Meeting the Challenge of Online CPE Content for Professionals

We are all familiar with the realestate saying “location, location, location.” It holds more thana fair amount of truth, but location isn’t the only factor we weighwhen it comes to purchasing our home. The same holds true forcontinuing professional education (CPE). The right content iscritical, and it’s the first consideration when purchasing CPE, buta number of other critical factors must come together to create asuccessful learning experience.

Content, content, content

Any CPE program, online or off, beginswith quality content. Lawyers, medical professionals, engineers, andfinancial professionals all require specific kinds of knowledge inorder to perform their jobs properly. Many of them must also meetstringent continuing education (CE) requirements to maintain alicense or accreditation. As such, the first job of educationalcontent is to address the specialized knowledge needs and legalrequirements of the professionals to be trained. Professionaleducational content must also be accurate, up-to-date, and wellpresented by knowledgeable subject matter experts.

And, although online continuingeducation requires technology and services to deliver and manageonline courses properly, it is no different from in-person courseswhen it comes to content. Participants should expect the same levelof education and the same knowledge gain online as in-person. Greateducational content delivered in a face-to-face setting is also greatcontent online. This is also true for accredited content. Thedifference here is that participation in the online course andunderstanding of the material is tracked closely and verified bytechnology, according to the standards set forth by the industry orthe courts. It is automatic, efficient, and becoming standardprocedure in many industries.

Where does great CE content come from?

Professional associations are one ofthe major sources of online continuing education. This includes beingthe creators of high-quality content. Bar associations, for example,not only have a deep understanding of their members’ needs, theyalso have access to key subject matter experts including lawprofessors, regulators, judges, and attorneys in a wide variety ofpractice areas.

The StateBar of Arizona and the OklahomaBar Association each create diverse and high-quality educationalcontent for bar members—within their state and nationally. Overninety percent of the programs in the State Bar of Arizona’s onlinecontinuing legal education (CLE) catalog were created by the ArizonaBar. Their online programming covers practice areas from business lawand criminal litigation to tax law. Up to eighty percent of thecourses in the Oklahoma Bar’s online catalog were created by theOklahoma Bar Association, other courses in the catalog are created byprofessional legal content developers and other state barassociations that have access to subject matter experts in areas ofinterest to Oklahoma attorneys.

Professional content developers alsocreate educational programming for industries like legal, finance,and healthcare. PESI EducationalSolutions, a well-known content provider, develops hundreds ofaccredited courses for physicians, nurses, and mental healthprofessionals. Associations that do not have the in-house resourcesto create all of the course material required by their memberspurchase much of their content. PESI will be the first to tell youthat when shopping for online educational content, it is important tolook for content providers who develop courses using experts in thefield and who have a rigorous process for ensuring that content isup-to-date and accurate. It goes without saying that courses shouldalso meet the standards for accreditation. In addition, if a providercan create courses that are engaging—and possibly evenentertaining—they will not only be well received by adult learners,but will also help them get the most out of the course material.

Beyond content

Developing or purchasing the rightcontent is critical to a professional online continuing educationprogram, but there is more to it. Delivering educational content in away that makes it easy for adult learners to register and participateas well as obtain the accreditation or certification they need iskey. In addition to providing high-quality course material,organizations must ensure a seamless and satisfying interaction withthe online programming. This is where technology comes in. Thecomplicated technology and infrastructure needed to deliver contentonline was once a sticking point for organizations looking to move CEonline, but that is no longer the case. Technology is now readilyavailable, and combined with quality content the result iscost-effective, convenient CE for the professionals who need it.