Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
(a)
Approval, denial, suspension and
revocation to provide a continuing education credit course.
(1)
Eligibility. To be
eligible to apply for approval to conduct a continuing education credit course,
the applicant shall be the Pennsylvania State University or other education
institution or entity. Out-of-State educational institutions or entities may
submit certification programs to the Department for approval. To obtain
approval, any training and educational program must, at a minimum, meet the
requirements established by section 3 of the act (3 P. S. §
2010.3).
(2)
Application content.
Persons developing and seeking approval of a continuing education credit course
shall submit an application, containing details of the course components and
topics, as well as, subject matter and topics and time allotted to each subject
or topic. The application must include the name of the person developing and
administering the course and a contact person. The application must state
whether the courses will be open to the public and if a fee will be charged.
The application must set forth which of the various levels of certification the
course provider intends to address and the overall length of the program and
credit hours sought to be approved. Subsequent to receiving the approval or
contingent approval of the Department, the course provider shall provide the
specific locations, the names of speakers and the proposed dates and times the
course will be offered at each location.
(3)
Submission of
application. The application shall be submitted to the Department of
Agriculture, Bureau of Plant Industry, 2301 North Cameron Street, Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania 17110-9408.
(4)
Department approval, disapproval or modification. An applicant
shall receive approval from the Department prior to offering or administering a
continuing education credit course. The Department will review and approve,
disapprove or modify a request for approval within 30 days of receipt of an
administratively complete application. An approval, denial or modification will
be in writing. A denial or modification request will state the specific reasons
for the denial or the specific modifications required and the reason for the
modifications. An application for continuing education credit course approval
shall be submitted to the Department and approved by the Department prior to
the applicant advertising the course or setting a date, place and time for the
course. Upon approval, the applicant may advertise the course and begin to take
applications for the course. The Department will publish the approved course on
the Department's website. The publication will include the course level, hours
of credits to be received and the date, time and place the course will be
offered.
(5)
Criteria for
approval. At a minimum, a continuing education credit course must
address the areas of competence in §
130e.11, §
130e.21, §
130e.31 or §
130e.41, required for the level of
certification the course provider intends to address.
(6)
Revocation of course or denial or
revocation of credit hours. The Department may revoke approval of a
continuing education credit course or deny or revoke credit hours, or both.
When the Department revokes approval of a course, the Department may also
notify the course provider it is ineligible to provide continuing education
credit courses for 12 months, or longer, from the date of the revocation. When
the Department revokes approval of a continuing education course, any credit
hours earned by a course attendee prior to the notice of revocation, will be
honored and will not be forfeited. The following are the grounds for revocation
of a course or denial or revocation of continuing education credits offered
through that course:
(i) The applicant or
approved continuing education credit course provider falsified or failed to
disclose required information on the application or falsified or failed to
disclose information with regard to course hours given or attended, type or
content of material presented, attendance records of certified commercial
manure brokers or haulers seeking continuing education credits or a violation
of other criteria required under this section.
(ii) The approved continuing education credit
course provider has failed to update materials and course content in a manner
necessary to keep the course current with updates in statutes, regulations,
technology or practices. In this situation, the Department will notify the
course provider, in writing, of deficiencies prior to issuing a revocation. The
course provider shall correct the deficiencies within 30 days. Failure to
correct the deficiencies will result in a revocation of the Department's
approval.
(iii) The course provider
has violated or assisted a person in violating a provision of the act or this
chapter.
(iv) The course provider
modifies the approved course, with regard to course content or hours of credit
offered, or modifies dates and times of courses offered without the approval of
the Department.
(b)
Course monitoring. If
the Department or its designee is unable to personally monitor a continuing
education credit course, the approved course provider shall be responsible for
verifying attendance, including credit hours actually attended, and shall
compile a list of the names of the individual certified commercial manure
brokers and commercial manure haulers in attendance and their certification
number. The list shall be compiled on a form provided by the Department. The
forms shall be returned to the Department within 10 working days following the
date the continuing education credit course was conducted.
This section cited in 7 Pa. Code §
130e.61 (relating to denial,
suspension and revocation of
certificates).