Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Continuing education requirements.
(1) No contractor or journeyman license shall
be renewed unless the licensee has completed at least six (6) hours of
continuing education ("CE") every three (3) years or thirty-six (36) months
preceding the license expiration date. The continuing education course and
instructor shall be approved in advance by the Committee. Exceptions to advance
approval, or post-course approval, may be allowed by the Committee, or its
designee, for substitute instructors in emergency situations when written
notice of the emergency is provided to the Committee or its designee within
seven (7) days of the course. The continuing education material shall cover
codes and revisions adopted by the OUBCC and/or other trade related subject
matters appropriate for topics of continuing education for licensees and
approved by the Committee including: examination materials, manufacturers'
installation of equipment or parts, the licensing Act, the trade regulations as
set forth in this Chapter as well as the rules of the Construction Industries
Board in OAC 158:10, and other trade or safety related subject matters approved
by the Committee.
(2) If a license
expires before the licensee completes the CE requirement, any CE that is
completed while the license is expired will be applied to the CE requirement
for the thirty-six (36) months preceding the date the license expired. Six (6)
hours of CE will still have to be completed in order to meet the CE requirement
for the subsequent thirty-six (36) month period.
(3) Credit will be given for CE programs
including correspondence and online courses approved by the Plumbing Examiners
Committee or its designee.
(4)
Except as provided herein this Section shall apply to every journeyman or
contractor licensed by the Construction Industries Board.
(5) A licensee is exempt from the educational
requirements of this Section for three (3) years from the date he or she passed
their current licensing exam.
(b) The following standards will govern the
approval of continuing education programs by the Committee.
(1) The program must be offered by a provider
having substantial, recent experience in offering continuing education or
demonstrated ability to organize and present effectively continuing education.
Demonstrated ability arises partly from the extent to which individuals with
trade training or educational experience are involved in the planning,
instruction and supervision of the program.
(2) If written materials are provided, the
materials must be thorough, high quality, readable, and must be made available
to all participants at or before the time the course is presented.
(3) The program must be conducted in a
comfortable physical setting which is conducive to learning.
(4) The program itself must be conducted by
an individual or group qualified by practical or academic experience. The
program including the named advertised participants must be conducted
substantially as approved, including lunch and breaks shown on the approved
agenda, subject to emergency withdrawals and alterations.
(5) Changes including but not limited to
location, date, instructors, or cancellations must be requested from the
Committee or its designee in writing prior to the start of class. All requests
for change must include the Course ID number.
(6) The training location shall be outside
the regular work place or after regular working hours.
(7) A credit hour is at least fifty (50)
minutes of instruction with a ten (10) minute break.
(8) CE courses shall be presented in one of
the following formats:
(A) Six (6) credit
hours presented on one (1) day
(B)
Two sessions of three (3) credit hours each presented within a seven (7) day
period
(C) One (1) session of two
(2) credit hours for the purposes of presenting a manufacturers' installation
course,
(D) An approved
correspondence or online course, or
(E) Another format approved by the
Committee.
(9)
Verification of Credit.
(A) The Course
Provider shall verify the total number of continuing education hours completed
by each attendee.
(B) Continuing
education providers shall require attendees to present a photo I.D. prior to
the attendee signing the sign-in sheet provided by the Construction Industries
Board. Sign-in sheets shall include the name and license number of each
licensee in attendance.
(C) As soon
as practicable but in any event on or before seven (7) days following an
approved education program, the provider shall furnish to the Plumbing License
Unit the original sign-in sheets from the course.
(D) Providers must maintain copies of all
sign-in sheets for a period of two (2) years following the conclusion of the
course.
(10) Course
providers or instructors may not advertise or promote the sale of any goods,
products or services between the opening and closing of any Continuing
Education Course.
(c) Any
organization desiring approval of a course shall apply to the Plumbing
Examiners Committee by submitting an application on a form to be obtained from
the Construction Industries Board and supporting documentation at least fifteen
(15) days prior to the date of the Regular meeting of the Committee from which
the organization wants the course to be considered for approval, and at least
thirty (30) days prior to the date for which the course is scheduled. An
application is to be submitted for each date or set of dates that constitute a
single class. Each class must be included on a separate application. The
Committee or its designee will review each application for completeness of form
and supporting documentation as well as course content. The applicant will be
notified in writing by mail whether the program is approved or disapproved.
Applicants denied approval of a course may appeal such a decision by submitting
a letter of appeal to the Committee within fifteen (15) days of the receipt of
the notice of disapproval. All appeals will be heard by the Committee at its
next regularly scheduled meeting.
(1)
Supporting documentation includes:
(A)
resumes or a brief summary of qualifications for all instructors providing
instruction for the class,
(B) a
class agenda designating beginning and ending of actual instructional times,
sign-in times, breaks, lunches and evaluation time, and
(C) A class curriculum indicating the subject
or code areas to be taught with sufficient detail to determine which code
revisions are to be addressed or the product for which the installation
education is being provided.
