Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
The continuing education required as a condition for license
renewal under the Architecture Practice Act is set forth in this Section. All
architects shall meet these requirements.
a) Beginning with the November 30, 2004
renewal (for the period from December 1, 2002 through November 30, 2004) and
every renewal thereafter, in addition to other requirements, an architect must
have acquired continuing education for each 24-month period since the
architect's last renewal of licensure, or be exempt from the continuing
education requirements, as provided in subsection (h). Failure to comply with
these requirements may result in non-renewal of the architect's license or
other disciplinary action, or both.
1)
Beginning with the November 30, 2020 renewal and every renewal thereafter, the
total CE hours required shall include one hour of Sexual Harassment Prevention
Training which shall meet the requirements of Section
1130.400 of the Civil
Administrative Code. (See Section 2105-15.5 of the Department of Professional
Regulation Law of the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois [20 ILCS 2105]. A
licensee that completed a course on sexual harassment prevention developed or
offered by the Illinois Department of Human Rights, the licensee's employer, or
an acceptable provider listed within this Section, may count that course toward
the one-hour requirement under this Section.
2) Beginning with the November 30, 2024,
renewal, and every renewal thereafter, the total continuing education hours
under the Health, Safety, and Welfare (HSW) category shall include a minimum of
one hour of programs, courses, or activities related to design practices that
reflect improved understanding of high winds or natural disasters.
b) Renewal Period: Within any
24-month biennial renewal period during which 24 contact hours must be
acquired, at least 16 contact hours must be public protection subjects, which
are relevant to safeguarding public health, safety and welfare, and acquired in
structured educational activities. A maximum of 8 contact hours may be in
related practice subjects acquired either in structured educational activities
or individually planned educational activities. Hours acquired in any 24-month
period may not be carried over to a subsequent 24-month period. Continuing
education hours need not be acquired within this jurisdiction but may be
acquired at any location.
c)
Restored Licensees: In addition to other requirements as set forth in Sections
16 and 17 of the Act and Sections
1150.65 and
1150.70 of this Part, a licensee
who has placed their license on inactive status or has allowed a license to
lapse for reasons other than active duty in the military service of the United
States, as set forth in Section 16 of the Act, and desires to have the license
restored shall evidence completion of all continuing education hours that would
have been required in order to maintain the license in an active status, not to
exceed 24 contact hours.
d)
Reporting and Record Keeping
1) Each renewal
applicant shall certify, on the renewal application, to full compliance with
the continuing education requirements set forth in this Section.
2) For auditing or restoration purposes, it
is the responsibility of each renewal applicant to retain or otherwise produce
evidence of compliance. The evidence shall be retained for at least 6 years
following the renewal period for which the continuing education was taken. The
evidence may include, but not be limited to the following:
A) Certificate of attendance;
B) Signed attendance receipts;
C) Sponsor's list of attendees (signed by a
person in responsible charge of the activity);
D) Records showing activity claimed,
sponsoring organization, location, duration, etc.;
E) A log of learning that may consist of
diaries, summary of activities, photographs, public or organization records,
receipts, etc.; or
F) Transcripts
or records of continuing education credits maintained by an acceptable provider
of continuing education as defined by subsection (f).
3) The Division may conduct random audits to
verify compliance with continuing education requirements.
4) If the Division disallows any continuing
education hours, unless the Division finds, following notice and hearing, that
the licensee willfully disregarded these requirements, then the licensee shall
have 6 months from notice of the disallowance to make up the deficiency by
acquiring the required number of contact hours. Those contact hours shall not
be used again for the next renewal.
5) When it is determined by the Division that
the licensee has willfully disregarded these requirements, the licensee may be
subject to discipline as set forth in Section 22 of the Act.
e) Acceptable Activities
1) The following types of activities may
qualify to fulfill the requirement for a minimum of 16 contact hours to be
acquired in structured educational activities (all 24 hours may be acquired in
these activities):
A) Contact hours in
attendance at short courses or seminars, dealing with architectural subjects
and sponsored by colleges or universities.
B) Contact hours in attendance at
presentations on architectural subjects that are held in conjunction with
meetings, conferences or conventions of architect professional organizations
recognized by the Division to the extent that contact hours are credited only
to that portion of the meeting, conference or convention that comprises the
educational program.
C) Contact
hours in attendance at short courses or seminars, relating to professional
practice or new technology and offered by colleges, universities, professional
organizations or system suppliers.
D) Teaching or instructing an architectural
course, seminar, lecture, presentation or workshop shall constitute 3 contact
hours for each hour spent in the actual presentation. Teaching credit shall be
valid for the initial presentation only. Teaching credit shall not apply to
faculty teaching regularly scheduled curriculum courses at a college,
university or other educational institution.
E) Contact hours spent in architectural
research that is published or is formally presented to the profession or
public.
F) Successfully completing
structured architectural self-study courses, presented by correspondence,
internet, television, video or audio, ending with examination or other
verification processes. The contact hours acquired for this activity shall be
as recommended by the program sponsor.
G) College or university credit courses
dealing with architectural subjects or business practice. Each semester hour
shall equal 15 contact hours. A quarter hour shall equal 10 contact
hours.
