Before we share the following our own Amber Setter wrote for our friends over at AccountingWEB, we're going to go ahead and make sure everyone realizes the delicious irony of this considering Amber will be chairing a free CPE webinar on March 20th.
Now, GO!
CPE rules are ultimately intended to protect consumers. I see the current standards for online learning as a disservice to both the advancement of the profession and to the public that we serve. We need to move away from the “how many clicks does it take to get the certificate” approach and toward a virtual environment that supports active learning.
One might view this issue as substance over form. Solely looking to participation pop-ups is a legal form that indicates a person earned CPE credit, but it lacks the substance that presents a true and fair view of a person’s actual learning.
During my tenure in learning and development for a public accounting firm, I saw many opportunities to improve accounting education. I see improvements to the virtual learning environment as a top priority. I presume this is something NASBA is working on, but much like release dates of CPA exam scores in 2010, it isn't sharing information in a timely manner. And to my knowledge, NASBA isn't asking the younger generations – who likely completed a university course online – how they want to learn.
So now is your time, folks. How do you want to learn? What is working about the delivery of CPE in a virtual environment? What is missing? NASBA, are you listening?
Assuming you have NASBA's ear, what would you want to tell them about how you learn and what you want out of your CPE?
