APS Term 2 opens at 12:00 pm EST on May 3, 2021

APS Term 2 opens at 12:00 pm EST on May 3, 2021

by varsha kamat -
Number of replies: 0

Dear APS Learners, 

Welcome back! Term 2 2021 launches today, Monday, May 3rd at 12:00 pm EST.  Please see some important announcements and updates below. 

 New to the Academy?

Welcome and thank you for joining us. To support your use of the Academy of Peer Services (APS), start by reading our list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), which provides an overview of the Academy and the New York Certified Peer Specialist (NY-CPS) certification.

 To access the FAQ, click here.

 Course Catalog for Term 2 Now Available

The Course Catalog provides a complete listing of all the courses that are now being offered through the Academy of Peer Services.

The APS Course Catalog includes listings for the CORE, Elective, and Supervision courses as well the APS CE (Continuing Education) courses which have been adapted from webinars offered by our Virtual Learning Community (VLC) and community collaborators. CE courses are on topics of current interest and offer a total of 35 hours of CE approved by the New York Peer Specialist Certification Board (NYPSCB).

 The new Course Catalog includes more information on courses like pre-requisites, courses that are currently under revision, and the most recent courses that have been added through the APS CE category. The Course Catalog will continue to be updated as courses relaunch and new courses are made available throughout 2021.  

 To access the Course Catalog, click here.

 Getting Started in the New Term

Term 2 begins at noon May 3, 2021 and ends at 5:00 pm on July 26, 2021. All courses and tests have been reset during the term break. If you did not complete a course during a previous term, you will need to register again for the course. You will have two attempts to pass any course post-test. Please read the important information that follows about your APS User Account and the Terms of Use.

 Your APS User Account

To maintain the integrity of your record in APS with the Certification Board and OMH, it is important that you create and use only one account in APS. If you have forgotten your password, use the password reset feature on the APS Log in and/or work with the APS User Support Specialist to set a new password. If you have difficulties in creating an account, accessing your existing account, or need to make a change, please contact our User Support Specialist at academyofpeerservicesnyomh@gmail.com

The APS Terms of Use prohibits you, or anyone supporting you, from creating multiple accounts under different names or email addresses for a single user.

 About the APS Terms of Use

The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) generously provides funding for you (or the people you support in accessing APS) to take advantage of online courses, testing, certificates and transcripts of courses completed through the Academy. The ability to take certification level courses free of charge, at your own pace, on your own time is a privilege. Your use of APS carries certain responsibilities and obligations. Appropriate use of APS is ethical, honest, legal and upholds the integrity and credibility of the New York State Peer Specialist Certification (NY-CPS). Your responsibilities and obligations, whether taking courses and tests yourself or assisting others, are defined in our Terms of Use policy. Violation of this policy may result in suspension from the APS and be reported to the NYPSCB and Office of Mental Health for further disciplinary actions.

 To access the Terms of Use, click here.

 APS User Guide

Whether you are just getting started or need a refresher on how to register for courses or complete other tasks related to taking courses, tests, or evaluations you can refer to the User Guide for assistance.

 To access the APS User Guide, click here.

 APS Virtual Learning Community

The Virtual Learning Community (VLC) is a project of the Academy of Peer Services that acts as a clearinghouse for the peer support workforce in New York State (and beyond) to connect, communicate, and collaborate! The VLC website is: https://aps-community.org/

 The VLC features a Job Bank that consistently posts job openings submitted by employers as well as reports of jobs (sorted by title, employer, and location) that have been listed with employment agencies and services statewide. It also includes Resources for peer support providers, Research opportunities for those who wish to get involved in research, and a Support page with contacts for telephone or online support for supporters as well as an online guide created by VLC facilitators at the onset of COVID called, Tips Guide for Facilitators of Online Peer Support Groups.

 Members of the VLC receive a monthly newsletter and frequent news updates from the Community Calendar of upcoming events of the webinars, conferences, training opportunities, town meetings, and many other opportunities to get involved in the peer support community.

VLC mailings are separate from this APS Forum, which is reserved (mostly) for APS course-related announcements, such as this APS Term Opening announcement. If you are not already a member of the free VLC email list and want to join, click here.

 APS User Support

Our User Support team is available by email to provide assistance. If you have a question or concern, it’s a good idea to check the FAQ first, which is a list of questions our User Support Team often answers when a support request is made by an APS learner.

 To access the FAQ, click here.

If you have a question, you can reach APS User Support by email at academyofpeerservicesnyomh@gmail.com.

 Let Others Know About Us!

With this Spring and the increasing awareness of the many benefits of peer support, we see many new opportunities for peer specialists and our entire peer support workforce. If you know of others who are looking at joining us who could benefit from taking APS courses, please feel free to share this information and encourage them to enroll. It is free. It is fully online. And this term is open until 5:00 pm on July 26, 2021.

 Thank you for your continued participation in the Academy.

 We wish you a productive term.

The APS Team 

 

This is an operational announcement from the Academy of Peer Services (APS) on the availability of courses and the Terms of Use for participation.