Educational Design
Define the audience, educational purpose, learning objectives, content, instructional methods, educators, and learning resources.
A structured CPE activity connects educational purpose, learning objectives, relevant content, qualified educators, appropriate delivery, documented participation, accurate credit, reliable records, evaluation, and continuing improvement.
Providers should establish these elements as an integrated educational system so that the CPE awarded can be connected with the learning activity and the evidence supporting participant completion.
Continuing Professional Education should operate as a structured educational activity. The provider should be able to explain what participants are expected to learn, how the education is delivered, how participation or completion is established, how credit is calculated, and how the resulting record is maintained.
Define the audience, educational purpose, learning objectives, content, instructional methods, educators, and learning resources.
Establish how participation or completion is demonstrated and how qualifying educational activity is connected with the applicable CPE methodology.
Maintain accurate participant and activity records and use relevant evidence to evaluate and improve continuing professional education.
Use these requirement areas to connect educational design and delivery with participation, credit, documentation, evaluation, and provider quality practices.
Define why the activity is being offered, who it is intended for, and what participants are expected to know, understand, develop, apply, or demonstrate.
Ensure the content corresponds with the learning objectives, intended participants, professional context, and educational purpose of the activity.
Use instructors, trainers, facilitators, faculty, or subject-matter experts with knowledge and experience appropriate to their educational responsibilities.
Select an instructional format appropriate to the learning objectives, content, participants, resources, and educational environment.
Establish how attendance, engagement, assessment, completion, or other applicable participation requirements will be demonstrated.
Determine qualifying educational activity and apply the methodology governing the applicable CPE credit or learning-hour framework.
Use appropriate methods to review the educational activity, participant experience, learning evidence, delivery, and identified development opportunities.
Maintain accurate information connecting individual participants with registration, participation, completion, credit, and applicable assessment information.
Ensure issued documentation corresponds with the underlying educational activity and participant record.
Review educational evidence, feedback, records, delivery practices, and evaluation findings to identify and implement appropriate improvements.
CPE begins with a clear educational purpose. Learning objectives provide the connection between participant needs, content, instructional methods, assessment, and evaluation.
Define the intended participants and consider their professional context, existing knowledge, experience, responsibilities, and learning needs.
Describe the knowledge, skills, understanding, competence, capability, or other educational outcomes the activity is intended to develop.
Select educational content and resources that directly support the objectives and are appropriate to the intended professional audience.
Choose instructional methods appropriate to the subject, objectives, participants, educational complexity, and delivery environment.
CPE content should be relevant to the learning objectives, appropriate for the intended professional audience, and organized to support meaningful continuing education.
Educational content should directly support the stated learning objectives and intended outcomes of the activity.
The level, terminology, examples, learning resources, and educational depth should be appropriate to the intended participants.
Content should be organized into a coherent learning experience rather than relying only on attendance or exposure to information.
Subject matter should correspond with the professional knowledge, skills, capabilities, or areas of practice addressed by the activity.
Learning materials, references, exercises, demonstrations, cases, or other resources should support the intended educational experience where applicable.
Review educational content when relevant developments in professional practice, technology, knowledge, methods, or other applicable areas require updates.
Individuals responsible for delivering or overseeing CPE should have knowledge and experience appropriate to the subject, audience, educational level, and responsibilities assigned to them.
Educators should have relevant knowledge, qualifications, experience, professional expertise, or other appropriate evidence related to the subject.
Teaching, training, facilitation, presentation, or other instructional capability should correspond with the activity and intended participants.
Providers should establish the educational responsibilities of instructors, trainers, facilitators, reviewers, and other personnel involved in delivery.
Maintain relevant information supporting the educator’s role and suitability for the applicable learning activity.
Educators should have access to the materials, technology, facilities, and other resources needed to support the intended delivery method.
Relevant feedback, evaluation information, and delivery evidence can be used to support continuing development of instructional practice.
Different delivery formats can support CPE when the learning environment is appropriate to the objectives and the provider can establish applicable participation and completion requirements.
