Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 18, September 16, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule is being amended to provide more
clarification on acceptable hours of professional development for the renewal
of a professional engineer's license.
(1) Purpose.
(A) Renewal of an engineering license issued
pursuant to section
327.261,
RSMo, may only be granted to a licensee who has successfully completed thirty
(30) professional development hours, as defined by this regulation, within the
two (2) immediately-preceding years (renewal period). Any licensee who
completes more than thirty (30) professional development hours within the
preceding two (2) calendar years may apply the excess, not to exceed fifteen
(15) hours, to the requirement for the next two- (2-) year period.
(B) Continuing professional competency
(continuing education) is a requirement for every professional engineer
licensed by the board, regardless of age, area of practice, or whether the
licensee lives in-state or out-of-state pursuant to section
327.271,
RSMo.
(C) Continuing professional
competency obtained by a licensee should maintain, improve, or expand skills
and knowledge obtained for initial licensure or develop skills and knowledge
relevant to the practice of professional engineering.
(D) If the licensee served honorably on
full-time active duty in the military, the licensee may renew his/her license
without completing the PDH requirement for the renewal period during which the
licensee served.
(E) A professional
engineer who holds licensure in Missouri for less than twelve (12) months from
the date of his/her initial licensure need not report professional development
hours at the first license renewal.
(2) Definitions.
(A) Board. The Missouri Board for Architects,
Professional Engineers, Professional Land Surveyors, and Professional Landscape
Architects.
(B) Continuing
education unit (CEU). Unit customarily used for continuing education courses.
One (1) CEU equals ten (10) nominal contact hours of class in an approved
continuing education course.
(C)
Professional development hour (PDH). One (1) nominal contact hour of
instruction or presentation. The common denominator for other units of
credit.
(D) Professional
engineering division. The four- (4-) member division of the board that concerns
itself with the profession of engineering.
(E) Sponsor. An individual, organization,
association, institution, or other entity that provides an educational activity
for the purpose of fulfilling the professional development requirements of the
board.
The sponsor is responsible for providing the attendees with
verification records.
(3) Activities. All such activities must be
relevant to the practice of engineering and may include technical, ethical, or
managerial content. Professional development activities satisfying these
requirements include, but are not limited to:
(A) Successfully completing college or
university courses;
(B)
Successfully completing courses that are awarded CEU(s);
(C) Active participation and successful
completion of seminars, tutorials, workshops, short courses, correspondence
courses, televised or videotaped courses, or in-house corporate sponsored
educational courses. A correspondence course must require the participant to
show evidence of achievement with a final graded test;
(D) Attending program presentations at
related technical or professional meetings. PDHs are awarded only for those
portions of the meeting that meet the requirements of this rule. Licensees
serving as an officer or actively participating in a committee of the technical
professional society or organization may earn a maximum of two (2) PDHs
annually per organization. PDH credits are not earned until the end of each
year of service is completed;
(E)
Contact hours spent in professional service to the public that draws upon the
licensee's professional expertise on boards or commissions, such as: serving on
planning commissions, park boards, city council, county commissions, or state
registration boards may earn a maximum of two (2) PDHs annually per
organization. PDH credits are not earned until the end of each year of service
is completed;
(F) Teaching or instructing (see subsections
(3)(A)-(D)). College or university faculty may not claim credit for teaching
regular curriculum courses; and
(G) Authoring papers
or articles that appear in nationally circulated technical journals or trade
magazines.
(4) Criteria.
Professional development activities must meet the following criteria:
(A) There is a clear purpose and objective
for each activity that will maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge
obtained prior to initial licensure or develop new and relevant skills and
knowledge;
(B) The content of each
presentation is well organized and presented in a sequential manner;
(C) There is evidence of preplanning that
should include the opportunity for input by the target group to be
served;
(D) The presentation will
be made by persons who are well qualified by education and experience;
and
(E) There is a provision for
individual participant registration that will include information required for
record keeping and reporting.
(5) Units. The conversion to PDHs from other
units is as follows:
(A) One (1) semester
hour of college credit 30 PDH;
(B)
One-quarter (1/4) hour of college credit 20 PDH;
(C) One (1) CEU 10 PDH; and
(D) One (1) nominal contact hour of
acceptable professional development education 1 PDH.
(6) Credits. PDHs of credit for qualifying
courses successfully completed that offer semester hour, quarter hour, or CEU
credit is as specified in this rule. All other activities permit the earning of
one (1) PDH of credit for each contact hour with the following exceptions:
(A) Auditing or "hearing" of university or
college courses permit PDH credit of one-third (1/3) as shown in section
(5);
(B) Teaching or instructing
qualifying courses or seminars or making presentations at technical meetings or
conventions earn PDH credit at twice that of participants;
(C) Five (5) PDHs are earned for a paper or
article that is published in a nationally circulated technical journal or trade
magazine. Credit cannot be claimed until that article or paper is actually
published. PDHs earned for authoring a paper or article are limited to ten (10)
PDHs per two- (2-) year renewal period;
(D) A one- (1-) time award of ten (10) PDHs
will be granted for obtaining a work-related patent within the renewal period;
and
(E) Notwithstanding the
provisions above, PDHs will only be awarded for the first occurrence of
attending or teaching a qualifying course or seminar per every two- (2-) year
renewal period.
(7)
Reciprocity. PDHs may be acquired at locations other than Missouri, so long as
the content meets the requirements of this regulation.
(8) Forms. All renewal applications will
require the completion of a continuing education form specified and supplied by
the board. The licensee must certify and sign the form and submit it with the
renewal application and fee.
(9)
Records. The responsibility of maintaining records that can be used to support
credits claimed is the responsibility of the licensee. Records required
include, but are not limited to:
1) a log
showing the type of activity claimed, sponsoring organization, location,
duration, instructor's or speaker's name, and PDH credits earned; and
2) attendance verification records
in the form of completion certificates which identify the participant by name,
signed attendance receipts, a copy of a listing of attendees signed by a person
in responsible charge, or other documents supporting evidence of attendance.
These records must be maintained for a period of four (4) years and copies must
be furnished to the board for audit verification purposes if requested. If
these records get lost or destroyed the licensee must inform the board, in
writing, within thirty (30) days. At its discretion, the board may randomly
audit a portion of licensees each renewal period or a specific licensee if a
complaint has been filed against the licensee.
(10) Disallowance. If audited, the board will
review all claimed PDH credits for compliance with the regulation. If in the
review the board finds that the PDH credit is not acceptable, the board shall
inform the licensee of the criteria that has not been adhered to. The licensee
may, within three (3) months from the license renewal date, substantiate the
original claim or earn other credits to meet the minimum
requirements.
*Original authority: 327.031, RSMo 1969, amended 1981,
1986, 1988, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2010; 327.041, RSMo 1969, amended 1981, 1986,
1989, 1993, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2010; and 327.261, RSMo 1969, amended 1981, 1989,
1999.
