General Program Policies

Below is a summary of policies for AAPACN education and certification programs. For more detailed information on individual certification programs or policies, see the individual program Candidate Handbook.

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Workshop Cancellation Policy

  • The Training Partner may cancel or postpone a workshop at any time. In the event of a cancellation, AAPACN will contact attendees and make a reasonable effort to find an acceptable substitute by rescheduling attendee’s registration or providing an on-demand, self-study alternative. AAPACN will refund an attendee’s registration fees if a substitution cannot be provided.
  • AAPACN and the Training Partner are not responsible for any fees incurred due to cancellations or postponements.
  • Attendee cancellations must be submitted in writing via email to workshops@AAPACN.org. Registrants who are unable to attend may send a substitute in their place. Cancellations received more than 30 business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund. Cancellations received 14-30 business days prior to the start date of the workshop will receive a full refund, minus a $250 cancellation fee. No refunds will be issued for cancellations received 13 or less business days prior to the start date of the workshop except for emergencies or a visit from State Surveyors. No refunds will be issued for cancellations due to weather if the workshop itself is not cancelled.

Purchase Expiration Dates

  • Purchases (courses, tools, on-demand webinars, etc.) will be available for one year from the date of purchase. After that time, access to the product will expire.
    • You may download and save eligible products (tools, on-demand webinars, etc.), so you have access to them beyond the expiration date.
  • Recertification courses or applications will not be available until six months before the certification expiration date. Recertification purchases expire after six months.
    • Note: Purchasing recertification courses does not extend the expiration date of your credential. The expiration date for your credential remains the same, regardless of when your course materials expire.

Product Data Disclaimer
Failure to complete all required product components before the product expiration date may result in permanent deletion of data pertaining to the product, including but not limited to product progress and exam results. Product expiration dates can be found on your learner dashboard.

AAPACN’s learning management system is designed to reset progress data when completion requirements are unmet, allowing learners to repurchase/restart educational content.

Successful Completion

  • Successful completion of an educational activity to earn continuing education hours (CEs) requires at least 80% completion of the activity. This includes:
    • Watching at least 80% of a recorded presentation
    • Viewing at least 80% of the slides within an online course
    • Reading at least 80% of the course printed or PDF manual
  • All exams associated with a course will have three attempts per purchase to pass with a score of at least 80%.
  • Additional exam attempts may be requested one time per exam. If approved, you will receive an additional three attempts to pass with a score of at least 80%.

Certification Expiration Dates and Recertification

  • The expiration date of an earned certification is calculated from the date you earned it.
  • You must complete your recertification requirements by the expiration date of your credential. If you have not completed your recertification requirements, your credential will lapse on the expiration date, and you will no longer be able to use the designation.
  • If you allow your certification to lapse you will be required to restart the full program to regain your certification at a later date.

Certification Data Disclaimer
Failure to recertify before your certification expiration date may result in permanent deletion of all data pertaining to the certification, including but not limited to certification-related earnings, enrollments, course progress, and exam results. Your certification expiration date can be found on your learner dashboard.

AAPACN’s learning management system is designed to reset progress data when recertification requirements are unmet, allowing learners to restart the certification process. Note: If your certification is expired, re-enrolling in the certification will reset previous certification progress. Be sure to re-enroll before restarting the courses.

Course and Exam Integrity

  • You will not see the correct answers to missed questions on the exam results. This is to protect the confidentiality of the exam content, and to maintain the value and integrity of the certification. Certification exams are intended to measure proficiency in the subject and to determine whether an individual has the knowledge necessary for certification.
  • AAPACN does not tolerate cheating or any breach of academic or professional ethics that may compromise the security or integrity of its certification exams. All incidents of reported cheating will be investigated. Discussing content found on the certification exams is strictly prohibited; any such posts on Community discussion boards will be removed. Anyone found compromising the security of the exams by attempting to copy, record, or distribute questions in any manner will be permanently excluded from the certification process.