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Five Questions To Ask When Choosing An Online Insurance Continuing Education Provider
By Bruce Macmillian
Making sure that you comply with your state's licensing regulations is one of the most important issues you have to deal with as an professional. Your career depends on it. Getting the required continuing education (or "CE") is a big part of that, and thanks to current technology, you have more CE options than ever.
A recent study from Agent Media indicated that 67 percent of respondents now get at least some of their CE credits online. It really is the most efficient option, saving the travel costs and time away from the office associated with classroom training. Because of its increasing popularity, there are a lot of web-based businesses now offering online continuing education. How do you narrow down all these options to find best CE provider for you?
Before you sign up for your next course, consider these questions:
Does the provider offer high quality, compelling course material?
Online CE courses should take advantage of the multimedia (audio, video, animation) capacity of the web to maximize the effectiveness of the learning experience. The courses should be written by recognized industry experts, should follow the required format, and should be approved in all 50 states. Ask for a no-charge sample course to make sure the provider meets these requirements. Also, review the provider's course catalog to make sure they offer a wide enough variety of courses so that you can get all the training you need from one source.
Does the provider track and report training results for you and your employees?
For you to remain compliant, the results of your continuing education courses must get into the right hands in a timely manner. Look for an CE provider who will handle that for you without additional paperwork on your part. The whole idea of getting your required credits online is to make the process faster and more efficient, so make sure your provider will track all your courses automatically, inform you of the courses
you still need to take, and report your results to state within two to three business days (as allowed by your state's licensing board). You should also immediately receive a Certificate of Completion when you pass a course, so you'll have proof in-hand when needed. These services should be available to you at no additional charge.
Are the courses flexible enough to fit your schedule?
Online learning has made it possible to take your CE courses anywhere and anytime you have a web connection, but sometimes it's still difficult to find the time to sit down and complete a course in one sitting. Look for an online CE provider that allows you to save your sessions and pick up where you left off, so you can truly work at your own pace.
Can you re-take courses without additional charges?
Once you have paid for a course, you should be able to review it as many times as you want without being charged again. You should also be allowed to re-take the exams as often as you need to pass the course and earn the credits.
If you are going to be away from your computer, can you take the course material with you?
Just because you are taking a web-based course, you need not be tied to the computer the entire time. Look for a provider that will allow you to print out pages from the course material for later review. Also, your provider should allow you to download the audio from multimedia courses. These audio downloads can be saved like a podcast to your MP3 player for even more flexibility. You can review the information while on the road, exercising, doing housework -- anywhere you can use you iPod.
The point of continuing education is to make sure you stay up-to-date on all the latest developments in services and regulations. When you receive the best possible training, both you and your clients will reap the rewards. Finding a high quality, accredited online continuing education partner is the first step in maximizing the benefit to your business, and it’s worth the effort to do your homework.
Bruce MacMillian is the President and CEO of CEU.com. CEU offers multimedia-rich online insurance continuing education courses to licensed insurance professionals.
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