BIAA Professional Education Policies and Procedures

BIAA Professional Education is committed to providing high-quality, accessible, and professionally administered educational activities. These policies describe learner rights, responsibilities, and BIAA’s commitments.

Accessibility and Reasonable Accommodations

BIAA is committed to providing reasonable access to its professional education activities. Submit accommodation requests to acbis@biausa.org. For co-hosted activities, use the accommodation contact identified in the registration materials; BIAA Professional Education can assist if no contact is listed.

Please submit requests at least 10 business days before the activity when possible, particularly for captioning, interpreting, alternate-format materials, or other arrangements requiring preparation. Requests received with less notice will still be reviewed; available arrangements may depend on the time and resources needed. Requests are reviewed individually. BIAA may contact the learner privately for information reasonably necessary to understand the functional need and identify an effective accommodation. Learners are not expected to disclose accommodation details in a public course forum or to instructors unless needed to implement the approved accommodation.

Accommodation information will be handled with appropriate privacy and shared only as necessary to arrange the accommodation.

Professional Conduct and Nondiscrimination

BIAA is committed to professional education environments that support respectful, equitable, safe, and meaningful participation. This expectation applies to learners, instructors, planners, staff, consultants, vendors, volunteers, and other individuals involved in BIAA educational activities.

Discrimination, harassment, retaliation, threatening behavior, or other conduct that materially interferes with a respectful learning environment is not acceptable. Participants and course personnel are expected to act professionally, respect confidentiality and differing perspectives, and follow applicable BIAA policies and course instructions.

Concerns may be reported through the complaint process described below. BIAA may take reasonable action to address conduct concerns, including warnings, removal from an activity, restriction of access, referral for further organizational review, or other appropriate corrective action.

Complaints and Appeals

BIAA welcomes concerns about its professional education services and uses complaints as one source of quality-improvement information. A learner or other stakeholder may submit a complaint regarding course administration, accessibility, conduct, content, completion decisions, or another aspect of BIAA professional education.

Submit complaints or appeals to acbis@biausa.org or through the contact method identified for the course. Include sufficient information to understand the issue, the decision being disputed when applicable, and the requested resolution.

BIAA will acknowledge complaints within five business days of receipt and arrange review by an appropriate staff member who was not solely responsible for the disputed decision when practicable. BIAA will review relevant records, seek additional information when needed, and provide a written response within 20 business days of receipt. If additional time is needed, BIAA will provide a status update by that deadline explaining the delay and the expected response date.

If dissatisfied with the initial response, the complainant may request a second-level review within 10 business days of receiving it by replying to acbis@biausa.org and explaining the basis for the appeal. BIAA will refer the appeal to a senior leader or designee who was not involved in the initial decision, acknowledge it within five business days, and provide a written decision within 20 business days. If more time is needed, BIAA will provide an explanation and expected decision date by that deadline. BIAA documents complaints, appeals, reviews, and outcomes and retains them under its records retention policy. Any applicable accreditor-specific process and deadlines also apply.

For a course offering ASHA CEUs, a learner who believes an issue involves a violation of ASHA CE Provider Standards, Policies, or Requirements should first attempt resolution with BIAA. If the issue remains unresolved, the learner may submit a complaint to ASHA CE using its CE Complaint Form. ASHA CE considers complaints related to ASHA Approved CE Providers and courses offering ASHA CEUs and does not accept anonymous complaints. This is an external complaint process, not a general appeal of every BIAA decision. For other approved credit, contact the applicable accrediting body about its complaint process.

Good-faith complaints will not result in retaliation. Complaints involving immediate safety, legal, privacy, or ethical concerns may be escalated outside the ordinary course-review process.

Refunds, Cancellations, Transfers, and Course Changes

Refund, cancellation, transfer, and substitution terms may vary by course, product, registration type, host agreement, or other circumstances. Applicable terms will be made available through registration information, course communications, or BIAA customer service.

If BIAA cancels or materially reschedules an activity, BIAA will communicate available options to affected registrants.

Learner-requested cancellations, transfers, substitutions, or refunds are subject to the terms applicable to the purchase or activity.

BIAA may make reasonable changes to instructors, schedules, delivery methods, or course administration when necessary while preserving the educational purpose and applicable compliance requirements.

Nothing in this policy limits rights that cannot legally be waived.

Privacy and Security

BIAA collects and uses information reasonably necessary to administer education, process transactions, communicate with learners, verify participation and completion, issue records, evaluate programs, satisfy accreditation or reporting obligations, and support organizational operations.

Access to education records is limited to individuals or service providers with a legitimate business or compliance need.

BIAA uses reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards for educational records.

Information may be shared with an accrediting, credentialing, licensing, technology, payment, or service provider when necessary for the activity or when authorized or required by law.

Where learner authorization or intent is required before reporting information to an accreditor or registry, BIAA will obtain or document that information as required.

This section supplements, and does not replace, BIAA’s organization-wide privacy notices or legal obligations.

Intellectual Property and Use of Course Materials

BIAA respects intellectual property rights and expects learners and course personnel to do the same. Course materials may include content owned by BIAA or used with permission from authors, instructors, publishers, licensors, or other rights holders.

Unless BIAA expressly authorizes otherwise, course materials are provided for the registered learner’s educational use and may not be reproduced, recorded, posted, sold, shared, distributed, uploaded, or used to create derivative training materials. Availability of slides, recordings, books, handouts, or other materials is determined by the individual course and applicable permissions.

Contact BIAA Professional Education

Questions about course requirements, accommodations, complaints, continuing education documentation, or these policies may be directed to acbis@biausa.org or through the contact information provided with the applicable course.