Distance Learning Center
for Addiction Studies
- Frequently Asked Questions -

Distance learning is a guided set of educational activities that provide high quality content linked to current research and/or other related, widely accepted academic work, along with access to the instructor or training provider.  It affords you the opportunity of taking courses at your pace - when you need them - and allows you to do so in the comfort and privacy of your home or office.  It offers a real savings for you, both in time and money.
 

Most credentialing bodies require “clock hours” of education to earn or maintain an addiction counselor credential.  Typically, this is measured as a 50 minute hour, and may be referred to as a CEU (continuing education unit), or CEH (continuing education hour).  At DLCAS.com we use a standard of 12-15 pages of information being equivalent to one clock hour of education.  So, for example, if your state requires 40 hours of education every two years, taking coursework from DLCAS.com that totals 40 hours would allow you to meet your requirement.
 

Currently there are a variety of standards that other groups use to assign credits for distance or home study courses, but there is really no set standard. Some groups offer more hours for less information than we believe to be appropriate. So we turned to the U.S. Department of Education to examine standards for adult learners, as well as talked with NAADAC and other professional credentialing organizations.  

240 words/minute is the average rate of reading for most adults.  In reality, most of us typically read anywhere from 150 to 300 words per minute, with the "average" being around 240 words per minute.  But most adult learners only have a comprehension rate of between 50 and 65% of what they read.  In order to read and retain technical information in a learning environment, adult learners more reasonably retain information at a rate of about 120 words per minute.  

Typically, a page of text contains around 450 words.  Plus, the greater majority of the credentialing bodies we work with use a 50 minute training hour.  So, 120 words per minute to read/retain information is equivalent to 6,000 words per hours, 18,000 words for a 3-hour course, or approximately 40 pages for a 3-hour course!   

As a result, we have developed a minimum standard of between 12 and 15 pages of written material for each hour of credit offered. Our goal is to insure that you receive the proper amount of quality information for the time you spend in distance education.
 

I’m not very good at using the Internet to download things.  Are your courses available in any format other than Internet formats?

 
No – all of our coursework can be taken at the pace that you determine.  Once you register for a course and obtain the materials, either by download, CD-ROM format, or in hard copy format, you simply need to read through the materials, pass a course post-test, and complete a course evaluation.  Do it as quickly as you like, or take as much time as you need.  Our coursework will never expire.
 

There is really no limit to the number of hours you can take.  Many students take our coursework not only to maintain their credential, but also to obtain new information in areas that will help them work with their clients.  If you are only interested in obtaining hours toward keeping your credential, however, each state has different limits as to the number of hours that can be accepted.  To learn more about a specific state’s acceptance, you can visit this Webpage for more information:  http://www.dlcas.com/states.html .
 

Courses being offered by the Distance Learning Center for Addiction Studies can typically be used for two types of educational needs:

• Basic training courses ( for the student who is beginning their credentialing process), and

• Continuing education courses ( for the already credentialed counseling professional).

To find out how many hours your state allows, and if they allow basic and recredentialing hours to be obtained by distance learning, visit this Webpage for more information:  http://www.dlcas.com/states.html .
 

 
We routinely suggest to our participants that they use our service to focus or concentrate on their required hours (i.e. many states require certain hours like ethics, HIV/AIDS, cultural training, etc.), and then take coursework of interest that would allow them to use the maximum number of hours available to them.  We have contacted all of the credentialing bodies that we are aware of and have inquired as to the specific training hours that are needed.  As a result, you’ll find that we have the largest number of courses available to meet those needs.  For example, we have the largest selection of ethics courses available anywhere, a 6-hour HIV/AIDS course, more than 40 hours of cultural training, 6 hours of gambling, 6 hours on the history of chemical dependency treatment, and 9 hours on clinical supervision.  We also have a variety of other topics that we find are helpful in keeping current on topics of interest and “need-to-know” information. 
 

Once you place an order using our secure cart system, you're confirmation screen will have active links to any internet coursework you order.  These links will take you to a course portal, which has instructions and your user name and password, allowing you instant access to your coursework. This same information will also be emailed to you, if you've provided us with an active email account. 

The actual download site will allow you to access the Internet formatted materials (again, this is in PDF format for easy use and download).  The download site also has active links to the online test for the course, as well as a link to the course evaluation page.  Course materials may be downloaded to the student’s computer hard disk or the site can be bookmarked and used to study online.

If you order your coursework by phone, we'll provide you with the same information at that time.
 

Yes.  All DLCAS come with a 100% unconditional money back guarantee provided that you make your request for a refund before any course certificate is sent to you.  No questions are asked if a student is not satisfied with our service.  If you purchased hard copy or CD-ROM materials, shipping/handling fees are non-refundable, and your refund will only be made upon return of materials to our office.
 

