Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) For
the purposes of this Section, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Approved Subject Areas--The following are
the Approved Subject Areas for qualifying continuing education:
(A) Construction and Evaluation--Areas
related to construction contract administration and post-occupancy evaluation
of projects. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Construction
Contract Administration; Bidding and Negotiation; Post Occupancy Evaluation
(POE); and Building Commissioning.
(B) Practice Management--areas related to the
management of architectural practice and the details of running a business.
Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Applicable Laws and
Regulations; Ethics; Insurance to Protect Owner and Public; Business
Management; Risk Management; Information Management; Design for Community
Needs; and Supervisor Training.
(C) Programming and Analysis--Areas related
to the evaluation of project requirements, constraints, and opportunities.
Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Land-Use Analysis;
Programming; Site Selection; Historic Preservation; Adaptive Reuse; Codes,
Regulations, and Standards; Natural Resources; Environmental Impact and
Ecosystem Risk Assessment; Hazardous Materials; Resilience to Natural and Human
Impacts; Life Safety; and Feasibility Studies.
(D) Project Development and
Documentation--Areas related to the integration and documentation of building
systems, material selection, and material assemblies into a project. Acceptable
topics include, but are not limited to: Construction Documents; Materials and
Assemblies; and Fixtures, Furnishings, & Equipment.
(E) Project Management--areas related to the
management of architectural projects through execution. Acceptable topics
include, but are not limited to: Project Delivery Methods; Contract
Negotiation; Pre-Design Services; Site and Soils Analysis; Consultant
Management; Project Scheduling; Quality Control (QA/QC); Economic Assessment;
and Value Engineering.
(F) Project
Planning and Design--areas related to the preliminary design of sites and
buildings. Acceptable topics include, but are not limited to: Building Systems;
Urban Planning; Master Planning; Building Design; Site Design; Safety and
Security Measures; Impacts, Adaptation and Mitigation of a Changing Climate;
Energy Efficiency and Positive Energy Design; Sustainability; Indoor Air
Quality; Ergonomics; Lighting; Acoustics; Accessibility; Construction Systems;
and Budget Development.
(2) Health, Safety, or Welfare--Those aspects
of professional practice that improve the physical, emotional, and social
well-being of occupants, users, and any others affected by buildings and sites;
those aspects of professional practice that protect occupants, users, and any
others affected by buildings or sites from harm; and those aspects of
professional practice that enable equitable access, elevate the human
experience, encourage social interaction, and benefit the environment.
(3) Structured Course
Study--Courses of study relevant to the Practice of Architecture, taught or
otherwise provided by qualified individuals or organizations, delivered by
direct, in-person contact or through distance learning methods, the completion
of which results in the issuance of a certificate or other record of attendance
to the Architect by the provider.
(4) Self-Directed Study--Time spent by an
Architect developing knowledge and skills relevant to the Practice of
Architecture that does not qualify as Structured Course Study.
(b) During each calendar year
between January 1 and December 31, an Architect shall complete a minimum of 12
qualifying continuing education program hours (CEPH) according to the
requirements of this section. Each hour of continuing education applied to this
requirement shall directly relate to Health, Safety, or Welfare.
(c) Of the 12 qualifying CEPH, each Architect
shall complete a minimum of one CEPH relating to Barrier-Free Design and one
CEPH relating to Sustainable or Energy-Efficient Design.
(d) Of the 12 qualifying CEPH, each Architect
shall complete a minimum of eight CEPH in Structured Course Study.
(1) Each hour of Structured Course Study
shall address one or more Approved Subject Areas and at least 45 minutes of
every hour of CEPH shall directly relate to Health, Safety, or Welfare.
(2) Examples of Structured Course
Study include the following:
(A) Attendance
at continuing education courses dealing with technical architectural subjects
related to the Architect's profession, ethical business practices, or new
technology.
(B) The completion of
college or university credit courses addressing architectural subjects, ethical
business practices or new technology. Each semester or quarter credit hour
shall equal one CEPH.
(e) Of the 12 qualifying CEPH, each Architect
may claim a maximum of four hours of Self-Directed Study. Examples of
Self-Directed Study may include the following:
(1) Reading written material or reviewing
audio, video, or digital media that develops knowledge and skills relevant to
the Practice of Architecture but does not qualify as Structured Course Study;
(2) Time spent in architectural
research for publication or formal presentation to the profession or public;
(3) Time spent in professional
service to the general public that draws upon the Architect's professional
expertise, such as serving on planning commissions, building code advisory
boards, urban renewal boards, code study committees, or educational outreach
activities;
(4) Time spent
preparing to teach or teaching architectural courses. An Architect may not
claim credit for preparing for or teaching the same course more than once; and
(5) One CEPH may be claimed for
attendance at one full-day session of a meeting of the Texas Board of
Architectural Examiners.
