June 28, 2005 - Sixth Edition

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Course Administration Task Force Report

No-show fee eliminated for courses given after July 1, 2005 New grant program – states to receive $2,000 in July, 2005

These are but two of the Course Administration Task Force recommendations recently adopted by the ENA Board of Directors. The Course Administration Task Force was created by action of the Board in July 2004 to address longstanding TNCC/ENPC issues and to respond to a proposed General Assembly resolution by the Maine State Council. The resolution expressed concern about course costs and procedures and proposed state assessment increases.

The Board charged the Task Force to review and make recommendations regarding TNCC/ENPC:

1. Open pricing model
2. Additional administrative procedures established by states
3. Interstate issues
4. Purpose of assessments and how they are used in practice
5. Understanding of roles of trauma and pediatric chairs
6. Role of International Faculty in the national/state/local relationship

No-show Fee
The no-show fee has been a significant source of complaints about course fees. The Task Force recommended that the fee be eliminated for courses given after July 1, 2005, even though ENA’s 2005 budget was approved with the assumption of fee revenue for the full year.

This means that for courses given after July 1, 2005, Course Directors no longer have to inform Course Operations that the number of participants will be less than expected. There will be no charge for no-shows. Course fees will be charged only for the actual number of participants. Full credit will be given for prepaid indirect fees for no-shows.

Course Grant Program for States Councils
Historically, ENA’s annual budget included a minimal amount for grants to facilitate courses in rural areas. However, for the 2005 budget, the Board set aside $100,000 for a significantly enhanced grant program. The Task Force recommended that the grant program for 2005 be structured as follows:
  - No application required.
  - Each State Council will receive an equal amount ($2,000).
  - Grant funds will be distributed as an add-on to the second quarter 2005 course assessment, scheduled to be paid in July.
  - States will be free to use the funds in any manner which specifically supports courses. For example, the funds could be used to provide a course in an underserved area, or to provide manuals for instructors, or to defray the cost of instructor travel.

While there are no strings attached to the funds, we would like to hear how the funds were used so that success stories can be shared. Future funding of this program will be evaluated in light of budgetary considerations and feedback received from the states.

The upcoming editions of Coursebytes will cover each of the Task Force recommendations and will provide feedback on the surveys that many of you completed. A special thank you goes to all the course directors, instructors, state leaders, Board members and staff who generously gave their time and shared their knowledge and experience. Their input and support of the work of the Task Force was invaluable.

We also would like to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of the Task Force. Members were:

Your Input is Welcome
Topic ideas for future issues and feedback are welcome at CourseBytes@ena.org. If you know of anyone who should be receiving this email but is not, please ask them to email us at CourseBytes@ena.org with their name, current home address and home and work email addresses.