Forms and Competency Assessment
Residents, residency directors, and mentors complete forms in NCOPE Tracker to document progress, provide feedback, and record required residency activities. This page brings together form responsibilities, due dates, sample forms, and instructions for completing them.
The Resident Timeline Report is a tool on the NCOPE website that helps residents calculate form due dates from their residency start date.
Log in to NCOPE Tracker
Residents and mentors have separate login pages. Residency directors use the mentor login. Chrome, Safari, and Firefox are the recommended browsers.
Required Forms, Due Dates, and Samples
The directory below describes forms used under the 2025 Residency Standards. The residency director can confirm which standards apply to the program.
The program and mentor evaluation forms, clinical and research track activity forms, professional activity form, and CAAHEP education evaluation forms are unchanged between the 2021 and 2025 Residency Standards. The Resident Self Evaluation form was introduced with the 2025 standards.
Sample PDFs show the questions and information requested. Actual forms are completed in Tracker, where the questions may change with the residency pathway, reporting period, or purpose of the evaluation.
Forms completed by residents
| Form | Purpose | Due | Reference sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Self Evaluation | The resident assesses their own progress. The same Tracker form covers the initial and quarterly self-evaluations. | Initial: within 30 days of starting at each site. Quarterly: within 30 days after the quarter ends. | — |
| Quarterly Evaluation of the Mentor | The resident provides feedback about their primary mentor. | Within 30 days after each quarter ends. | Mentor evaluation sample |
| Evaluation of the Residency Program | The resident evaluates the residency program and attaches the Executive Report for the quarter. | Within 30 days after the quarter ends; final submission within 30 days after the residency end date. | Program evaluation sample |
| Clinical Track Activity | The resident documents the quarterly clinical-track activity and submits supporting material. | Within 30 days after the quarter in which the activity was completed. | — |
| Research Track Update/Submission | A research-track resident reports progress each quarter until the research advisor approves the directed study in writing. | Within 30 days after the quarter in which the activity was performed. | — |
| Professional Activity | The resident documents the required community engagement activity (at least one during the residency). | Within 30 days after the quarter in which the activity was performed. | — |
| Graduate Evaluation of CAAHEP Education | A postgraduate resident provides feedback about their education program. | After the first quarter and before the final day of the third quarter at the site. | — |
| Evaluation of Pre-Residency Training | An integrated-program resident provides feedback about preparation for residency. | During the first rotation. | — |
Forms completed by mentors and residency directors
| Form | Completed by | Due | Reference sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly Evaluation of the Resident | The primary mentor, with input from other mentors involved in the resident’s training. | Within 30 days after each quarter ends. | Evaluation of the Resident sample (2025) |
| Final Evaluation of the Resident | The residency director or designated associate director. | Within 30 days after the resident’s final day at each residency site. | — |
| Employer Evaluation of CAAHEP Student/Graduate | The residency mentor or director evaluates the resident’s overall readiness for entry-level practice as an O&P resident. This information benefits the O&P education program’s faculty and leadership. Used for both postgraduate and integrated residents. | Opens 45 days after the resident begins at the site. It should be completed soon after it opens, so it reflects the resident’s abilities on arrival. | — |
Earlier evaluation and competency forms
Residents in programs using the 2021 standards should refer to the earlier evaluation and competency samples that apply to their program.
Using Assessments to Guide Resident Development
Evaluations help residents and mentors identify strengths, areas that need more practice, and learning opportunities for the next stage of training. Case reports show the clinical experience a resident has gained. Competency assessments address how the resident applies knowledge and skills in practice.
Understanding the competency ratings
The 2025 evaluation uses four rating levels: 1 — Needs Improvement, 2 — Developing, 3 — Competent, and 4 — Proficient. N/A applies when the evaluator has not been able to observe the behavior. Each competency has its own descriptions, which guide the selection of a rating. The overall-performance question uses a separate scale.
Quarterly evaluations are required throughout residency. The competency-rating section is required in quarters 2, 4, 6, and 8; mentors may also provide competency feedback in other quarters.
Turning feedback into learning opportunities
Written comments should describe the resident’s performance and identify specific areas for development. The mentor and resident discuss the quarterly evaluation and use that feedback to plan learning opportunities. The residency director or designated associate director also participates when the primary mentor holds neither role.
Residents document and discuss feedback about their rotations or learning experiences at least quarterly. The SMART Goals guide provides a practical way to turn these discussions into learning objectives that can be reviewed during training.
