Auditing Procedures to Ensure Compliance with Article 1399.96
In order to ensure that the approved courses are being conducted as stated by the providers in approval applications, ACEND will require the course provider to maintain a record of the participant’s completed course evaluations, or a summary of all completed evaluations, and, if audited, provide ACEND with copies of all completed course evaluation forms or complete summaries within 30 days of request. Please note, all completed course evaluations or a summary of all course evaluations must be provided for each time the course was offered in California. These evaluations will suffice as an audit of the course content, and sequentially ACEND will assume that all other offerings around the country were offered in the same fashion and will fulfill the requirements of ACEND approval. It is understood that online courses will submit a summary of all participants’ evaluations as there are no particular locations to be audited.
For prospective course approval, ACEND will require the following questions/issues be included on the participant course evaluation forms:
- Were the course objectives met?
- Was evidence provided to substantiate material presented?
- Was a commercial product promoted? If yes, did the provider disclose their financial interest in products promoted during the course?
- If the course included a lab component: Was lab assistance/supervision adequate?
A summary of the completed course evaluations, with the above questions included, will be sufficient if the provider is audited.
For retroactive course approval, providers will be responsible for submitting a signed written statement verifying compliance with each of the aforementioned questions/issues. Providers will also be responsible for providing documentation/evidence to verify compliance in each of the four areas.
- For example, completed course evaluations or a summary of all completed evaluations may provide evidence of compliance with each question/issue.
This documentation will be required at the time of application for retroactive approval and will suffice for auditing procedures as well.
If a provider requests retroactive course approval, and offers the same course again within the approved time period, all future course offerings must comply with the standards set forth by ACEND regarding participant course evaluation forms and marketing materials. Specifically, all future course evaluation forms must include the four questions listed above. Also, in keeping with Section 1399.96 (m), providers must ensure that any information advertised regarding the course include the following details: 1) ACEND has approved the course, 2) the assigned approved provider identification number, 3) the number of CEUs for which the course has been approved, and 4) that ACEND may be contacted about any concerns. If audited, the provider must submit all completed course evaluations or a summary of all course evaluations for all California offerings of a particular course (in addition to the information previously provided in the retroactive application).
For individual retroactive approval, the aforementioned questions are included in the application and satisfy the requirements of our auditing procedures. Individuals will not be audited.
Auditing Procedures will serve as a Periodic Review of all courses approved by ACEND.
ACEND has the right to change or modify auditing procedures at any time without notification.
Amended 7/7/10