CEU award training policies

RCAC awards CEUs only for learning events 90 minutes or more in duration, at least 60 minutes of which must be eligible contact minutes. RCAC does not automatically award CEUs at the conclusion of learning events; learners must earn CEUs by completing requirements publicized in advance of each learning event. Such requirements shall include completion of RCAC’s standard course evaluation, completion of pre- and post-tests with a passing grade on the post-test, and completion and return of a post-learning event survey. In the event of a material change in a learning event, such as event duration or method of presentation necessary to ensure learning outcomes achievement by a different target audience, the number of CEUs assigned to that learning event shall be recalculated.

RCAC instructors, whether employees or contractors are not eligible to receive CEUs for learning events they present. They may, however, receive CEUs for attending the same events as learners. RCAC employees may be eligible for CEUs for participating in a pilot event conducted for the purpose of determining the number of CEUs to be assigned, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the pilot event.

Learning event expiration policy

Each RCAC learning event for which CEUs are to be awarded shall expire no later than three years after the date on which the initial learning event planning team completed its work, or three years after completion of the most recent review, whichever is later. A learning event may be renewed for subsequent three year periods, but only after completion of the learning event review and renewal process depicted in Exhibit 3.1-C. The review shall focus on the identified needs which are the learning event’s foundation; the learning outcomes that address those needs; content and instructional methods; and learning event assessment methodologies and past results. Any instructor or RCAC manager or director who believes that a learning event is no longer valid or current may initiate a review process before the learning event’s scheduled expiration date by sending to the training coordinator a written complaint providing justification for an early review. The training coordinator also may initiate an early review process for cause.

This policy does not preclude minor instructor revisions to content during an event’s three year life span, but the training coordinator and a review team must approve any changes to learning objectives, instructional methods or assessment methods or tools.

Instructor/support staff professional development policy

RCAC requires all employees who perform roles in learning event planning, delivery and evaluation to maintain currency in both subject matter and adult learning methods. Currency in subject matter means maintaining current knowledge in subject areas associated with one’s position, as well as competency in the skills required to translate the knowledge into practice within the context of one’s employment duties. Currency in adult learning methods means regular exposure to current thinking and practices within the adult continuing education field, as well as regular performance of duties associated with planning, delivery and/or evaluation of continuing education and training.

In order to ensure currency of continuing education and training staff, RCAC encourages and supports, both logistically and financially, employee participation in professional licensing/certification programs and continuing education in relevant disciplines, including adult learning methods. Each employee is encouraged to maintain existing licenses/certifications and/or achieve new ones, as appropriate to RCAC’s business needs and the employee’s responsibilities. Furthermore, RCAC will allow time and pay for, contingent upon availability of funds, employee attendance at a continuing education event once each fiscal year. At least once annually, RCAC will provide in-service training to employees involved in planning, delivery or evaluation of continuation education and training, which may include subject matter training, or adult learning methods training, or both.

Nondiscrimination policy

RCAC does not tolerate discrimination, nor tolerate explicit references of a discriminatory nature, based on gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, national origin, color, religion, age, disability, veteran status, socioeconomic status, marital status, pregnancy and/or sexual orientation. All employees and contractors engaged in continuing education and training activities shall comply with this policy in all communications and other interactions with one another and with learners and prospective learners, during learning event planning, marketing, and delivery, as well as post-event activities. Failure to comply shall constitute grounds for disciplinary action in the case of employees, and contractual remedy in the case of contractors.

Proprietary interests disclosure & representation policy

RCAC will disclose, in advance of any learning event, any instructor’s proprietary interest in any product, instrument, device, service, or material to be discussed during the learning event, as well as the source of any third-party compensation related to the presentation. This policy applies to both RCAC employees and contractors.

RCAC will reference instructor proprietary interests appropriately in instructional materials it publishes. If no such proprietary/financial interests exist, RCAC will publish a disclaimer in marketing or instructional materials. RCAC retains the right to review and approve branding associated with any proprietary interests. Instructor/instructor’s employer branding will be limited.

