BOC Resources To Support Your Programs

Apply for Accreditation or Approval

NAACLS

When you have applied for accreditation/approval from NAACLS and program officials have submitted the formal application form, fee and the self-study to NAACLS, your program is granted “Serious Applicant Status.”

Students will not be permitted to take the BOC certification examination under a route requiring completion of a NAACLS accredited/approved program until the program has been granted “Serious Applicant Status.”

CAAHEP

Once a program has successfully completed a CAAHEP Request for Accreditation Services Form, a self-study document and an on-site review, your program is granted Initial Accreditation Status. According to the CAAHEP accreditation policy, “any student who completes a program that was accredited by CAAHEP at any time during his/her matriculation is deemed by CAAHEP to be a graduate of a CAAHEP-accredited program.”

Students will not be permitted to take the BOC certification examination under a route requiring completion of a CAAHEP accredited program until the program has completed the accreditation process.

ABHES

Successful completion of the accreditation process is required. Only those students who receive a certificate of completion dated after the date the ABHES Commission accredits the program are eligible under the accredited program route.

Getting Started with the BOC

School Code Number

Your accreditation agency will notify the BOC once a program has reached Serious Applicant Status (NAACLS) or has completed the accreditation process (CAAHEP and ABHES). Once the BOC has received official notification, the BOC will assign your program a school code. All accredited/approved programs who have received a school code will appear on the institution lookup feature of the online application. Students must choose the correct program from this lookup feature in order to appear correctly on your Examination Eligibility Verification (EEV) and Program Performance Report (PPR).The school code is for your reference.

Online Education Resources Available

The ASCP BOC has compiled a list of educational resources from a number of different social media channels. These resources are being brought to US and Canadian Program Directors and Educators to help support programs and students during the transition to distance education. This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement by the ASCP Board of Certification. Check back often as this document will be updated as new information is made available.

If you have additions or corrections to this resource list, please contact us at PDInfo@ascp.org.

Program Directors Guide to Certification

For complete information, the Program Director's Guide to Certification is available.

View Guide

Join the ASCP BOC Program Directors Facebook Group

The ASCP BOC Program Directors Facebook group is a group for directors of NAACLS, CAAHEP, and ABHES accredited or approved laboratory programs, as well as education and clinical coordinators and faculty, whose students seek BOC certification. This peer-based group can answer any of your certification-related questions. Supported by volunteers with several years of program experience, the group aims to become the program director’s resource for information and support.

Join Now

Volunteer on the Program Director’s Advisory Committee

The Program Director’s Advisory Committee (PDAC) manages the Program Director’s Facebook group and helps ensure that pertinent BOC information is shared with Program Directors, education and clinical coordinators, and faculty. PDAC is made up of 1 or 2 representatives from all types of laboratory programs. As vacancies occur, volunteers with appropriate characteristics are sought to complement the existing composition and ensure a diverse membership. Complete the online volunteer application below to be considered for this group.

Volunteer

PDAC Live Zoom Events for Program Directors

PDAC recently began hosting live events over Zoom to discuss topics that are top of mind to program directors. See below for a brief description and a link to the recorded events. PDAC will host live events every few months; be sure to check the Facebook page periodically for more details.

November 1, 2023: a discussion about the results of the Impact of COVID Survey led by the Research and Development Committee. Click here for the recording.

September 27, 2023: a discussion with several experienced program directors about recruitment strategies. Click here for the recording.

April 21, 2023: a discussion with several experienced program directors and BOC staff about the EEV. Click here for the recording.

June 1, 2022: a discussion of how ASCP BOC certification exam content is determined, with a focus on practice analysis and content outline development. Click here for the recording.

May 4, 2022: a discussion of Computer Adaptive Testing (CAT) and the maintenance of a BOC certification examination. Click here for the recording.

April 6, 2022: a discussion of who writes the items for BOC exams, as well as a deep dive into how to write a strong item. Click here for the recording.

April 20, 2021: a tour of the BOC website, as well as a deep dive into the EEV process. Click here for the recording.

Accessing Your EEV Report

1. Login to your ASCP account.
2. Under “Management Tools” choose “Exam Eligibility Verification”.
3. Click the top link to view pending exam eligibility requests.
4. If you only see an option to view EEV archives, there are no pending requests.

Completing an EEV Report

Applications are processed individually, not as school groups; therefore, all of your students may not appear on the EEV at the same time.

Review the EEV Report for Each Student for Accuracy:

• student’s full name
• certification category
• date of program completion

If all information is accurate,
select “Eligible”.
Follow the instructions to send an email to the ASCP BOC if:

• a particular student is not listed.
• you do not recognize a student listed.

