News and Highlights

CE Broker Overview! The system made Simple and easy to understand!

December 29, 2012
Karen A Smith

CE Broker Frequently Asked Questions

PROGRAM SERVICES ENTERS COURSE INFORMATION TO CE BROKER THE FIRST WEEK OF EVERY MONTH

 

What is CE Broker?

CE Broker is a central database that collects CE Credit information so that it can be accessed by Florida professional regulatory boards for the purpose of verifying that a licensee has obtained the required number of continuing education credits for a given period, usually a biennium. Since 2004 all Florida board approved Continuing Education Providers have been required to submit their students course completion information (CE Credits awarded) to CE Broker.

 

Please remember that any person or agency who has a Florida Continuing Education Provider License, for any profession that falls under the state's Medical Quality Assurance board, is required to report the credits you earn to this database. (Psychology, School Psychology, Mental Health, Marriage and Family, Social Work, Nursing, etc.) If you are not sure of the requirements for your profession we strongly suggest that you contact your board or read our article entitled "Florida Mental Health Continuing Education Requirements"

 

Why don't I see my course completion information in my account the next day?

Should I choose one CE provider over another because they submit my course completion information faster?

How fast your credit information is submitted to CE Broker has nothing to do with your ability to renew your license or your chances of being audited; the CE Broker system doesn't work that way. Florida CE providers have 90 days, from the date you complete a course, to submit that information to the CE Broker database and this was done for a very good reason.

 

Even though we are a small family owned and operated business, we sometimes issue in excess of 75 certificates of completion per week. Because of this, we have adopted a policy of submitting credit information at the end of each month, so that the completed courses can be grouped by type (tracking number) and entered into the CE Broker database the same way. This insures that your information is correctly entered by license type, license number, completed course title and number of CE credits awarded.

 

If one continuing education provider submits your credit information faster than another, it could be that they aren't very busy, offer CE courses as a sideline or are so large that they have an entire department dedicated to CE Broker submissions. Most Florida providers, we are aware of, fall somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. It is our sincere hope that you choose a continuing education provider based, not on how fast or slow, they enter course completion data to the state, but solely on the quality of their offerings, prompt service, technical support and friendly customer service.

 

I don't understand. Am I required to join CE Broker and pay a subscription fee to be licensed in Florida?

The simple answer is NO, you do not need to join or pay any subscription fees to practice your profession in the state of Florida. Many subscribers initially believed that they were required to join and pay a subscription fee every biennium, because the information provided by CE Broker and the state of Florida, was somewhat confusing. There are advantages, however, to being a subscriber and we cover them in "CE Broker: Subscriber Advantages"

 

When will the state check with CE Broker to see that Florida professionals have all their required CE Credits.

Since CE providers were given 90 days to submit course completion information to CE Broker, the database will not be checked until 90 days after your license renewal deadline. As long as you complete your CE requirements before the deadline, for your particular profession and have a certificate that reflects the completion date, you may go ahead and renew your license. The credit information does not have to appear in your CE Broker account for you to do that.

 

If I complete a course with Program Services, when can I expect to see my credit information submitted to CE Broker.

Our online course completion data is directly uploaded to the CE Broker web interface at the end of every month. Home study information is submitted the day we receive your posttest, either by mail or fax. Live seminar information is submitted within one week after attending a live presentation. If you don't see your completion information within this time frame, please call us immediately. The usual cause is that a licensee has provided us with an incorrect license number. Please remember that typos can and do occur frequently when students enter their registration information prior to purchasing a home study, online or live seminar offering!

 

What if I have attended a seminar or received credits from an out of state or nationally approved provider?

No problem; you can submit your course completion data to CE Broker without having to join or pay any fees. Current Florida Department Of Health licensees may register at no charge to: (1) Search online for CE Providers; and (2) Self-submit completed CE (including courses from CE Providers taken out-of-State) once your full license renewal period of CE tracking begins.

 

What if I have completed a course from a Florida approved provider and they don't submit my information to CE Broker?

We often get calls from students who want to repeat a course, they have already taken from another CE provider, simply because that CE provider never submitted their course completion information to CE Broker. If you have attended a seminar or completed a home study or online course, from any Florida approved CE provider, we strongly suggest that you contact that provider and ask them why your course completion data was not submitted to your account at CE Broker. All Florida approved providers are required to do this and this includes hospitals, community mental health centers and other types of agencies offering CE Credits to their employees. This means ALL CE credits awarded by that agency, not just the Florida mandated credits for Medical Errors, Domestic Violence and Ethics. Remember, CE providers have 90 days to submit your credit information to CE Broker, so you not panic if you don't see your credit information in your account at license renewal time. CE Broker has nothing to do with your license renewal and your completion data does not have to appear in your account before you renew.

 

CE Broker Subscriber Advantages.

Some of the advantages of a full subscription are as follows:

• View your CE Transcript

• Search for Authorized Florida CE Providers

• Receive alerts of published courses with a keyword

• Receive alerts of published courses that meet your license CE requirements

• View your Chronological Course History

• Receive Course Completion Posting Notification </