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Individual Educational Activity Process

If you are planning an educational activity that is being designed to increase/change/improve the knowledge, skills and/or practice of nurses, you can apply to NCNA for approval to award contact hours for the education.

The North Carolina Nurses Association is accredited as an approver of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

Planning a Quality CNE Activity
Instructional webinar on Planning a Quality CNE Activity.

To apply for approval to award contact hours:

• Complete the current 2015 Criteria Individual Educational Activity Application
  Individual Educational Activity Application (IAA) (Revised Jan 1, 2019)
  (including any additional materials/forms/attachments required/requested within the application). Please be sure to also complete/review the educational materials and the Application Attachments that are located after the Fee Schedule.
• Please take note that the Applicant Eligibility Verification Form is no longer a separate form to be included. It is now part of the IAA application.
• Once completed, submit your application as 3 separate, complete, collated copies of the entire application, via regular US mail, to NCNA along with the appropriate application fee (see fee chart below). (No email submission at this time.)
• If you plan to submit more than one application at the same time it is important that you still submit each application as a separate, complete item. Do not package several applications into one mailing package. Please mail each application separately.
• To ensure adequate time for the application's review and approval process, applicants are encouraged to submit their application least 8 weeks in advance of the planned delivery date. (If we receive the application at NCNA less than 8 weeks out from the start date, you must have added the required late fees to the cost for the contact hours to get the total fee amout.) (See fee chart below.)

After submission to NCNA:

• The submitted activity application is sent to Nurse Peer Reviewers to evaluate whether or not the application is complete, and if it meets all the ANCC/NCNA criteria for awarding contact hours.  
• If any additional documentation or clarifications are requested as a result of the review process, applicants are responsible for successfully completing and submitting the additional information requested, and by the stated due date, before NCNA can consider approving the activity to award contact hours.  
• All approved individual activities are granted approval for a two year period (unless a shorter period is requested in the application).
• After approval the activity can be delivered as often as desired within the approval period of time.

Application Submission and Fee

1. Normal application submission 8 weeks (56 or more days) before activity begins:

   1.0 – 3.0 contact hours:
   $150.00

   3.1 or more contact hours:
   $150.00 + $25.00 for each contact hour (or portion of an hour) over 3.0 hours
   Example: 4.5 contact hours (that arrive at NCNA at least 8 weeks out from start date) would be $200 ($150 + $25 + $25 = $200)

2. Late fees (rush fees) for application submission under 8 weeks before activity begins (to be added to the above fee schedule calculation under A)
   
   Late Fee Example:
      Requesting 4.5 CHs = fee of $200
      Based on your timing, mailing, and start date, NCNA will receive the app 38-47 days out from
      start date. Your late fee will be $500
      Add CH Fee ($200) to Late Fee ($500) for total fee due.
      $200 + $500 = $700 total fee due

    

   Timeframe	Credit Hours	Additional Cost
   48-55 days	≤ 3.0	$150
   	≥ 3.1 ≤ 6.0	$300
   	≥ 6.1	$500
   38-47 days	≤ 3.0	$325
   	≥ 3.1 ≤ 6.0	$500
   	≥ 6.1	$750
   30-37 days	≤ 3.0	$500
   	≥ 3.1 ≤ 6.0	$750
   	≥ 6.1	$900
   15-29 days	≤ 3.0	$900
   	≥ 3.1 ≤ 6.0	$1150
   	≥ 6.1	$1500

Application Attachments

CONFLICT OF INTEREST FORM - This document must be completed for each individual who is in a position to control the content of the activity, this includes all planning committee members and all speakers and/or authors. 
Conflict of Interest Form (2015 Criteria) (Revised Oct2017)

DISCLOSURES - Disclosures must be shared with the learner sometime prior to the beginning of the educational activity.  Required disclosures include: all criteria for completion (what the participant must do/meet to earn the contact hours), a statement regarding the presence or absence of any conflicts of interest for those in a position to control the content of the activity, and the NCNA CNE approval statement.
Sample Disclosure Form

Other required disclosures when applicable:

• If the planned education activity has a joint provider, then the name of the joint provider(s) must be disclosed to the learner prior to the start of the education.
• If the planned education activity has received any kind of commercial support then the name of the commercial support organization must be disclosed to learners prior to the start of the education. See ANCC content integrity standards.
• If the activity is available to the learner as an enduring material, then an expiration date (last date available to earn contact hours) needs to be disclosed to the learner prior to the start of the education.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION - The certificate must contain the name/address of the organization providing the contact hours, space for the name of the attendee, title of educational activity, date education completed, number of contact hours awarded, and the NCNA approval statement. If the activity contains any contact hours for Nurse Practioners  on pharmatherapeutics, then those hours needs to be included on the certificate.  

EVALUATION - Every activity must be evaluated following the completion of the activity. 2015 ANCC criteria require the evaluation of whether or not the desired learning outcomes were met. This is new for continuing nursing education.
Sample Evaluation Tool

Required Written Agreement (If Applicable)

Commercial Support Agreement (2015 Criteria)

Additional Information

Responsibilities of the Nurse Planner (2.4.19)

Quality Outcome Measures for Individual Activity Level (2.4.19)

Tips and Tools - Educational Design Process (May 2016)

CNE Record Keeping Requirements (April 2016)

Gap Analysis Tool

Educational Planning Table - Live & Enduring Material (Rev July 2016) 

ANCC-Content Integrity Standards

ANCC-Principles of Adult Learning Theory

Calculation of Contact Hours

ANCC Glossary Update (May 2016)