Facts at a Glance

• To meet accreditation standards, the CPC is implementing notable changes to its current certification renewal and education acceptance policies.
• Industry reps can offer free, pre-approved in-office lectures about new equipment or products as incentives to the practitioner’s paraoptometric staff . The presentation and speaker qualifications must meet the CPC’s criteria in order to be approved.
• CPC approval of education courses is designed to insure that:
  
  
  • The courses are pertinent to the profession of optometric assisting/technology
  • The courses are presented by qualified and knowledgeable speakers
  • The courses meet standards that are expected by the optometric profession
  • Quality continuing education opportunities are available to certified paraoptometrics
• Approval is granted for a period of 3 years.
• The cost of review is $25 per credit hour reviewed. Fifty minutes of education is considered one hour of credit. Review and approval do not indicate sponsorship of any AOA or CPC programs.
• Requests for review must be submitted to the CPC at least eight (8) weeks in advance of the education presentation. A fee for late submissions will apply. Incomplete applications will be returned without review.
• Once a course is approved by the CPC Education Review Committee, it will be assigned a unique course identification number, based in part on the domain.
• A standardized CE form must be provided to participants who attend CPC approved education in order to insure credit toward certification renewal. These forms will be available for a nominal fee from the CPC, plus shipping costs. Education providers must contact the CPC to order forms.
• Approval may not be awarded retroactively.