In order to offer a CPE program in-person (Group Live delivery method) and online (Group Internet Based delivery method) at the same time and award NASBA-approved CPE credits for the program, the CPE program sponsor must be approved on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors for both the Group Live and the Group Internet Based delivery methods. Currently, and for a limited time, the National Registry is allowing sponsors who are approved for Group Live and have submitted an application to the National Registry for approval for the Group Internet Based delivery method, the ability to provide their programs online until they are officially approved for Group Internet Based delivery method. 

Once officially approved for both the Group Live and Group Internet Based delivery methods, sponsors have the ability and choice to provide their programs with either delivery method or use them simultaneously. There is not a separate delivery method called hybrid learning. 

The Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Programs (Standards), specifically Paragraph S23-02, explains how sponsors can offer simultaneous delivery of the same course for both Group Live and Group Internet Based instructional methods. While Paragraph 23-02 allows a sponsor at its discretion to issue the certificates of completion for the program under the delivery method of the majority in attendance, this provision was intended to assist with the administrative burden for those sponsors that have a manual certificate generation process. However, it doesn’t impact the delivery method and attendance monitoring requirements of each respective delivery method. 

The sponsor must implement the delivery method and attendance monitoring requirements for Group Live and Group Internet Based during the simultaneous presentation. So, there must be an element of engagement for each 50-minutes of content for Group Live participants and participants must be monitored in accordance with the policies established for the Group Live event in order to award the appropriate amount of CPE credit. 

For the Group Internet Based participants of the simultaneous presentation, the sponsor must employ at least three attendance monitoring mechanisms per one CPE credit and record the responses of each monitoring mechanism by participant in order to award the appropriate amount of CPE credit. 

A best practice for simultaneous programs is the use of polling questions. As long as the polling questions are content related, polling questions are an easy way to satisfy the requirements of attendance monitoring for Group Internet Based participants as well as satisfy the requirements for an element of engagement for Group Live participants. 

Reminder:  In order to award NASBA-approved CPE credits for a simultaneous delivery presentation, the sponsor must be approved for the Group Live delivery method and be approved or have a pending application with the National Registry for approval for the Group Internet Based delivery method.