If you need help navigating the CE course area, please refer to Find Your Course Area, Classroom, Library, and Message Board for instructions.

INDEX

• Online Learning
• Membership Requirements
• Enrollment
• Course Libraries
• Course Message Boards
• Real Time Sessions
• Receiving Your CE Credit
• Withdrawing from a CE Course
• Contact Us

Online Learning is Convenient and Easy!

VIN and VSPN CE courses provide the ultimate in convenience. Courses are presented completely online so you can access them from anywhere you can access the Internet, including your mobile device.

Interactive courses are designed around live, interactive real time sessions, message board discussions, and materials in the course area library. Attendance and participation in real-time sessions is highly recommended, but not required.

Self Study courses are on-demand, non-interactive courses that generally consist of study materials in the course library, a video lecture, and a test. Most self-study courses do not have message boards.

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Membership Requirements

VIN CE

It is not necessary to be a VIN member to participate in interactive VIN CE, however rates are reduced for VIN members. Generally, veterinarians, veterinary students, and veterinary academia can join VIN. Please use the following links to learn more about VIN eligibility requirements for:

• Veterinarians and veterinary students
• Veterinary academia

If you are not currently a VIN member and would like to join, please enroll for your CE course and choose the option to join VIN during the enrollment process. Your application will be reviewed for eligibility within 24 hours of submission.

Self Study courses require a VIN membership at this time.

VSPN CE
It is necessary to be a VSPN or VIN member to participate in VSPN CE. VSPN membership is free for veterinary support staff working with, for, or in the field of veterinary medicine under the direction of a licensed veterinarian.

• See veterinary support personnel eligibility requirements for details.
• REGISTER NOW to apply for VSPN membership.

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Enrollment

It's easy to enroll on-line for VIN and VSPN CE courses. Early enrollment will assure your place in class. After you have enrolled in your course(s) and your payment is processed, expect a return e-mail receipt confirming your enrollment within 48 to 72 hours. Just prior to the course, you will receive an e-mail indicating that you now have access to the course area and providing directions on how to reach it.

The main means for sending course communications is via e-mail so it's important for enrollees to check their e-mail frequently prior to the opening date of the course and throughout the course duration. Course enrollees must ensure that their e-mail filters permit receipt of e-mails from all @vin.com and @vspn.org domains.

To Enroll
Go to the CE Portal page (https://www.vin.com/CE). You can click on Catalog on the navigation bar at the top of the page to open the VIN/VSPN CE catalogs.  Select a catalog from the list on the right-hand side of the page to peruse the list of available course arranged in time order.

Or click on the CE Courses Open for Enrollment button and scroll through the list of courses open for enrollment.

Click on the title of the desired course to open the course information page.  On that page, skip down and click the ENROLL NOW link. Then follow the instructions provided to enroll in the course.

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Course Libraries

Required and recommended reading materials for the course, other than textbooks, are located in the CE library established for each individual CE course. Real time session transcripts, slideshows and audio are posted to the course library after each real time session. These materials will be available for you to use throughout the course and will be archived, along with content on the course message boards for your permanent access after the course is closed.

To receive the greatest benefit from the course, please review the materials in the library in advance of the real time session or view the course session videos. Some course libraries include supplemental information, including links to helpful websites.

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Course Message Boards

The course message boards can only be accessed by instructors and registered participants. These course-specific boards are open for posting messages throughout the duration of the course and for one week after the final real-time session. Questions and discussions arising from the course materials, interactive sessions, or clinical case material relevant to the course should be posted on the course message boards. It's best to read the existing discussions on the message boards before posting.

You can reply (i.e., add another post) to an existing discussion thread about the topic or start a new discussion if your question relates to a new topic. Message board discussions are an essential element of a successful on-line interactive class. This is where topics can be explored in depth and applied to clinical cases and real practice situations.

VIN and VSPN members will have access to their course materials indefinitely. The specific course message boards are available for posting from the time the course opens until it closes, at which time the course instructor(s) will no longer monitor the course message boards. The course message boards are archived after the course closes.

