(1) Credit Hours. Credit accrues at a rate of one hour for each hour of actual contact. This shall be known as a contact hour or clock hour. Tour or field session activities will receive credit based on actual instruction time. For providers who measure continuing education activities in "Continuing Education Units" (CEU), one CEU is defined as 10 contact hours of continuing education. Credit will not be allowed for any program which in its entirety, including question and answer periods, lasts less than thirty minutes. However, credit may be rounded down to the nearest half hour, so long as it is at least one-half hour. Credit will not be given for time spent in introductory remarks, coffee and luncheon breaks, meals, travel time for tour or field session activities or business meetings where no organized course work is presented.
(2) The Board recognizes two types of continuing education activities:
(a) Live Programs: Live programs may include educational workshops, seminars, conferences, lectures, live videoconferences or telephone broadcasts, field trips, or similar functions that involves real-time interactions with instructors and other participants in the program; and
(b) Self-Study Programs: Self-study programs may include reading professional periodicals or trade journals, correspondence courses and other distance learning through various media. Credit for text-based self study is awarded at the rate of one contact hour for 10,800 words of text, for peer reviewed publications multiply number of hours by 1.5. Credit for audiovisual self-study is awarded at the rate of one hour for each hour of material, the same as for live programs.
(3) Categories. The Board recognizes continuing forestry education categories in accordance with those of the Society of American Foresters.
(a) Category 1. Live or self-study programs in forestry or forestry related subject matter including but not limited to silviculture, mensuration, forest pest management, wildlife habitat management, urban forestry, forest policy, sustainable forest management and accreditation standards, forest investment analysis, or professional ethics. Category 1 programs must satisfy all of the following conditions:
1. It constitutes an organized program of learning (including a meeting, workshop or symposium) which contributes directly to the professional competency of foresters.
2. It deals primarily with matter directly related to the practice of forestry or to the professional responsibility or ethical obligations of foresters.
3. It is conducted by foresters or individuals who have special education, training and experience by reason of which they can be considered experts in the subject matter of the program.
4. It is conducted in a setting physically suitable to the educational objectives.
5. The subject matter is applicable to foresters in general. (Activities may be approved where attendance is limited to the members of a particular company, firm, or governmental agency but only if the subject matter is broad enough to be of interest to foresters in general.)
(b) Category 2. Live or self-study programs not specifically forestry or forestry-related but which are professionally enriching or directly benefiting the individual in his or her present position. Examples include general sessions of forestry or other professional meetings or course work in areas such as real estate, public speaking, business management, or computer science.
(c) Category 3. Professional development and volunteer activities. Category 3 activities may include professional or civic activities undertaken outside of normal job responsibilities, and are related to forestry or land use and promote the profession of forestry. Examples include participation on state or local planning boards, participation on committees that are related to forestry, or publication of original forest related article.
O.C.G.A. Secs. 12-6-47, 12-6-56, 43-1-25, 43-19-11.
