The National Online Training Curriculum for Randolph-Sheppard (R-S) Business Enterprise Program (BEP) Staff is designed to help orient new BEP staff members to the Randolph-Sheppard Program, although anyone, including blind entrepreneurs and vocational rehabilitation staff, is welcome to use the curriculum. The curriculum is composed of 16 individual modules, each covering an important aspect of the R-S program:

1. Active Participation - What It IS and What It Isn't
2. Assistive Technology and Its Potential for Blind Entrepreneurs
3. Basic Business Principles and the Randolph-Sheppard Enterprise
4. Funding the State
5. Healthier Food Options
6. Human Resources and the Blind Entrepreneur
7. Introduction to Blindness and Low Vision
8. Marketing and Customer Service
9. Marketing the Randolph-Sheppard Program to Outside Parties
10. Micro Markets
11. Partnering with the Private Sector: Expanding Opportunities for Blind Entrepreneurs
12. Social Security Disability and the Randolph-Sheppard Entrepreneur
13. The Randolph-Sheppard Act: What the Business Consultant Needs to Know
14. The Role of the Business Consultant
15. The Vocational Rehabilitation Program and How It Intersects with the Randolph-Sheppard Program
16. Working with Blind Entrepreneurs with Hearing Loss

Course Objectives:

1. Have a better understanding of active participation and the requirements under the law.
2. Learn what active participation is and what it is not.
3. Learn how to use active participation to build a stronger BEP.

An overall certificate of completion is generated when a student successfully completes and passes (with a score of 80% or greater) all 16 module quizzes. No continuing education credits are offered for modules in this section

The following are recommended screen reader and browser combinations.

Mac: Voiceover with the latest version of Safari,

PC: JAWS or NVDA with Firefox

Note that currently, course quizzes are not functioning properly for Microsoft screen reader users with Chrome or Edge.

The course shows a start date, but this is simply the date the course was made available to the public. They are self-paced. So, there is not an end date. You can enroll at any time.

This course was developed by the National Research & Training Center on Blindness and Low Vision (NRTC) at Mississippi State University. We are the only national center funded to conduct research related to employment for people with blindness or low vision, and training and technical assistance for the federal Older Individuals who are Blind program. As a national center of excellence, we offer resources on a variety of topics for service providers, businesses, and persons with vision loss on our websites:

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