Note: Most Self Study courses do not have a message board component.

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Real Time Sessions

Real time sessions are held each week in the course area classroom (i.e., the Zoom webinar). The sessions include a formal presentation by the instructor and an interactive question and answer period. Slides and/or videos and automated polls (questions with multiple-choice answer options posed to all participants) will also be presented. The instructor directs the session, but active participation by all class attendees is encouraged.

Attendance at the real time session is NOT mandatory, but it is recommended. If you cannot attend, please be sure to read Receiving Your CE Credit and Course Completion Certificate and comply with those instructions.

The link to the classroom will not be active until approximately 15 minutes before the real time session. If you need assistance during the real time session, please use the VIN Help button located on the right-hand side of the course main page or the CE Portal page.

Please note that Self Study courses do not involve participation in Real Time Sessions.

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Receiving Your CE Credit and Course Completion Certificate

For interactive courses with real time sessions, the VIN and VSPN course coordinators must account for a course participant's active involvement and participation during the course. You can participate by contributing comments, asking questions, and participating in the polls during each session. If you are not able to attend a session, you can view the video of the session or read the written transcript to review the material from the real time session. You can post comments or questions about the real time session topic and library materials in the course message boards to accrue required participation points

For Self Study courses you can participate by reading handouts, viewing videos, and completing all assigned tests. 

How is my on-line attendance tracked?

1. Complete transcripts of the real time sessions are kept for possible auditing by a state or provincial board. In addition, your participation in session polls and homework assignments and quizzes is tallied; the statistics are retained for review.
2. A complete transcript of the course message boards is kept for 5 years for possible auditing by a state or provincial board.

What do I need to do to participate and receive a CE certificate?

You must demonstrate that you are actively participating in the course:

1. Participate actively in the course. This can include postings on the course message boards and/or participation in the real time sessions. You can meet these requirements by posting an average of once a week, by "speaking up" during the real time session (i.e., answering the poll questions and submitting questions and comments during the session), by completing any homework assignments provided by the instructor, or by any combination of these. If you miss a real time session or can't visit the boards in any given week, you will still receive credit provided you meet the requirement for total participation by the end of the course.
   
   
2. As required by RACE and VIN-VSPN CE, successful completion of the end of course test with a score of 80% or higher is mandatory. If you don't take the end of course test, we cannot award a CE certificate for completion of the course. You will have until the course area closes to complete the end of course test. You can take the end of course test repeatedly until you score 80% or better. You will receive one participation point for your highest passing score (80% or greater) on any quiz or end of course test.
   
   
3. For some VIN and VSPN courses, homework assignments, and/or completion of the end of course evaluation will be required. Please check the specific requirements of your course on the course home page.

For more information about requirements for Self Study courses, please refer to Self Study CE Course Certificate Requirements. At the end of a course, the VIN or VSPN CE office will confirm actual participation and check payments for the course. If you have met the requirements for a certificate of participation and your course is paid for, you will receive an email notification indicating when your course certificate will be available for download from your MyCE. You can go on-line to your MyCE page and download your certificate anytime after the date specified in the email notification. Each participant is responsible for keeping track of each hour of CE credit earned and for printing or saving this completion certification for submission to his or her accrediting board(s). We provide certificate information to any state or province board only in response to a question from your accrediting board.

For more on participation and how to receive a CE certificate see Understanding MyCE Certificate Status

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Withdrawing from a CE Course

A complete refund of the paid course price will be issued when your withdrawal request is received prior to the listed start date of the course. If you wish to withdraw after the start date please contact the VIN office 1-800-700-INFO (4636) or the VSPN office at 800-846-0028, ext. 792 to discuss eligibility for a pro-rated refund.

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Contact Us

If you need additional assistance with VIN or VSPN membership, CE enrollment, certificate requirements, or certificate documentation, please contact the VIN/VSPN CE staff:

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