(1) Participants should be informed in advance of objectives, prerequisites, experience level, content, advance preparation, teaching method(s) , and recommended contact hours credit.

(a) In order for potential participants to most effectively plan their continuing education, the salient features of any program should be disclosed. Accordingly, brochures or other announcements should be available well in advance of each program and should contain clear statements concerning objectives, prerequisites (if any) , experience level, program content, the nature and extent of advance preparation, the teaching method(s) to be used, and the amount of credit the program is designed to qualify for.

(2) Instructors should be qualified both with respect to program content and teaching methods used.

(a) The instructor is a key ingredient in the learning process in any group program. Therefore, it is imperative that sponsors exercise great care in selecting qualified instructors for all group programs. A qualified instructor is one who is capable, through background, training, education, and/or experience, of providing an environment conducive to learning. He should be competent in the subject matter and skilled in the use of the appropriate teaching method(s) . Although instructors are selected with great care, sponsors should evaluate their performance at the conclusion of each program to determine their suitability for continuing to serve as instructors in the future.

(3) Program sponsors should encourage participation only by individuals with appropriate education and/or experience.

(a) So that participants can expect programs to increase their professional competence, this standard encourages sponsors to urge only those who have the appropriate education and/or experience to participate. The term "education and/or experience" in the standard also implies that participants will be expected to complete any advance preparation. An essential step in encouraging advance preparation is timely distribution of program materials. Although implementing this standards may be difficult, sponsors should make a significant effort to comply with the spirit of the standard by encouraging

(i) enrollment only by eligible participants,

(ii) timely distribution of materials, and

(iii) completion of any advance preparation.

(4) The number of participants and physical facilities should be consistent with the teaching method(s) specified.

(a) The learning environment is affected by the number of participants and by the quality of the physical facilities. Sponsors have an obligation to pay serious attention to these two factors. The maximum number of participants for a case-oriented discussion program, for example, should be considerably less than for a lecture program. The seating arrangement is also very important. For a discussion presentation, learning is enhanced if seating is arranged so that participants can easily see and converse with each other. If small group sessions are an integral part of the program format, appropriate facilities should be available to encourage communications within a small group. In effect, class size, quality of facilities, and seating arrangements are integral and important aspects of the educational environment and should be carefully controlled.

(5) All programs should include some means for evaluating quality.

(a) Evaluations should be solicited from both participants and instructors. The objective of evaluations is to encourage sponsors to strive for increased program effectiveness. Programs should be evaluated to determine whether:

(i) objectives have been met,

(ii) prerequisites were necessary or desirable,

(iii) facilities were satisfactory,

(iv) the instructor was effective,

(v) advance preparation materials were satisfactory,

(vi) the program content was timely and effective. Evaluations might take the form of pre-tests for advance preparation, post-tests for effectiveness of the program, questionnaires completed at the end of the program or later, oral feedback to the instructor or sponsor, and so forth. Instructors should be informed of their performance, and sponsors should systematically review the evaluation process to ensure its effectiveness.