Students must pass a Post-Test at an 80% level and fill out a Course Evaluation form to obtain a Certificate of Completion.  Both the Post-Test and Evaluation form are accessible online. Certificates are accessible immediately upon using our online testing system.  If we process your test (if you mail or fax it to us), the system will generate an email that contains you course certificate, provided you pass the test AND provide us with a valid email address).
 

Courses purchased in Internet format cost only $40 for a three hour course.  We also provide printed “hard copies” upon request for an additional $10-15 fee per course for printing.  CD-ROM formats are available for the cost of the course plus an additional-fee of $2 for materials and burning.  Shipping fees are extra and added at the time you place your order.  For an up-to-date list of courses and costs, visit the following WebPage: Course Listing and Order Form
 

We accept Visa, MasterCard, Discover/NOVUS, American Express charge cards as well as personal checks and money orders.  We also honor Institutional Purchase Orders.  If you have questions or need information about payment options, contact our business office, toll free, at (866) 471-1742.
 

Yes.  Progressive health care providers nationwide can now obtain high quality continuing education for their professional staff online at reduced course rates.  DLCAS also provides institutional accounts with their own secure Premier Page to track and document staff course activity and course completion.  As an additional service, DLCAS can provide consultation and measurement of Addiction Counselor Competency Assessment onsite to help institutions meet regulatory requirements. For more information contact Vic Shaw (866) 471-1742.
 

All course information is online at the DLCAS homepage at www.DLCAS.com.  Look for the link in the top navigation that says “Course Listing and Order Form.”  You can also obtain information about any of our courses or services by calling (toll free) (866) 471-1742.
 

DLC, LLC, our parent organization, does have information and training available to help you prepare for your credentialing exam (for those states that use either the ICRC or NAADAC examinations).  If you, or someone you work with, needs help preparing or reviewing for their exams, please visit www.ReadyToTest.com for more information.
 

Our faculty has been and will be selected for their expertise in various content areas that are important as well as timely for addiction professionals. Many courses are original works of the instructor while other courses are adapted from federally produced works that are research based and widely accepted in the addictions field as being appropriate and proven.

Be sure to check out the "faculty" page for more information on specific instructors - simply click on an instructor's name to find out more.
 

Our coursework is suitable for any health and human services professional seeking addiction information or continuing education credits.  We have obtained course approval from a variety of fields . (e.g., Licensed/Certified Addiction Counselors, Licensed Professional Counselors, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, Social Workers, Nurses, Physicians, Psychologists, etc.) Approvals can be found on our State and Other Approval Bodies Webpage.
 

You can also fax or mail us your test results by using the form found in all course formats.  Course tests can be faxed to (603) 843-5914, or mailed to:

DLCAS.com
P.O. Box 240663
Apple Valley, MN  55124-0663.
 

Sometimes, students may find that their browser prevents pop-ups from appearing.  To deal with this, our system also sends an email with the PDF attached - be sure that you enter a valid email address into the system when you fill out the information for your exam, and this back-up will arrive in your email box.  If you still don't get it (some SPAM filters may prevent such email delivery!), simply call our office at 866 471-1742 and let us know.  We'll be happy to send you an archived copy for your needs.

For students who use fax or mail to send in their test, once the test is received in our office we will enter the results for you, and you should be watching your email box for the delivery of your course certificate.
 

I can see my score when I use the online test system, but it doesn’t show me what I actually missed.  Can I see those results, too?

• First, you'll get instant notification of your score if you take the exam online.  If you fax or mail your test to us, we process the test online and then send you back results (by email, fax, or regular mail if necessary). 
• Next - we'll provide you with a report of the questions you missed on your exam.  This will allow you to focus your time and efforts in reviewing those sections of the course.
• Then, you simply retake the entire exam, submitting responses to all of the questions, not just those that you missed.
• If you obtain a passing score, your course certificate will be prepared and mailed.  Otherwise, you'll repeat the same process - there is no limit to the number of times you can take an exam and there is no additional fee imposed.

Just to let you know - the failure rate for our exams is extremely low - and if a student has failed an exam, they rarely need to repeat the testing process more than once.
 

What about my email address?  I hate the idea of SPAM, and don’t want you to use this to send me tons of stuff, or to sell my address to others. 

We also use occasional newsletters as a way of communicating with our current students (who have provided us their email address) as well as those individuals who are potential students - folks that have visited our website and signed-up for email services or participated in one of our online giveaways.

We keep your email address in an off-line database in order to protect the privacy and security of your email address.  We do not sell or provide your email address to any other group or organization. Your privacy and email security are important to us - and it is always your option to request that your email not be used for any mailings, advertising, or updates we provide.  When we utilize the services of email delivery programs, we will always provide you with an option to unsubscribe.