2019 Call for Courses

The AOA has closed the Call for Courses for inclusion in the continuing education (CE) program at Optometry's Meeting 2019 in St. Louis, Missouri. CE courses will be held Wednesday, June 19 through Sunday, June 23, 2019.

The AOA is committed to providing quality education for doctors of optometry, optometric staff and future optometrists. We invite you to submit lecture and workshop courses in the online application below. All applications must be submitted online by Sept. 7, 2018. If you have questions regarding the call for courses, please contact Cami Spampani, Director of the Education Center, cspampani@aoa.org, or Fran Ghannam, Education Center Operations Manager, fghannam@aoa.org.

Topics

The AOA is a COPE (Council on Optometric Practitioner Education) qualified administrator, and all courses accepted for doctor of optometry courses will be submitted for COPE approval. The AOA will consider all areas of ophthalmic education.

Course Criteria and Requirements

Due to the overwhelming number of submissions, not all submitted courses will be accepted. All applicants will be notified of accepted courses via email by Oct. 31, 2018. Acceptance will be based on the following criteria:

• Speakers must be members of the AOA.
• Courses accepted for Optometry's Meeting should be original and not presented previously at Optometry's Meeting.
• The complete electronic submission must be received by the American Optometric Association by Sept. 7, 2018. Submissions will not be accepted in any other manner or after that date.
• Lectures may be submitted as one- or two-hour segments.
• Workshops may be designated for two- or three-hour segments. Workshop proposals should indicate that participants will be provided with hands-on experience in techniques and procedures. Workshop size is limited to a maximum of 40 participants.
• The submission must be complete; otherwise the entry will be ineligible.
• You agree to present the course at the time(s) scheduled by the Education Center Committee. If you have scheduling conflicts, please indicate them in the Comments box on the submission form. Once scheduled, course times cannot be changed.
• Indicate in the online form if your course can be considered for CEE (Continuing Education with Examination) credit. Only two-hour courses will be considered. If your course is selected, you agree to provide the AOA with 20 multiple-choice questions with answers. The questions will be included in the CEE examination, which will be administered by the AOA or a designated representative.
• You agree to submit five multiple choice questions if your course falls under a research grant supported category.
• As part of the online submission process, you are required to upload
  • An initial course outline. The preliminary outline must provide enough detail to allow the Education CenterCommittee to determine if the course is suitable for presentation and to submit to COPE for approval. Follow the COPE outline guidelines.
  • An up-to-date curriculum vitae of the primary speaker.
    • If a course has multiple speakers/panelists, all names must be submitted when submitting the outline.
  • A brief biography of the primary speaker.
  • If the AOA is submitting for COPE approval, the course will be approved for AOA education only.

Accepted Courses

• If a course is accepted, the Speaker must complete an AOA Speaker's Agreement.
• Upon acceptance, additional speakers must submit their cv, biography and contact information (phone and email) by Dec. 1, 2018.
• Final course outline will be due by Feb. 16, 2019.
• Speakers must respond in a timely manner to achieve COPE approval.
• Course handouts are required and must be submitted electronically by March 31, 2019.
• Speakers cannot promote their books, consulting services, etc., during education sessions.

AOA Speaker Reimbursement Policy

AOA speaker reimbursement, stipend and registration:

• Honorarium Standard Courses—$350/hour/per instructor that is selected/invited by the AOA Education Center Committee.
• Honorarium Labs—$350/hour (per instructor, maximum of 2 instructors), or $350/hour Solo Lab.
• Honorarium Panels—$350/hour.
• Travel Stipend—The travel stipend includes the estimated cost of one round trip coach airfare based on the current average airfare rate from the speaker's home address to Optometry's Meeting or mileage based on the current rate. The stipend also includes $350 for each day the speaker is speaking at Optometry's Meeting. Please note: speakers will not have to submit their travel receipts after the meeting. The speaker travel stipend is determined and agreed upon before the meeting.
• Speakers will receive free full registration for Optometry's Meeting and must register in advance.

Important Dates