Forms and Competency Assessment

The requirements highlighted below refer to the 2025 Residency Standards. Sites receiving initial or continuing accreditation on or after July 1, 2025 use these standards. Sites active on June 30, 2025 whose most recent accreditation cycle began on or before that date continue under the 2021 standards until reaccreditation. Confirm the applicable standards with your director. Check which standards apply.

• 2025 Residency StandardsThe complete requirements and guidance.
• Required Forms and Due Dates — Appendix DResponsibilities and submission timing for resident, mentor and director forms.
• Competency Domains — Appendix BThe competencies used to assess resident development.
• Required Experiences and MAVs — Appendix APatient populations, procedures and minimum activity volumes.

A one-site residency requires one initial self-evaluation and one final evaluation. A two-site pathway requires these at each site. Quarterly submissions continue throughout training; Appendix D’s six-quarter counts assume an 18-month residency, and longer programs require additional submissions.

Use the form versions and schedule for your program. The responsibilities below reflect the 2025 standards; Appendix D and the Resident Timeline Report identify the applicable submission schedule. Complete actual forms in Tracker.

Residents

Residents: Assess Your Progress and Give Feedback

• Complete the Initial Self-Evaluation Form within 30 days of starting at each site and the Self-Evaluation Form after every quarter. See self-evaluation timing and access.
• Evaluate your primary mentor each quarter and document and discuss an evaluation of each rotation or learning experience at least quarterly. The evaluations of the resident, site and mentor are submitted within 30 days after the quarter ends. Standard 3.8 and Standard 2.20.
• Submit the applicable Clinical Track Activity or Research Track Update/Submission and required Professional Activity documentation. Use Standards 3.11–3.12 and Appendix D for the requirements and timing. The resident submits activity details; a mentor’s confirmation does not replace that submission.
• For a postgraduate residency, complete the graduate evaluation of your CAAHEP-accredited education program. For an integrated residency, complete the applicable evaluation of pre-residency training. Standards 3.9–3.10.
• Keep case logs current and retain independent copies of submitted forms. Standards 3.5–3.6c.

Mentors

Mentors: Evaluate Performance and Provide Feedback

• The primary mentor completes the quarterly evaluation of the resident, using the current form and specific written comments about progress toward competencies. All mentors involved during the quarter provide input. Standards 3.7a.3–3.7a.6.
• Meet with the resident specifically to discuss the quarterly evaluation and progress. If the primary mentor is neither the director nor a designated associate director, the director or designated associate director must also attend. Standard 3.7a.5.
• Review case experience, competency progress and learning needs, and help adjust learning activities. Confirm the resident’s Tracker assignment before opening a form.
• For postgraduate residents, the primary mentor or director submits the employer evaluation of the CAAHEP-accredited education program. For integrated residents, the primary mentor completes the applicable evaluation of pre-residency training. Standards 3.9–3.10.

Directors · Designated Associate Directors

Directors: Oversee Progress and the Final Evaluation

• Monitor access to required patient experiences, MAVs and competency development, and adjust the training plan as needed. Standards 3.6b and 3.7a.7.
• Ensure required documentation is completed and maintain independent progress records with the resident. Standard 2.23 and Standard 3.6c.
• The director or a designated associate director completes the Final Evaluation of the Resident at the end of training at each site. A mentor who holds neither role cannot complete it. A final-quarter quarterly evaluation is not a substitute. Standard 3.7b.
• Hold the final discussion during the resident’s final week at the site, with primary mentor participation if the director was not the primary mentor. Submit the final evaluation within 30 days after the last day at that site. Standards 2.21a–2.21b and 3.7b.

Completed by the resident — 2025 standards

Self-evaluation documents your own assessment of your development. It is separate from the mentor’s evaluation of you, your evaluation of the mentor, and your evaluation of the residency program.

• Initial Self-Evaluation Form

  When: Within the first 30 days at the residency site.

  Who: Every resident. Complete it once in a one-site residency, or once at each site in a two-site pathway.

  Standard 2.23a · Standard 3.6a · Appendix D: initial self-evaluation

  Sign In for the Initial Self-Evaluation

• Self-Evaluation Form — Quarterly

  When: After each completed quarter, submitted within 30 days of the quarter’s final day.

  Who: Every resident, continuing each quarter until the residency is completed. Use the form for the correct reporting period.

  Standard 3.6a · Appendix D: quarterly self-evaluation

  Sign In for the Quarterly Self-Evaluation

How to Access the Forms

1. Sign in using the resident login, then open the Forms menu.
2. Choose the initial or quarterly self-evaluation, as appropriate, and follow the prompts in the current form.
3. Submit your own assessment and retain the emailed copy. Use the Resident Timeline Report to check your individual due dates.

To prepare, review your case experience, feedback and the competencies in Appendix B. Bring specific examples of your progress and areas for development to discussions with your mentor. The self-evaluation complements the mentor’s assessment; it does not replace it.