IMPORTANT: Do not mark the student as “Ineligible” as this will delete the student’s application.

If you see a student’s name from a previous class on your EEV, proceed with the standard review process. Students from accredited/approved programs are eligible for examination for up to five years after program completion.

Program Completion vs. Graduation Date

Before your students apply, please ensure that they know the date of your program’s completion as this may not be the same as their actual graduation date. Students should enter their program completion date on the online application.

Incorrect Program End Date

If the program end date is incorrect, do not select anything from the dropdown menu. Click on “Incorrect Date?” to send an email with the correct information to the ASCP BOC.

• If the program end date entered by the student is up to one week after their actual end date, do not request that it be changed.
• If you have submitted a change in program completion date to the ASCP BOC, allow up to 5 business days for the change to be made.

You will need to log back in to the EEV to verify the corrected date. Please note that you will not receive an email to alert you when the program end date has been updated by ASCP BOC staff.

Students Who Will Not Complete a Program

• Notify the ASCP BOC immediately about any student on the EEV who will not complete your program or degree requirements by the date indicated.
• If you have already submitted the EEV, please reach out to the ASCP BOC at PDinfo@ascp.org as soon as possible.
• The student will be notified by email that he or she is ineligible.
• If the student completes the required coursework at a later date, they must submit a new application and application fee.

EEV Archive

• Archived Reports list students in chronological order by program end date.

Access EEV Reports

You will not have access to any PPR data unless the current year’s invoice has been paid. If you have not paid your annual subscription fee, you will see a “View PPR Invoice Order” link under the “Management Tools” section of your dashboard. If you do not see this link when you log in, then your invoice has been paid and fully processed.

To access your PPR:

1. Login to your ASCP account
2. Choose “Program Performance Report” under “Management Tools”
3. Choose current or prior reports (2016 – current OR 2010 – 2016)
4. Select Program and School
5. Customize date ranges.
6. Click “View Report”

If you are a Program Director of multiple programs, you will first choose the program for which you want to see data. Next, choose from one of the two links:

• 2010 – 2016 Program Performance Report (PPR)
  • Data is provided in static six month and annual cycles
  • Data is organized by exam date
• 2016 – current Program Performance Report (PPR)
  • Choose your date range from Jan 1, 2016 – current
  • Choose to see results by exam date or program end date
    • If you search by Program End Date, you will only see your specific program’s information; national information will not be provided.

The Program Performance Report is an annual subscription service. By paying the current year’s invoice, access is provided to all current and previous PPR data for the full calendar year. Program Directors will receive an email notification with a link to their PPR invoice(s) each fall for the following year. If you oversee multiple programs, you will have multiple invoices. If you do not receive an email notification by November 15th, login to your ASCP account to view your invoice. If you are unable to access your invoice online, need a PDF copy of your invoice, or need the invoice sent to someone other than the Program Director, please contact us at PDInfo@ascp.org.

Please do not fax payments or submit purchase orders to the ASCP BOC. We accept payments made by check or credit card. Please ensure that you include the order number along with your payment to expedite the process and to ensure the payment is appropriately allocated. If paying by check it will take up to 30 business days after the check is mailed for it to be fully processed and for you to have access to your PPR. If paying by credit card, which can be done online, the payment should process overnight. For additional payment instructions, including information on electronic payments, please see page 31 of the Program Director’s Guide to Certification.

In order to maintain access to your Program Performance Reports, please contact PDInfo@ascp.org to notify the BOC of any changes to the program including:

1. Program Director
2. Program Director name or email
3. Program address
4. Program status

If there is a faculty member, an Education Coordinator, or someone else who should also have access to the PPR information, please email PDInfo@ascp.org with the following:

• name of the institution
• category of program and six-digit school code (MLS-123456)
• name and email address of individuals who should have access

Please note that the Program Director will remain the only person able to access the Exam Eligibility Verification (EEV) to verify students’ completion of the program and the annual PPR invoice.

For any issues, including those listed below, please contact PDInfo@ascp.org. All inquiries will receive a response in 3 – 5 business days.

• Incorrect student information, including if a student is not listed or you do not recognize a student’s name. It is important to note that students have the right to request their exam score not be released. If that is the case, the student’s individual scores will not be listed on your PPR. However, their scores will be included in your overall program information.
• Access to program data prior to 2010. Include your program type, school code, and the date range of the data requested. If you have paid for the current PPR invoice you will receive a PDF of the requested information.
• Access to previous years' data for programs that have closed. Please include a brief explanation and include your program type, school code, and the date range of the data requested.

For login issues, contact BOC Customer Service.

