Many professions require continuing education to maintain a license, and state licensing boards ensure the requirements are met. More recently, we have seen widespread legislative mandates for continuing education requirements for important topics like human trafficking, implicit bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion. New requirements and/or changes to current continuing education requirements can often create unavoidable board processing delays and confuse the licensed professional community.
With changes from both levels of government, board staff members might wonder: “How do we know we’re enforcing these competency requirements so all professionals are compliant now and in the future?”
Some regulatory boards rely on manual processes and/or legacy systems. Manual processes could translate to boxes of paperwork taking up space and human data entry errors. Legacy systems are often unreliable and more vulnerable to attacks. Therefore, many boards are searching for new solutions to enhance operations, streamline processes, and simplify continuing education enforcement.
The solution? A CE Management System.
Why is a CE Management System beneficial?
A CE management system can help streamline the process of tracking and enforcing continuing education requirements. A CE management system can provide a central location for storing certificates and processing them in a timely manner. This can reduce delays and ensure compliance with the ever-evolving competency requirements. With the power of a CE Management system, board staff can collect and view data directly from accredited education providers, reducing time and increasing efficiency without manually inputting this data into a tracking system.
There are several advantages to transitioning to a digital CE management system.
1. Simplified audit process
With continuing education modernization, data is readily available and accessible to agency staff. Audits become less time-consuming with the capabilities of a CE Management System. The system ensures all course completion data is stored within a licensed professional’s profile, making it simple for agency staff to access course completion records, if necessary.
2. Streamline efficiency
Removing the outdated processes with paperwork and implementing a streamlined and paperless system can greatly reduce staff time spent processing continuing education certificates and finding paperwork specific to one licensee’s record. Decreasing the workload in relation to audits and monitoring continuing education would allow agencies to reallocate resources to other areas within the agency. A CE Management system will also enable the digital storage of all certificates and ensure the proper documentation is stored and available for use should the licensed individual be audited. Modernizing systems and allowing for electronic access to certificates can support a hybrid work location model.
3. Adaptation to regulatory changes
A CE management system can help licensed professionals comply with new mandated requirements due to legislation and/or regulation changes. As states enact new regulations for courses focused on relevant topics like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and human trafficking, it’s important to ensure your licensed population is current on these requirements. A CE management system can track course completions for these requirements, saving you time and effort.
4. Increase in compliance rates
A CE Management System can help eliminate the hassle of tracking and reinforcing continuing education requirements for licensed professionals. While a system allows regulatory boards to streamline the process, ensure compliance, and get real-time data on their licensed professionals’ statuses, licensed professionals can manage the process through continuing education certificate submissions. The transparency related to the CE Management Systems can provide peace of mind for licensed professionals around their renewal deadline.
A CE management system offers several benefits for boards, including predictable annual costs and guaranteed increased productivity and efficiency. For licensees, a modernized system offers a simple way to track, manage and report CE requirements which may lead to improved compliance.
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