Instructors do not promote the exclusive use of any commercial product in published instructional materials or during instruction. Instructors’ discussion of their proprietary interests during instruction is limited to relevant contexts and includes consideration of alternative products or companies that are comparable to the instructor’s.

Immediately upon being assigned to present a learning event, an employee/instructor must disclose any existing proprietary interests relevant to the instructional assignment. Disclosure will be made to the immediate supervisor, the training coordinator, CTE and Human Resources. If an instructor acquires a proprietary interest after marketing materials have been produced and distributed for a learning event affected by this policy, the instructor shall provide and document written disclosure to learners at the beginning of the course. Such disclosure shall be documented in the record of the learning event. Examples of appropriate documentation include a written statement distributed with handouts, or a statement included on one of the early slides in a slide presentation. Proprietary content may be used to produce deliverables for RCAC, and RCAC will make no claim to proprietary interests disclosed in a timely manner.

Prospective instructional contractors must disclose existing proprietary interests relevant to the instructional topics during contract negotiations. The proprietary interests must be listed in the contract prior to contract execution for RCAC to recognize them. Proprietary content may be used to produce contracted deliverables provided to RCAC, and RCAC will make no claim to proprietary interests disclosed in the contract.

No RCAC instructor, whether employee or contractor, may present or assist in presenting a CEU learning event until all pertinent proprietary interests have been disclosed to RCAC and learners as provided in this policy. Failure to comply may be considered grounds for disciplinary action in the case of employees, or contractual remedy in the case of contractors.

Intellectual property rights policy

To the extent not prohibited by the terms of government grants and contracts under which Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) operates, RCAC owns unlimited exclusive rights to all works, including literary works, pictorial and graphic works, works of visual art and any other work that may be the subject matter of copyright protection; advertising and marketing concepts; information; data, formulas; designs; models; drawings; computer programs, including all documentation, related listings, design specifications, and flowcharts; trade secrets; and any invention that may be the subject matter of patent protection; and all statutory protection obtained or obtainable thereon. RCAC therefore assumes all worldwide rights, title and interest in and to intellectual property created, made, conceived, reduced to practice or authored in connection with continuing education and training design and delivery or with RCAC’s information, materials or facilities. RCAC shall be free to make, have made, use, offer for sale, sell, modify, translate and import products utilizing all intellectual property.

All RCAC agreements with contractors and sub-contractors for instructional and/or related services shall be in writing, and shall provide that:

  • All materials submitted in fulfillment of contractual obligations become RCAC property.
  • All materials produced for learning events, including second and subsequent editions if any updates, supplements, derivatives, in whatever medium (the “work”) will be considered a work made for hire, as that term is defined in the federal copyright statute; that as such, RCAC will be considered to be the “author” of the “work” and will own all rights, title and interests in the work, including the right to copyright it; and that contractor will cooperate as necessary with RCAC in assisting RCAC to secure copyright in its own name in the work.
  • Contractors and subcontractors will not offer the same learning event to any other person or entity, for compensation or without compensation, without RCAC’s express written permission.
  • Contractors and sub-contractors represent and warrant either that the work is contractor’s or sub-contractor’s own original work in the public domain or that contractor agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless RCAC for breach of this warranty.

RCAC will provide instructors with educational materials for the sole purpose of conducting RCAC learning events. RCAC will require all instructors to acknowledge and agree in writing that they are not at liberty to: 1) conduct anylearning event without first obtaining RCAC’s approval; or 2) revise learning event content and pertinent presentation materials without the training coordinator’s express written consent.

Learner privacy policy

Your privacy is important to us. This privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”) covers privacy practices with respect to “Personally Identifiable Information” (as further defined below) that is transmitted electronically to or collected via the web, telephone, mail and other sources:

  • How we collect and use Personally Identifiable Information.
  • With whom we may share Personally Identifiable Information.
  • The choices available to you, as a learner, regarding collection, use and sharing of Personally Identifiable Information.
  • The security procedures in place for Personally Identifiable Information under our control.