Contact BOC Customer Service

The PPR is meant for use by Program Directors and Program Administrators only; specific data from the PPR is not to be shared with the public. The information contained in the PPR should be handled in a confidential manner which respects the rights of the individual whose scores are reported. Individual student data, subtest means, scaled score comparisons, and the histogram are not public information. This information should not be shared publicly, including for recruitment efforts or marketing purposes.

Any data that is shared with accrediting bodies or program administration must be anonymized and aggregated where possible. As an outcomes measure for accreditation purposes, Program Directors may publicly share overall program pass rates (i.e. Our graduates have a X year average pass rate of XX on national certification exams; the national average is XX percent.)

For further information about the PPR, please see the Program Director’s Guide to Certification.

The ASCP BOC provides subtest scores to Program Directors to help them get an overall sense of how their students are doing by discipline. Students who have failed the exam are given subtest scores in order to help them focus their studying. Subtest scores are not provided to students who passed the exam because it does not serve a useful purpose, and we ask that you do not share this level of information with them.

In many Board exams, no scores are given; candidates receive only a statement of Pass or Fail. The goal of a certification program is to identify individuals who achieve the predetermined level of competency. The purpose of ASCP BOC certification exams is not for individuals to compare or rank themselves or their program.

Practice Exams

*NEW* BOC Interactive Practice Exam – MLT and MLS

Versatile and extremely valuable, the BOC Interactive Practice Exam enables the user to build custom quizzes and timed practice tests based on topics, difficulty and more, pulling from a library of nearly 2,500 study questions built by ASCP. You can even compare question-level results to see how your peers are answering.

Highlights include:

• Nearly 2,500 questions (same as the BOC Study Guide!)
• User can build their own quiz or timed practice exam, choosing questions based on:
  • Subject area
  • Difficulty level – Based on data from other users
• Practice Exam allows user to set a time limit to simulate a real exam scenario
• MLT-only filter can be applied for those studying for MLT Exam
• Mobile friendly – Access anywhere on desktop or mobile
• Commentary and references can be turned on or off for different study styles

MLT and MLS Educators: You can purchase the interactive practice exams for your students and get access to advanced reporting features, including comparative data across program averages.* Click here for program-level ordering information.

*Peer comparison and question difficulty features will be made available once a minimum participant threshold has been met.

Purchase ASCP BOC Interactive
MLT/MLS Practice Exam

Also Available:

*NEW* BOC Histotechnology Interactive Practice Exam

*NEW* BOC Phlebotomy Interactive Practice Exam

ASCP is also offering expanded support to those studying for the BOC Histotechnician, HT(ASCP) or Histotechnologist, HTL(ASCP) certification exams, the BOC Phlebotomy Technician, PBT(ASCP) certification exam, or the Qualification in Donor Phlebotomy (QDP) exam.

BOC Histotechnology & Phlebotomy Interactive Practice Exam Product Features
Versatile and extremely valuable, the BOC Histotechnology Interactive Practice Exam and BOC Phlebotomy Interactive Practice Exam enable users to build custom quizzes and timed practice tests based on topics, difficulty and more, pulling from libraries of nearly 1,300 study questions for each exam, built by ASCP. You can even compare question-level results to see how your peers are answering.

Purchase BOC Histotechnology
Interactive Practice Exam

Purchase BOC Phlebotomy
Interactive Practice Exam

Payment for Applications by an Institution

If you wish to pay the application fee for one or multiple students, you must have the invoice / order number which is available after the student has completed an application. Payment can be submitted in two ways:

1. Call 888-925-3399 to pay by credit card.
2. Submit one check.

Each student will need to:

1. Complete the online application process
   Applications need to be submitted online within 30 days after being started. Check payments must be received and processed within 30 days of the online submission.
2. Print out the Pay by Check Invoice
3. Give the invoice to their Program Director

As the Program Director, you will then need to:

1. Collect each Pay by Check Invoice
2. Submit payment by credit card (call 888-925-3399) or check. Check payments will need to be mailed, with all invoice(s), to the address below. Check payments must be received and processed within 30 days of the online application being completed.

ASCP Board of Certification
3462 Eagle Way
Chicago, IL 60678

Once a check has been mailed, it may take up to 30 business days to be fully processed and the funds applied to the students’ applications. Processing of exam applications will not begin until payment has been fully processed.

Please note that purchase orders are not accepted.

Do not send documentation forms with payment. All required documentation forms must be uploaded by the applicant as PDF documents when applying. See Submit Documentation for complete information.

Important Information for Military Students

To learn more about scheduling an exam at a U.S. military base and other important information for military personnel, review information available in the Get Certified section of the website.

Military Exam Resources

Download Training Documentation Form

Route 2 Training Documentation

Managing HT and HTL Student Scores