Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
The professional development (PD) required as a condition for
license renewal under the Illinois Professional Land Surveyor Act is set forth
in this Section. All land surveyors shall meet these requirements.
a) Professional Development Hours
Requirements
1) Beginning with the November
30, 2006, renewal and every renewal thereafter, in order to renew a license as
a land surveyor, a licensee shall be required to complete 20 professional
development hours (PDHs) relevant to the practice of land surveying or be
exempt from the professional development requirements as provided in subsection
(h). All 20 PDHs may be earned through online programs or courses. Failure to
comply with these requirements may result in non-renewal of the land surveyor's
license or other disciplinary action, or both. The professional development
hours shall be in the following categories:
A)
A minimum of 4 hours of programs, courses or activities in the area of State of
Illinois statutes and rules that regulate professional land surveyors and
surveys.
B) A minimum of 2 hours of
programs, courses or activities in the area of professional conduct.
C) A minimum of 14 hours of programs, courses
or activities in the area of land surveying or related sciences.
2) Beginning with the November 30,
2020 renewal and every renewal thereafter, the total professional development
hours shall include 1 hour of sexual harassment prevention training which shall
meet the requirements of Section
1130.400 of the Civil
Administrative Code. A licensee completing a course on sexual harassment
prevention developed or offered by the Illinois Department of Human Rights
[775 ILCS
5 ], the licensee's employer or an acceptable provider
listed within this Section, may count that course toward the 1-hour requirement
under this Section.
3) A
pre-renewal period is the 24 months preceding November of each even-numbered
year.
4) One professional
development hour shall equal 50 minutes of instruction or participation. If a
program is taken that awards continuing education units (CEU) rather than
professional development hours, one continuing education unit equals 10
professional development hours of class in an approved continuing education
course.
5) Land surveyors licensed
in Illinois but residing and practicing in other states shall comply with the
PDH requirements set forth in this Section.
6) Professional development units used to
satisfy the PDH requirements of another jurisdiction may be applied to fulfill
the PDH requirements of the State of Illinois if they are substantially
equivalent.
b)
Professional development activities shall include, but not be limited to:
1) Successful completion of a college or
university course in the area of land surveying, related sciences and surveying
ethics. One semester credit hour of course work is equivalent to 15 PDHs and
one quarter credit hour of course work is equivalent to 10 PDHs;
2) Successful completion of land surveying
courses or programs offering professional development hours, including those
offered online. Credit will be given for self-study courses only if an
examination has been completed by the licensee and graded by the
sponsor;
3) Active participation
and successful completion of land surveying programs, seminars, tutorials,
workshops, short courses or in-house courses;
4) Attending program presentations at related
technical or professional meetings;
5) Teaching or Instructing. Teaching or
instructing a land surveying course, seminar, lecture, presentation or workshop
shall constitute 3 PDH 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;
6) Authoring papers or articles that appear
in nationally circulated journals or trade magazines. Credit is earned in the
biennium of publication. A maximum of 5 PDHs per renewal are allowed for this
activity.
7) Active participation
on a professional land surveyor board, committee or holding an office in a
professional or technical society.
A) Two PDHs
will be awarded per committee membership or office held.
B) A maximum of 8 PDHs may be accepted per
pre-renewal period.
c) All programs or courses shall:
1) Contribute to the advancement, extension
and enhancement of the professional skills and scientific knowledge of the
licensee in the practice of land surveying;
2) Foster the enhancement of general or
specialized practices and values of land surveying;
3) Be developed and presented by persons with
education and/or experience in the subject matter of the program; and
4) Specify the course objectives and course
content.
d) Auditing or
Restoration
1) It shall be the responsibility
of a licensee to maintain a record of PDHs for 6 years that includes one of the
following:
A) Documentation consisting of the
following items:
i) The name and address of
the sponsor or provider;
ii) A
brief statement of the subject matter, printed program schedules, registration
receipts or other proof of participation;
iii) Certificate of attendance;
iv) The number of PDHs attended in each
program; and
v) The date and place
of the program; or
B)
Transcripts or records of professional development hours maintained by an
acceptable provider as set forth in subsection (e).
2) A log of activities by itself shall not be
accepted as meeting the requirements of this subsection.
e) Acceptable providers for structured
educational activities shall include, but not be limited to:
1) Illinois Professional Land Surveyor
Association;
2) National Council of
Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES);
3) National Society of Professional Land
Surveyors;
4) American Society of
Civil Engineers (ASCE);
5)
Colleges, universities or other educational institutions;
6) Technical or professional societies or
organizations relating to professional land surveying.
f) The Division shall not pre-approve
individual courses or programs.
g)
Certification of Compliance with PD Requirements
1) Each renewal applicant shall certify, on
the renewal application, full compliance with the professional development
requirements set forth in this Section.
2) The Division may require additional
evidence demonstrating compliance with the PD requirements (e.g., certificate
of attendance). This additional evidence shall be required in the context of
the Division's random audit. It is the responsibility of each renewal applicant
to retain or otherwise produce evidence of compliance.
3) When there appears to be a lack of
compliance with PD requirements, an applicant shall be notified in writing and
may request an interview with the Board. At that time the Board may recommend
that steps be taken to begin formal disciplinary proceedings as required by
Section 10-65 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act [5 ILCS
100 ].
4)
The Division may conduct random audits to verify compliance with professional
development requirements.
h) Waiver of PDH Requirements: A licensee may
be exempt from the foregoing professional development 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. Waiver requests must be made before the end
of the renewal period. Waiver requests sent after the end of the renewal period
shall not be considered.
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 physician, 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 inability to actively
engage in licensed practice.
4) Any renewal applicant who, prior to the
expiration date of the license, submits a request for a waiver, in whole or in
part, pursuant to the provisions of this Section, shall be deemed to be in good
standing until the final decision on the application is made by the
Division.