(2) The Committee or its designee may refuse
to accept any application for approval if the supporting documentation is
insufficient or incomplete. The Committee may deny or revoke approval of an
application for any of the following reasons:
(A) Failure to comply with the continuing
education provisions;
(B)
Inadequate application or supporting documentation;
(C) Failure to instruct on the topic
approved, or
(D) Unsatisfactory
assessments of the course, instructor, or materials from previous classes.
(3) If an application is
refused or disapproved, written notice detailing the basis of the decision
shall be provided to the applicant.
(4) The Committee may at any time reconsider
and grant or revoke approval of an application or course.
(A) The Committee may at any time review
courses for quality in instruction. The Committee shall also investigate and
take appropriate action, up to and including revocation of authority to provide
CE, regarding complaints involving approved courses.
(B) A provider's failure to comply with the
provisions of this Section constitutes grounds for disciplinary action, up to
and including revocation of authority to provide CE, against the provider or
for denial of future applications for coursework.
(5) Approval of any course, including a
correspondence or online course, is rescinded upon the adoption of a different
statewide code and a new application showing updated course subject matter and
materials is necessary in order to obtain updated course approval.
(d)
Course
advertisement.
(1) All advertising
must include the course identification number.
(2) Approved program courses may be
advertised.
(3) The provider of an
approved continuing education program may announce or indicate as follows:
Course #________ has been approved by the Construction Industries Board
Plumbing Examiners Committee for _____ hours of CE credit.
(e)
Correspondence or online course
approval.
(1) Entities seeking to
offer correspondence courses for continuing education shall submit a course
curriculum and study material for review and approval by the Committee prior to
the courses being offered as continuing education. Approved correspondence
courses shall be required to comply with all requirements for other continuing
education courses except for sign-in sheets. Providers shall provide a student
with a document of completion which certifies completion of approved
correspondence courses.
(2)
Providers seeking to offer online courses for continuing education shall submit
a course curriculum and study material for review and approval by the Committee
prior to the courses being offered as continuing education. An access code and
password shall be provided to the Committee, or its designee, for an online
course for the purpose of review and approval. Providers of an on-line course
shall submit verification of six (6) hours of real time on-line instruction.
Correspondence or online courses shall have sufficient explanation and or
graphics to expound the concepts being taught. The format of the online course
shall be constructed so as to elicit interaction between the student and the
material presented. Each page of text shall be designed with a question that
must be answered before advancing to the next page or a test at the end of a
subject matter before the course is considered complete. Providers shall
provide a student with a document of completion that shall certify completion
of an approved online course.
(3)
Applications for correspondence or online courses shall be resubmitted
annually, from date of approval, for review and approval.
(f)
Alternate Credit accrual.
(1) Credit may be earned through teaching in
an approved continuing education class. The Committee may award up to six (6)
hours of CE credit not to exceed the number of approved hours for that CE
class.
(2) Credit may also be
earned through teaching a course in an accredited trade school or a
trade-specific program approved by the Committee. The Committee may award up to
six (6) hours of CE credit for each semester of academic credit awarded by the
academic institution for the course.
(3) Credit may also be earned through
participating as a designate of a technical committee appointed by the OUBCC to
review and recommend adoption of building codes. The Committee may award up to
six (6) hours of continuing education for completing a code review as designee
in the code listed as the standard for the license held and upon completion of
the code review receiving a certificate of completion from the OUBCC. A copy of
the certificate will be required to be provided to CIB to receive continuing
education credits.
(g)
Complaint procedure.
(1) A
person, government, or private organization may submit a written complaint to
the Committee, or its designee, charging a provider of continuing education
with a violation of this Section, and specifying the grounds for the
complaint.
(2) Complaints must be
in writing and include contact information, and shall be filed on the proper
complaint form prescribed by the Construction Industries Board, or its
designee.
(3) The Committee may
consider an unsigned or anonymous complaint for further
investigation.
(4) Upon receipt of
a signed complaint form, a copy shall be sent to the continuing education
provider addressed in the complaint. The continuing education provider shall
provide a written response within fifteen (15) days. Upon receipt of the
continuing education provider's written response, both complaint and response
shall be considered by the Committee, or its designee, for appropriate action
including dismissal of the complaint, further investigation, or a finding of
violation of the Act or this Chapter. The Committee, or its designee, shall
notify both complainant and continuing education provider of the determination
made by the Committee. Failure of the continuing education provider to respond
will be considered as a violation of this Section.
(5) If a reasonable cause violation
determination is made by the Committee, the Oklahoma Administrative Procedure
Act shall be followed for all disciplinary proceedings
undertaken.
Added at 21 Ok Reg 491, eff 11-14-03 (emergency); Added
at 21 Ok Reg 761, eff 4-26-04 ; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1856, eff 6-26-08 ;
Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2451, eff 7-11-09 ; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 771, eff 10-22-12
(emergency); Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1533, eff
7-11-13