H) Contact hours spent in
educational tours of architecturally significant projects, when the tour is
sponsored by a college, university or professional organization.
I) Authoring published papers, articles or
books. A maximum of 12 contact hours may be acquired in this
activity.
2) The
following types of activities may qualify for the maximum of 8 contact hours
allowed to be acquired in individually planned educational activities that are
self-directed:
A) Contact hours spent in
professional service to the public that draws upon the licensee's professional
expertise on boards and commissions, such as: serving on planning commissions,
building code advisory boards, urban renewal boards, code study committees or
regulatory boards.
B) Contact hours
for serving as a mentor or supervisor for the AXP required to satisfy the
diversified professional training requirements pursuant to Section
1150.10. This service to an
intern, or interns, shall be consistent with the responsibilities set forth in
the current edition of the NCARB AXP Guidelines for an intern's mentor and
supervisor.
C) Contact hours spent
in planned activities, such as business and practice efficiency, business
development, personal improvement, new skills and general education related to
the practice of architecture.
D)
Contact hours spent in unstructured self-study tours of architecturally
significant projects when there is a clear objective to maintain and strengthen
competency in a design or technical field.
E) Actively participating on an architectural
board, in a technical or professional society or organization shall be the
equivalent of 2 contact hours. Contact hours shall be limited to 2 per
organization and shall not be acquired until the completion of each year of
service.
3) The content
of public protection subjects acceptable for purposes of continuing education
under subsection (e)(1) shall be limited to:
A) Codes, statutes and administrative
regulations governing the practice of architecture.
B) Environmental issues.
C) Professional ethics.
D) State licensing law.
E) Design proficiency.
F) Interface with other design disciplines
(e.g., planners, consultants, specialists and financiers) other than through
normal day-to-day contact.
G) Legal
aspects of contracts, documents, insurance, bonds, project administration,
etc.
H) Specialization in
preservation, adaptive reuse or building types.
I) Construction documents and
services.
J) Materials and
methods.
K) Mechanical, plumbing,
electrical and life safety.
L)
Structural technology.
M) Energy
efficiency.
N) Project
Administration.
O) Accessibility
issues.
P) New
technical/professional skills.
f) Acceptable providers for structured
educational activities shall include, but not be limited to:
1) American Institute of Architects
(AIA).
2) National Council of
Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB).
3) Construction Specifications Institute
(CSI).
4) Association of Licensed
Architects (ALA).
5) Colleges,
universities or other educational institutions.
6) Other technical or professional societies
or organizations.
g) The
Division will not pre-approve individual courses or programs.
h) Exemptions: A licensee may be exempt from
the foregoing continuing education requirements if one of the following
situations occurs. If an exemption is claimed, it is required that the renewal
fee and any documentation needed to support the exemption be submitted for
renewal of a license.
1) A licensee shall not
be required to report continuing education hours during the first biennial
renewal period in which the licensee obtained initial licensure in Illinois but
shall be subject to the continuing education requirements for all subsequent
biennial renewal periods.
2) A
licensee who is on full-time active duty in the military service of the United
States, or is a licensee who is called to temporary active duty in the military
service or Armed Forces of the United States for a period of time exceeding 120
consecutive days during the renewal period, when that activity or location
restricts participation in a continuing education program.
3) A licensee who demonstrates to the
satisfaction of the Division that meeting these requirements would be an undue
hardship by reason of disability, illness, or other clearly mitigating
circumstances shall submit supporting documentation.
A) The documentation shall be in the form of
a sworn statement by the licensee, statement from a licensed healthcare
provider, or medical record showing the disability, illness, or circumstance
preventing the licensee's participation in the continuing education program
during a substantial part of the renewal period.
B) If the Division finds from the evidence
that good cause has been shown for non-compliance, the Division may waive
enforcement, extend the time within which the applicant shall comply, or
establish a particular program or schedule of continuing education for the
renewal period in which the undue hardship existed.
C) Consecutive waiver requests made for
reasons of disability, illness, or other circumstances may be prima facie
evidence for non-renewal of applicant's license based on an inability to
actively engage in licensed practice.
i) Definitions
1) "Contact Hour" means one 60-minute clock
hour of an educational activity with no less than 50 minutes of instructional
content within the hour. Credit shall be granted in half-hour increments. A
qualifying activity of 30 to 49 minutes would be reported as 0.5 contact hours
and an activity of 50 to 60 minutes would be reported as 1.0 contact
hour.
2) "Individually Planned
Educational Activities" means educational activities in which the teaching
methodology primarily consists of the architect himself or herself addressing
public protection subjects or related practice subjects that are not
systematically presented by others, including the study of such related
subjects, rendering service to the public and advancing the profession's and
public's understanding of the practice of architecture.
3) "Structured Educational Activities" means
educational activities in which the teaching methodology consists primarily of
the systematic presentation of public protection subjects by qualified
individuals or organizations, including monographs, course of study taught in
person or by correspondence, organized lectures, presentations or workshops and
other means through which identifiable technical and professional subjects are
presented in a planned manner. To qualify as a Structured Educational Activity,
continuing education credit shall be awarded by the sponsor upon completion of
the activity.
j) There
is no restriction on the amount of continuing education that can be completed
through on-line or self-administered courses, provided that the courses meet
the requirements of this Section.