Preparing and Submitting Forms
Forms are available from Forms Tool in Tracker’s navigation menu. Before completing a form, residents and evaluators should confirm the reporting period and prepare any required supporting documents.
Preparing the Executive Report
The Evaluation of the Residency Program form requires an Executive Report attachment. The report must cover only the cases seen during the quarter being evaluated. For the final submission, this means only the cases seen during the final quarter, not the entire residency.
Preparing clinical-track activity documentation
Residents should review the clinical-track activity requirements before preparing their submission. The activity must be completed during the quarter, and the supporting form is due within 30 days after that quarter ends. Each type of clinical-track activity, such as a journal club presentation, may be completed no more than twice.
The resident submits the activity details and supporting material. The mentor’s confirmation of the activity does not replace this submission.
Supporting material must be combined into one file of no more than 10 MB. Presentations may be submitted as PDF or PPT/PPTX, and papers or essays as DOC/DOCX. Material not created by the resident, such as a journal-club manuscript, should be submitted as a PDF.
Resident forms
Residents select the required form from Forms Tool and complete the prompts for the appropriate activity or reporting period. The tutorial demonstrates how to submit forms and supporting documents.
Mentor and residency director forms
The resident must be assigned to the mentor or director completing the form. In Forms Tool, the evaluator selects the form and resident, then selects View Survey. The evaluator’s name and the resident’s name should be checked before completing the form.
Completing the final evaluation
The residency director or designated associate director completes the Final Evaluation of the Resident. The final discussion takes place during the resident’s last week at the site, with primary mentor participation if the director was not the primary mentor. The final-quarter quarterly evaluation does not replace the final evaluation.
A designated associate director needs director form access in Tracker, and the resident must request a mentor change to be assigned to that person before the form can be completed.
Confirming Receipt and Maintaining Records
Checking whether a form has been received
The Resident Status Report shows which required forms NCOPE has reviewed and recorded as received. Confirmation emails and Tracker’s form count acknowledge submissions. The Status Report is the place to check whether NCOPE has recorded them toward residency requirements.
Residents, mentors, and residency directors should check the Status Report and review the form-receipt criteria before following up. Allow at least two business days before contacting NCOPE about a submitted form. Review may take longer. If a qualifying form remains missing, the receipt guidance explains what information to provide for staff review.
Keeping copies of completed forms
Residents and residency directors must maintain independent progress records, including copies of submitted forms. When completing the Evaluation of the Mentor, the resident chooses whether the mentor receives a copy.
Once NCOPE staff mark a residency complete, the resident’s Tracker account is deactivated and all Tracker features, including forms, are no longer accessible. Residents and programs should save their records before completion.
Resolving Form Problems
Incorrect information on a submitted form
Submitted forms cannot be edited. A corrected version should be submitted through Tracker, followed by a notice to NCOPE staff identifying the original and corrected submissions. The correction instructions list the details needed to update the record.
Correcting a Submitted FormA resident is missing from a mentor’s or director’s Forms Tool
Tracker shows forms for residents assigned to the evaluator. The resident should check the assigned mentor and request a change when needed. Final evaluations also require the evaluator to have director form access.
Resident Assignment and Mentor ChangesAn expected form email has not arrived
The recipient should check the email address associated with the account, spam or junk folders, and any email quarantine. Delivery can take up to four hours because of email filtering and routing. For the Evaluation of the Mentor, the resident chooses whether a copy is sent to the mentor. The email troubleshooting guide explains the remaining checks, including when to involve the organization’s IT staff.
Troubleshooting Tracker EmailsCopies of completed forms have been lost
Residents and programs should first check their saved files and form emails. If copies cannot be located, the completed-form guidance explains how to request them and which identifying details NCOPE needs.
Requesting Copies of Completed FormsForms are unavailable
Resident access begins on the residency start date. Mentor and director access depends on the resident’s assignment. Accounts are also deactivated once NCOPE marks a residency complete. The account-access guidance covers other reasons access may be unavailable.
Tracker Account AccessTechnical problems with Tracker
For a software error, such as an error message or a feature that is not working, the Help menu inside Tracker provides the Submit A Ticket option for technical support.
Questions not answered by these resources
For questions not addressed by the NCOPE website, knowledge base, or FAQ, residents, mentors, and residency directors can email residency@ncope.org.