By visiting RCAC’s website, and/or using our services, you are affirming agreement with and consenting to be bound by the terms of this Privacy Policy as they may be amended from time to time. As we update and expand our services, this Privacy Policy may change, so check back to this page from time to time. You may opt out of our sharing of your Personally Identifiable Information with third parties, by following the directions in “Sharing Personally Identifiable Information”.

Collection and use

We do not collect any Personally Identifiable Information from you except when you expressly volunteer the information. This includes when you:

  • Register for a learning event or purchase or download a product or service, whether on RCAC’s website or on our learning event registration site which is maintained by an outside vendor..
  • Request information (electronically) about products and services or subscribe to newsletters.
  • Use or participate in various services or features made available on the website (including, for example and without limitation, blogs and other user communities).
  • Use various tools to select products and services that are suitable for your website visit.
  • Request contact with, or respond to requests from, RCAC staff.
  • Provide comments, questions or feedback about products and services.

“Personally Identifiable Information” includes, for example, your name; home or business address; e-mail address; telephone, wireless and/or fax number; short message service or text message address or other wireless device address; instant messaging address; credit card and other payment information; employment information and work experience; demographic information and/or other information that may identify you as an individual or allow online or offline contact with you as an individual. Additional information that is protected under this privacy policy and will only be shared directly with you includes:

  • Courses for which you are currently registered
  • Courses you have attended, dates and durations, and CEUs awarded

We will not sell, share, or rent Personally Identifiable Information other than as disclosed below in the “Sharing Personally Identifiable Information” section of this Privacy Policy. We do not sell, share with or rent to others e-mail addresses solely for the purpose of third party marketing, other than as disclosed below in the “Sharing Personally Identifiable Information” section of this Privacy Policy, but we may include third party materials within e-mails that we may send to you.

Among other things, we may use your Personally Identifiable Information to respond to your requests and inquiries and to provide you with the services and features offered on or through the website. We may also use your Personally Identifiable Information to communicate timely information and special offers (for example, in the form of e-mails, mailings and the like) about products, services, companies and events, sponsored by us and others, that we think might interest you.

If you register for a continuing education or training event or pay for products and services using a credit card, Personally Identifiable Information (such as your name and shipping address) and financial information (such as your credit card number and expiration date) may be required. This information may be used for billing purposes and to fill orders. If we have trouble processing an order, this contact information may be used to get in touch with you. Personally Identifiable Information also may be collected when you apply for a position with us or register for a learning event sponsored by us. In these cases, Personally Identifiable Information is used only for the purpose of processing and evaluating the application or registration.

The Personally Identifiable Information you give us via RCAC’s website or learning event registration site and information about your transaction may be combined with other Personally Identifiable Information (such as demographic information) available from our records and other sources. This information may be used to make our future marketing efforts more efficient and will help us to improve the operations and maintenance of our website and business.

Sharing personally identifiable information

We do not sell, share or rent any Personally Identifiable Information collected electronically through RCAC’s website or learning event registration site, except when the law requires a disclosure of information.

RCAC utilizes the services of an outside vendor for online registration for RCAC

educational events, and for storage of data associated with those educational events and participants. This includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and credit card numbers of participants. RCAC’s registration services vendor is contractually obligated to maintain in confidence and not disclose or distribute confidential information. Furthermore, the vendor has agreed not to retain or use any confidential information beyond termination of its agreement with RCAC, and will, upon termination of the agreement with RCAC, promptly return any and all copies of such information to RCAC and sign an affidavit that all such data has been returned.

Notification of changes

If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes in the Privacy Policy section accessible from the home page of the website so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. Any changes or updates will be effective when posted. Under certain circumstances, we may also elect to notify you of changes or updates to our Privacy Policy by additional means, such as sending you an e-mail.

Problems or complaints

If you believe that there has been a violation of this Privacy Policy as it applies to your participation in RCAC educational events, please contact RCAC’s main office at (916) 447-2854. We will investigate and take appropriate action and report back to you within a reasonable period of time.