Outsourcing profile: an innovative approach to nondues revenue generation.Opportunity In 2002, the National Association of Boards of Examiners of Long Term Care Administrators (NAB) began looking at online opportunities to enhance the review process for its continuing education continuing education: see adult education. continuing education or adult education Any form of learning provided for adults. In the U.S. the University of Wisconsin was the first academic institution to offer such programs (1904). review service as well as to generate new sources of nondues revenue from this endeavor. NAB is the national nonprofit A corporation or an association that conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. Nonprofits are also called not-for-profit corporations. Nonprofit corporations are created according to state law. association serving jurisdictions that license, credential, and regulate long-term care long-term care (LTC), n the provision of medical, social, and personal care services on a recurring or continuing basis to persons with chronic physical or mental disorders. administrators. Its division, the National Continuing Education Review Service (NCERS), evaluates and monitors continuing education programs for long-term care administrators. NAB prides itself in raising the standards of quality in continuing education. For that reason, the plan focused on the review and approval criteria for providers, their educational offerings, application, and the association's online directory of approved programs approved program Grad education An education program which is approved by a overseeing body–eg, a licensing or professional board or governmental agency . Furthermore, NAB acknowledged that the value of its volunteer reviewers was the backbone of NCERS. The association recognized that such a plan would simplify the process through a user-friendly program, which would ultimately improve review turnaround time (1) In batch processing, the time it takes to receive finished reports after submission of documents or files for processing. In an online environment, turnaround time is the same as response time. . NAB saw financial opportunities in implementing an online application process for providers and sponsors, recognizing that they would be willing to pay a higher fee for a more efficient process. In addition, NAB wanted to offer Web links to provider Web sites via the online directory as well as multiple site listings. These features would offer providers a powerful marketing tool. "NAB's priority was, and still is, to continue to provide licensing boards and agencies support in carrying out their mission of public protection through standard setting, competency COMPETENCY, evidence. The legal fitness or ability of a witness to be heard on the trial of a cause. This term is also applied to written or other evidence which may be legally given on such trial, as, depositions, letters, account-books, and the like. 2. assurance, and quality educational programs," says Katrina Magdon, NAB president. "We wanted to make the continuing education review process much more efficient for all providers and reviewers--and we did, while reaping impressive financial benefits for the association as well. It truly was a win-win investment." Solution for success This investment paid off exceptionally well for everyone involved. In 2003, Bostrom, NAB's Association Management Company, developed and launched the NCERS Online Continuing Education Application and Review System (OCEARS) on www.nabweb.org to bring ease and sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. to NAB's review process by providing Internet access See how to access the Internet. for its providers. OCEARS included such functions as * application completion and submission; * tracking and review by NAB staff and volunteers; * secure credit card processing; and * real-time database of sponsors and programs. OCEARS maintained the integrity of NAB's review process through password-protected security that ensured information access only to approved NAB staff. The program also eliminated manually inputting information into the database by retrieving information from the original application. Prior to OCEARS, NAB's review process produced somewhat stagnant results--both in programs approved and revenue. When OCEARS launched in 2003, NAB experienced a 67 percent increase in approved programs, and financially speaking, experienced positive marks with a 61 percent increase in fee revenue. "This online program has simplified the entire application process," says Mary Compton of Seasons Seminars, an NAB preferred provider. "I devote less of my time to the actual process of submitting a program and more of my time to the program itself, which is a positive end result for everyone." Through this outsourcing project, NAB not only enhanced the application process through technology, making ease-of-use a priority, but also generated revenue above and beyond the cost of the system. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] By Randy Lindner, CAE (1) (Computer-Aided Engineering) Software that analyzes designs which have been created in the computer or that have been created elsewhere and entered into the computer. Randy Lindner, CAE, is executive vice president and chief operating officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. of Bostrom Corporation, Washington, D.C., and executive director of the National Association of Boards of Examiners of Long Term Care Administrators. Bostrom Corporation is a professional services (job) professional services - A department of a supplier providing consultancy and programming manpower for the supplier's products. firm offering comprehensive management, consulting, and outsourcing to the nonprofit community. For more than seven decades, Bostrom has provided associations the solutions they need to grow and meet new challenges. Bostrom provides various outsourcing services, including certification and standard setting, communication, event and conference management, exhibit sales and management, financial management and accounting, fundraising and development, human resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. , information technology, marketing, market research, membership recruitment and retention, nondues revenue generation, and public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most . For more information about Bostrom, visit us online at www.bostrom.com. Contact: Bostrom Corporation 230 E. Ohio St., Suite 400 Chicago, IL 60611-3265 312-644-0828 www.bostrom.com |
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