(f) An Architect may be exempt from
continuing education requirements for any of the following reasons:
(1) An Architect shall be exempt upon initial
registration and upon reinstatement of registration through December 31st of
the calendar year of his/her initial or reinstated registration;
(2) An inactive or emeritus Architect shall
be exempt during any calendar year in which the Architect's registration is in
inactive or emeritus status, but all continuing education credits for each
period of inactive or emeritus registration shall be completed before the
Architect's registration may be returned to active status;
(3) An Architect who is not a full-time
member of the Armed Forces shall be exempt for any calendar year during which
the Architect serves on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States
for a period of time exceeding 90 consecutive days;
(4) An Architect who has an active
architectural registration in another jurisdiction shall be exempt from
mandatory continuing education program requirements in Texas for any calendar
year during which the Architect satisfies the other jurisdiction's continuing
education program requirements, provided that the other jurisdiction's
continuing education requirements are substantially equivalent to Texas
requirements. Notwithstanding this exemption, the Architect shall complete one
CEPH relating to Barrier-Free Design and one CEPH relating to Sustainable or
Energy-Efficient Design; or
(5) An
Architect who is, as of September 1, 1999, a full-time faculty member or other
permanent employee of an institution of higher education, as defined in §
61.003, Education
Code, and who in such position is engaged in teaching architecture.
(g) An Architect shall maintain a
detailed record of the Architect's continuing education activities, including
all course completion certificates documenting completion of Structured Course
Study and a record of Self-Directed Study including a date and description of
the claimed activity, for a period of five years after the end of the calendar
year for which credit is claimed.
(h) When renewing his/her annual
registration, an Architect shall complete an attestation regarding the
Architect's compliance with minimum continuing education requirements. An
Architect may attest to compliance and shall be considered compliant with
continuing education requirements if:
(1) The
Architect fulfilled minimum continuing education program requirements during
the immediately preceding calendar year according to the requirements of this
Section; or
(2) The Architect
failed to fulfill minimum continuing education program hours during the
immediately preceding calendar year, but prior to renewing his/her registration
in the current calendar year, the Architect:
(A) Completed sufficient qualifying CEPH to
correct any deficiency for the prior calendar year (which will be applied to
the previous calendar year and cannot be applied to the current calendar year
requirement); and
(B) Completed 12
hours of qualifying CEPH to be applied to the current calendar year
requirement.
(i) Upon written request, the Board may
require an Architect to produce documentation to prove that the Architect has
complied with the minimum continuing education program requirements.
(1) Board staff will review an Architect's
response to such a request to determine whether the Architect is in compliance
with this Section.
(2) If an
Architect fails to provide acceptable documentation of compliance within 30
days of a request, the Architect will be presumed to have not complied with
minimum continuing education requirements.
(3) The Board has final authority to
determine whether to award or deny credit claimed by an Architect for
continuing education activities.
(j) Violations of continuing education
requirements and administrative penalties:
(1) Falsely attesting to compliance with
minimum continuing education requirements shall be subject to an administrative
penalty in the amount of $500;
(2)
Failure to timely complete minimum continuing education requirements shall be
subject to an administrative penalty in the amount of $100 for every hour of
deficiency per calendar year;
(3)
Failure to maintain a detailed record of continuing education activities shall
be subject to an administrative penalty of $100 for every hour of claimed
continuing education for which an Architect is unable to provide proof of
compliance; and
(4) Failure to
timely respond to or comply with a continuing education audit or verification
shall be subject to an administrative penalty of $250 per failure.
(k) The administrative penalties
identified in subsection (j) of this section are considered appropriate for a
first-time violation of continuing education requirements. If an Architect was
previously found to have violated the Board's continuing education requirements
in a warning or Order of the Board, the Board may increase the penalty up to a
factor of two for a second or subsequent violation, in addition to
consideration of suspension or revocation of registration under §1.232 of
the Board's rules.
(l) The
administrative penalties identified in subsection (j) of this section are to be
applied to each individual violation of the Board's continuing education
requirements. If an Architect has committed multiple violations, the Architect
shall be subject to a separate administrative penalty for each violation.
(m) If an Architect is registered
to practice more than one of the professions regulated by the Board and the
Architect completes a continuing education activity that is directly related to
more than one of those professions, the Architect may submit that activity for
credit for all of the professions to which it relates. The Architect must
maintain a separate detailed record of continuing education activities for each
profession.
(n) An Architect may
receive credit for up to 24 CEPH earned during any single calendar year. A
maximum of 12 CEPH that is completed in excess of the continuing education
requirements for a calendar year may be carried forward to satisfy the
continuing education requirements for the next calendar year.
(o) As the term is defined in §1.29(a)
of the Board's rules, a military service member is entitled to two years of
additional time to complete any CEPH requirements.
