How do I earn a CE certificate for an interactive CE course?
- You must earn the required number of participation points and take the end of course test to earn a certificate of participation. You can earn points in the real time session by answering polls or asking questions, or outside of the real time session by posting questions to the message boards and taking quizzes and the end of course test.
Do I have to attend the live sessions (webinars) to get CE credit for an interactive course?
- Attendance is recommended but not required. There are many ways to fulfill the requirements to receive CE credit. Visit the Participant Resource Center on the VIN CE Portal for more information.
Can I access the course materials after the course closes?
- Participants have indefinite access to the course materials, even if not a VIN or VSPN member. Visit the Participant Resource Center on the VIN CE Portal for more information.
Can VIN members take VSPN CE (support staff) courses?
- As a VIN member, you can enroll in VSPN CE courses; but keep in mind the majority of VSPN CE courses are not RACE approved for veterinarians. Check the course information page to see if the course is accredited to veterinarians.
What are participation points? How do I find out how many points I have so far?
- Participation points are used to measure the course participants’ level of participation in a course.
- Participants get:
- 1 participation point for each poll answered or question asked during a webinar session;
- 1 participation point for each message posted to the course message boards;
- 1 participation point for completing the course evaluation and;
- 1 participation point for passing the end-of-course test.
- Participation points are displayed in the gray ‘Participation Progress’ box located at the top left on the course main page. The display is updated with webinar participation points within 24 hours after the webinar ends, and the message board participation points update at midnight daily.
How do I access the course area?
- After the course opens, you can access the course area by going to www.vin.com, click on the ‘CE Portal’ button. That takes you to the CE Portal page. Login. Then scroll down until you see the ‘MyCE’ insert. Locate your course in MyCE under the ‘Current Courses’ tab and click on the green arrow in the ‘Visit Course’ column to go to the course area.
How do I access the course library?
- On the course main page, scroll down until you see a menu on the left-hand side of the page. Click on the menu entry entitled ‘Library’ to open the library.
How do I access the course message board?
- Scroll down the course main page until you locate the menu on the left-hand side of the page. The Message Board is the last entry in that menu. To learn how to post to the course message board, please see How to Use the Course Message Board in the Participant Resources Center.
How do I attend a live webinar session?
- There are two ways to enter the Zoom session. From the course main page, you can click ‘Classroom’ on the top navigation bar or the orange ‘Attend Session’ button on the left side of the page. If you encounter issues while trying to access the Zoom meeting, please use the ‘Help’ live chat button on the right side of the course page.
What if I cannot attend a live webinar session?
- VIN-VSPN CE records all real time sessions, and the recording is released to the course library within 24 hours. While you cannot participate by watching the recorded session, you can earn participation points by posting questions to the message boards.
Where are the transcripts/session recordings located and when they are issued?
- Transcripts and real time session recordings are in the course library under the category ‘Real Time Session Videos/Audio/Transcripts’. Recordings are posted within 24 hours. Transcripts can take 3-5 business days before they are posted.
When does the end of course test become available and where can I find it?
- The end of course test is available the morning after the last real time session. It will be in the course library under the category ‘End of Course Test/Evaluation/Quizzes’.
When does the course evaluation become available and where can I find it?
- The end of course test is available the morning after the last real time session. It will be in the course library under the category ‘End of Course Test/Evaluation/Quizzes’.
Can I access the course material after the course closes?
- Course enrollees will have indefinite access to the course materials and can access past courses via the ‘MyCE - Previous Courses’ tab.
I have finished the end of course test, where is my certificate?
- Certificates are issued 3-4 days after the course close date. There are many “housekeeping” tasks the VIN/VSPN CE staff must do before certificates can be issued. Message board stats do not import into our stats program until the day after the course close date. Payments must be checked. The staff goes through each member’s record of those that are enrolled to ensure that they have met the requirements for a certificate. Last, the certificates are not auto populated after requirements are met; there is a manual process that the CE staff must handle to issue certificates.
Can I “audit” or just have access to a past course that is now archived?
- There are many factors that determine course availability after the course ends, please email CEonVIN@vin.com or VSPNCE@vspn.org to inquire. There is a cost associated with accessing an archived course.
*Note: CE credit is not available for an archived course.
Why can’t you offer sessions for a course more than once a week or in different time zones?
- Many factors are considered when VIN/VSPN CE schedule times for real time sessions. Most instructors still work in clinical practice and need to work around their clinic schedules.
Why does a course open earlier than the first real time session and close several days after the final real time session?
- VIN/VSPN CE interactive courses open 7-10 days before the first real time session to allow members that have enrolled early to access and go through any course materials provided in the course library.
Courses close 10 days after the last real time session to allow time to review recordings and transcripts, make up participation points, take the end of course test, and complete the course evaluation. Our community is an international community and the real time sessions may not happen at a time that is convenient for those outside of North America. We also understand that sometimes emergencies happen, members must work longer hours than scheduled, and sessions may be missed. The extra time gives course participants an opportunity to complete the participation requirements.