Residents

Resident Submission Steps

1. Sign in at the resident login and open the Forms menu.
2. Choose the required form and check that it applies to the correct activity or reporting period.
3. Complete the prompts and attach the supporting documentation requested by the form.
4. Submit the form and retain the emailed copy for your records. Check the Resident Status Report after NCOPE has had time to review it.

Watch how residents submit forms and documentation.

Mentors · Directors

Mentor and Director Submission Steps

1. Sign in at the mentor and director login.
2. Confirm the resident appears on your dashboard. If not, the resident must initiate the mentor-change request before you can complete their forms.
3. Open Forms Tool, choose the form, select the resident from the drop-down menu and select View Survey.
4. The form may open in a new tab or window. Verify both your name and the resident’s name at the top before completing and submitting it.

View the illustrated form-access guide · View the evaluation and competency submission guide

Residents · Mentors · Directors

What Competence Means

Under the 2025 standards, competence is the ability to perform a task, function or role at or above established professional standards by applying knowledge, judgment and skill. It does not require expert or mastery-level performance. See the 2025 glossary definition of competence.

The 2025 standards assess development across the competency domains in Appendix B. Case logs and MAVs demonstrate experience; evaluations and feedback document progress in the required knowledge, skills and behaviors. Review both when judging progress.

Use the 2025 Evaluation Rubric

The published 2025 Evaluation of the Resident uses the four numbered levels below, plus an N/A option. Each competency has its own behavioral descriptions: read those descriptions before selecting a rating. The separate overall-performance question uses a different scale.

View the 2025 Competencies With Rating Descriptions (PDF) · View the 2025 Evaluation of the Resident sample

For self-evaluation, follow the prompts and rating descriptions in the resident form you are completing. Programs under the 2021 standards should use the assessment tools that apply to that program rather than substituting the 2025 form.

Connect Ratings, Written Feedback and Learning Opportunities

• Residents: Keep case entries accurate and current, complete your self-evaluations, and bring examples of strengths and development needs to the progress discussion.
• Mentors: Record competency-specific qualitative comments and discuss the quarterly evaluation with the resident. Include input from other mentors involved that quarter.
• Directors and designated associate directors: Participate in the quarterly meeting when required and ensure the resident’s clinic schedule and learning activities are adjusted to support competencies, MAVs, goals and objectives.

Standards 3.6–3.7: monitoring, assessment, feedback and final evaluation.

Use the SMART Goals for Residency Learning and Rotations guide to turn evaluation feedback into an observable objective for the next learning experience. Agree what the resident will demonstrate, how the mentor will assess progress and when the objective will be reviewed.

Keep Experience Requirements Separate From Competence

Minimum Activity Volumes (MAVs) describe required experience. One office visit counts as one activity; multiple visits in an episode of care can contribute multiple activities. Meeting a volume requirement does not, by itself, establish competence. Review Appendix A for experiences and volumes, and Appendix B for competencies. Read the MAV guidance.

These are reference examples, not blank forms to complete and upload. Use the versions that apply to your residency.

Resident Self-Evaluation Forms

The Initial Self-Evaluation Form and quarterly Self-Evaluation Form are completed in your resident Tracker account. View their due dates and sign-in links.

Earlier Evaluation and Competency Form Examples

Use these earlier examples only with the form requirements for your program. They do not show the complete 2025 competency framework.

• Earlier Quarterly / Formative Evaluation of the ResidentFor residency programs under the 2021 standards.
• Earlier Orthotic / Prosthetic Competency FormIntervention-specific clinical competency example.
• Earlier Technical Competency FormTechnical competency assessment example.

Residents; mentors confirm activities

For the clinical-track quarterly activity form, residents submit the activity details and supporting material. Prepare the file before opening the form:

• Combine supporting material into a single document when the form permits only one attachment.
• The clinical-track activity attachment has a 10 MB file-size limit.
• Presentations can be submitted as PDF or PPT/PPTX; papers or essays as DOC/DOCX; and documents not created by the resident, such as a journal-club manuscript, as PDF.
• Check that the attachment supports the activity and reporting period selected in the form.

Watch the PDF compression tutorial. For questions about which activity or form applies to your program, contact your director or NCOPE residency staff.

Residents · Mentors · Directors

Check the Status Report

Use the Resident Status Report to confirm that NCOPE has reviewed and recorded a required form. A submission confirmation or Tracker form count does not establish that the submission meets a residency requirement. Allow at least two business days for staff review before following up.

If the form is still missing after that period, email its PDF copy to residency@ncope.org with your full name, residency organization, city/state and program type or track. Read the form-receipt troubleshooting guidance.

Save the Emailed Copies

Copies are emailed to the resident’s Tracker login address and assigned mentor. The resident and program director must maintain independent progress records, including copies of forms submitted by the resident, mentor or director (Standard 3.6c). Save the PDFs as you receive them; the Status Report is a record of receipt, not a download archive.

If copies have been lost, ask NCOPE residency staff and provide the form name, quarter, resident’s name and residency site. Read how to request copies of completed forms.