In-person education can combine instruction, discussion, demonstrations, cases, exercises, practical activities, and other structured learning methods.
Virtual instructor-led education can use appropriate platforms and participation controls to support structured learning and learner engagement.
Independent digital or distance learning can use structured content, learner activities, progress controls, assessment, or other appropriate completion methods.
Combined in-person and digital components should operate as a coordinated educational experience with consistent objectives and completion requirements.
Providers should establish an appropriate method for determining whether an individual participant satisfied the participation or completion requirements associated with the activity.
Maintain information connecting the individual participant with the applicable educational activity.
Where attendance is required, use an appropriate method for documenting participation in the relevant educational period.
Digital learning can use appropriate platform, access, progress, engagement, or other participation evidence.
Exercises, projects, cases, demonstrations, assignments, or other educational activities can contribute to applicable participation evidence.
Where assessment forms part of the activity, maintain applicable evidence of the participant’s assessment and completion status.
Apply established completion requirements consistently before recording or issuing the applicable CPE credit.
CPE credit should be supported by a defined methodology connecting qualifying educational activity, participation evidence, calculation records, and the resulting participant credit.
Determine which portions of the activity qualify as educational participation under the applicable CPE framework.
Distinguish qualifying learning from breaks, meals, administration, unrelated activities, or other time outside the applicable educational calculation.
Use the calculation methodology governing the applicable CPE or learning-hour framework.
Establish that the participant satisfied the requirements necessary to receive the applicable credit.
Maintain sufficient information to explain how the qualifying educational activity produced the credit value recorded.
Ensure the credit shown in the participant record and completion documentation corresponds with the underlying calculation.
The participant record should connect the individual with the educational activity, participation or completion evidence, applicable CPE credit, and issued documentation.
Maintain sufficient information to identify the individual associated with the educational record.
Record the educational activity, applicable date or period, provider information, and other relevant activity details.
Maintain applicable attendance, engagement, assessment, completion, or other evidence supporting the participant record.
Record the applicable CPE value consistently with the underlying educational activity and calculation methodology.
Ensure completion documentation accurately corresponds with the participant, activity, completion status, and CPE information maintained in the record.
Maintain retrievable records and establish appropriate processes for retention, corrections, replacements, and other record-management activities.
Evaluation connects participant experience, learning evidence, educator observations, delivery information, and provider review with subsequent development of the activity.
Use participant feedback, assessment information, delivery evidence, instructor observations, records, and other relevant information.
Examine whether the educational activity operated as intended and identify relevant strengths, weaknesses, or development needs.
Use relevant findings to revise content, instructional methods, resources, administration, assessment, documentation, or other applicable practices.
Examine later evidence to determine whether implemented changes strengthened the educational activity or provider process.
Before participant credit and documentation are issued, review the educational activity and supporting records as a complete system.
Confirm the activity has a defined audience, educational purpose, learning objectives, relevant content, appropriate educators, and suitable delivery methods.
Confirm that applicable registration, attendance, engagement, assessment, or completion evidence supports the participant’s eligibility for credit.
Confirm that the credit calculation, participant record, certificate information, and supporting documentation are consistent.
Key questions about educational design, participation, CPE credit, delivery formats, documentation, and provider quality practices.
No. The activity should satisfy the educational, participation, credit, and documentation requirements applicable to the CPE framework being used.
A structured CPE activity should connect educational purpose and learning objectives with relevant content, appropriate educators, delivery, participation, credit, records, and evaluation.
Online delivery can support CPE when the format is appropriate to the learning objectives and applicable participation, completion, credit, and documentation requirements are satisfied.
No. Providers should use the methodology applicable to the CPE or credit-hour framework governing the educational activity.
Records should connect the participant with the educational activity, applicable participation or completion evidence, credit calculation, CPE awarded, and completion documentation.
The provider should establish systems for educational planning, delivery, participation, credit administration, participant records, certificates, evaluation, and continuing quality improvement.
Continue to the Provider Requirements resource to examine the organizational processes supporting educational design, delivery, participation, credit administration, records, certificates, evaluation, and continuing quality improvement.