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
approved by the 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 changes must include the Course ID number.
(6) The training location shall be outside
the regular work place or after regular working hours.
(7) Each attendee of a continuing education
course shall have, or otherwise be provided with, a copy of the OUBCC's most
recently adopted edition of the National Electrical Code and revisions for use
during the duration of the course.
(8) Sixty (60) minutes constitutes one (1)
instructional hour.
(9) CE courses
shall be presented in one of the following formats:
(A) Six instructional hours presented on one
day
(B) Two sessions of three
instructional hours each presented within a seven day period
(C) An approved correspondence or online
course, or
(D) Another format
approved by the Committee.
(10) 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 Electrical License Unit
the original sign-in sheets.
(D)
Providers must maintain copies of all sign-in sheets for a period of two (2)
years following the conclusion of the course.
(11) 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.
(12) 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.
(c)
Submission of
application for course approval. Any organization desiring approval of a
course shall apply to the 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 provider 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,
lunch 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.
(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
evaluations 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 re-evaluate
and grant or revoke approval of an application or course.
(A) The Committee or its designee shall be
granted access to attend, observe and audit any continuing education course
approved by the Committee.
(B) 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.
(C) A provider's
failure to comply with 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.
(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
Electrical Examiners Committee for _____ hours of CE credit.
(e)
Correspondence or Online
course approval.
(1) Providers seeking
to offer correspondence or online courses for continuing education shall submit
a course curriculum and study material for review and approval by the
Committee, or its designee, 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.
Correspondence or online courses shall have sufficient explanation and or
graphics to expound the concepts and changes 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. Approved
correspondence and online 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 that shall
certify completion of an approved correspondence or online course.
(2) 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 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
help 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 19 Ok Reg 726, eff 1-22-02 (emergency); Added at
19 Ok Reg 1269, eff 5-28-02 ; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1859, eff 6-26-08 ; Amended
at 28 Ok Reg 2341, eff 8-25-11 ; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 773, eff 10-22-12
(emergency); Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1539, eff
7-11-13