OPA MCE Single Course Review Procedures/Forms

*The Psychologist's Request for Single Course Review Form is for 2006-2008 MCE registered psychologists ONLY. If you have not registered for this biennium, the OPA-Office of Mandatory Continuing Education encourages you to register as soon as possible to avoid additional late fees and future licensing complications. Call 888-672-6231 or e-mail MCE with your questions or concerns.

Submitting a non-approved course for review
Complete the Psychologist's Request for Single Course Review Form, enclose your check for $35.00 if you are not an OPA member, and attach the certificate of attendance AND brochure or explanation of the course and the presenters to the OPA-MCE office at the address listed above. View the OPA-MCE Single Course Review Procedures below for more information.

Single Course Review Procedures
Printable Format
According to the standards presented in the OPA-MCE Policies and Procedures Manual, Mandatory Continuing Education activities must be pertinent to the theory, practice, and methodology of psychology. The level of learning/activity must be graduate or post-licensure. The intention of MCE is to enable a psychologist to provide better psychological care to the consumer. No credit will be given for (a) regular work activities as a psychologist, (b) membership, office in, or participation on boards or committees of professional organizations, or (c) personal psychotherapy or personal growth experiences.

Only use the Single Course Review (SCR) to request mandatory continuing education (MCE) credit for participation in activities that have not been taken from: (a) an Ohio Psychological Association (OPA) approved MCE provider, (b) an American Psychological Association (APA) approved continuing education provider, (c) a continuing education provider approved by another State/Provincial Psychological Association, or (d) a continuing education provider approved by the Ohio State Board of Psychology, the Ohio School Psychologists Association (OSPA) , the National School Psychologists Association (NSPA), and the Ohio Association of Black Psychologists.

OPA-approved MCE providers are required to send confirmation of attendance to OPA; thus, licensees need take no additional action to record their MCE credit. To register MCE credit for educational activities from the other non-OPA providers listed above (e.g., APA, OSPA, NSPA), you need only forward a copy of your certificate of attendance to the OPA-MCE office. Make sure the certificate of attendance lists your name, license number, credit-contact hours, and relevant organizational approval.

Only distance learning courses from an OPA approved MCE provider, or from a provider approved by one of the other non-OPA providers listed above (e.g., APA, OSPA, NSPA) will be recognized as MCE credit. Therefore, do not use the SCR to request MCE credit for participation in activities involving distance learning methodologies (e.g., correspondence, home study, Internet-based instruction).

The SCR may also be used to request MCE credit for instructing a course and for writing an article or book. Teaching a graduate level course or providing instruction for a non-approved continuing education provider will be recognized by the amount of actual time spent in the activity (face-to-face contact time). Generally, writing an article is deemed equivalent to 5 credits; writing a chapter is deemed equivalent to 5 to 10 credits, and writing a book is deemed equivalent to 10 to 20 credits. Written materials must have been published or accepted for publication within the current licensing biennium. The content of the course or the written work must be commensurate with the expectations for MCE for psychologists in terms of relevance to psychology and level of discourse.

Continuing education (CE), as defined in 4732 of the Administrative Code, is the process through which psychologists and school psychologists become current concerning psychological concepts and techniques, acquire new knowledge and skills relevant to their psychological work, gain new competencies, or improve current competencies and skills by completion of approved and documented educational experiences. This same section of the Administrative Code specifies that the hours to be applied toward the CE requirement shall represent actual time spent in continuing education that meets the requirements set forth in the CE rule. Therefore, licensees are reminded to request MCE credit only for activities that meet the MCE requirement, and only for the actual time spent in the activity. Section 4732 of the Administrative Code reminds licensees that falsification of written evidence related to the MCE rule constitutes fraud, misrepresentation, and deception, and shall be considered grounds for disciplinary action.

Below are the general criteria used by the MCE Committee to evaluate whether or not the course submitted for review will be granted MCE credit.

Evaluative Criteria	Documentation Established Criterion	Documentation Failed to Establish Criterion	Additional Information Required
The documentation established that the activity is consistent with the definition of continuing education in psychology (e.g., psychologists become current concerning psychological concepts and techniques, acquire new knowledge and skills relevant to their work, gain new competencies, or improve current competencies and skills). Sources: Program description or outline, CV or biographical description of presenter.
The documentation established that the intended learning outcomes are at the graduate or post-licensure level. Sources: Program description, description of course taught, copy of article/chapter written.
Participation in the activity has been verified, and the requested MCE credits are consistent with the actual time spent or its equivalence. Sources: Certificate of Completion, verification of time spent teaching a course.