, the date Annual Reports are due.
Annual Fees and Late Fees
Annual fees and late fees will be assessed in a tiered structure based on the annual average number of CEUs reported by ATs in the preceding CEU requirement period.
A late fee is applied in the case of a late renewal. The amount is based on the assessed annual fee based on the applicable tier. For example, if a Tier 3 BOC Approved Provider wishes to maintain an active status but is past due with their renewal fee, their total late fee amount would be $355.
Annual Fees
|
Tier |
Annual Number of CEUs Reported by ATs |
BOC Approved Provider Annual Renewal |
Late Fee |
|
1 |
≥ 10,000 |
$1,000 |
$100 |
|
2 |
500-9,999 |
$500 |
$50 |
|
3* |
≤ 499 |
$325 |
$30 |
(Effective beginning in calendar year 2023 - collection window will be from mid-October - December 2022 for the upcoming year)
Renewal Fee: Late Fee and Penalty
The renewal fee payment deadline each year is December 31 for the upcoming year. BOC Approved Providers may pay late and retain an Active status but will be assessed a late fee with the below parameters applied:
• Late Fee: Applied to the renewal fee beginning 01/01. See table above for fee amounts.
• No Exceptions: As of January 15th, BOC Approved Providers will no longer be able to pay their renewal fee and will automatically expire. If expired, a provider may be reinstated by electing to complete an initial application and pay the application fee .
Renewal Fee is Non-Refundable:
The renewal fee must be paid, regardless of whether a BOC Approved Provider elects to offer CE programs during the current year. No refund will be issued.
**Please see Policies & Procedures for complete information on non-compliance, status changes, discipline and critical deadlines.
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).
- 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.
What Providers Can Expect of the BOC
Previously, policy changes were made on a rolling basis. Beginning July 2021, changes to AP program policies will only be made twice a year: January and/or July. Any changes will be thoroughly communicated to stakeholders in January and/or July, as appropriate. However, changes will not go into effect until the following year (January and/or July) but no earlier than one year. For example, if a policy change is announced in January of 2022, it will not go into effect until January 2023.
Annual Fee and Annual Report
The annual fee is collected from mid-October 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.) To facilitate your annual report ONE past program will be randomly selected for review. Regardless of whether you had an CE events in the previous calendar year, you are still required to verify this by clicking on "Annual Report" in your BOC Approved Provider dashboard. If you do not click on this link and confirm, your provider account will expire on March 31, the date Annual Reports are due.
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 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?
To facilitate your annual report ONE past program will be randomly selected for review. Regardless of whether you had an CE events in the previous calendar year, you are still required to verify this by clicking on "Annual Report" in your BOC Approved Provider dashboard. If you do not click on this link and confirm, your provider account will expire on March 31, the date Annual Reports are due.
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.)
Study the list below to develop your programs to specification:
Annual Report Non-Compliance
Previously, there were several administrative requirements identified as items of non-compliance. For example, if a BOC Approved Provider did not include all seven items required on promotional materials or five items required on their certificates, they were marked as non-compliant and penalized, moving status to either Probation or Expired.
These administrative requirements will remain but the punitive consequence will be removed. The new focus on compliance will shift from a focus on the administrative aspects of CEU offerings to those items that most impact educational quality, such as the practice gap, learning objectives and participant assessment. For details, please refer to the below chart:
*Note: Items that were formally marked as non-compliant: These items are still required, however, the consequence of omission has been reduced. If items are omitted, BOC will remind BOC Approved Providers of the requirements, recognizing this to be a learning opportunity rather than a punitive event.
*These items are STILL required to appear, but do not carry punitive consequences.
|
Required CE Program Document |
Required Items (must be found on document) |
|
Program Evaluation |
|
|
Promotional Material |
|
|
Operations Manual |
|
|
Certificate |
|
CE Statement of Credit for Certificate
This is the statement that must appear on certificates disseminated to ATs:
Company Name (BOC AP#: PXXXX) is approved by the Board of Certification, Inc. to provide continuing education to Athletic Trainers (ATs). This program is eligible for a maximum of (#) Category A hours/CEUs. ATs should claim only those hours actually spent in the educational program.
Current items that will now put a BOC Approved Provider in a non-compliant status are:
|
Required CE Program Document |
Required Minimum Acceptance Level Description |
|
Practice Gap |
Explains the observed practice and what the practice should be. This is supported by the literature. The Gap should answer all of the following:
*If each bullet point is not addressed, practice gap is non-compliant. |
|
Clinical Bottom Line |
Summary of the evidence that identifies the clinical recommendation of the intervention outlined in the learning objectives. *If summary does not concisely explain recommendation of intervention, it is non-compliant. |
|
Learning Objectives |
Create three to four measurable learning objectives that define the knowledge and/or skills an AT is expected to acquire by completion of the CE event. *Learning objectives that are not measurable are non-compliant. |
|
Participant Assessment |
Each learning objective must have an appropriate, corresponding strategy for learning measure in the participant assessment. *If the participant assessment is not aligned with the learning objectives, it is non-compliant. |
*For detailed explanation please reference Policies & Procedures.
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 mid-October to December 31 window.
Condition 3:
The annual report was not completed within the mid-October 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.