Current through Reg. 49, No. 38; September 20, 2024
(a) Each license
holder shall meet the Continuing Education Program (CEP) requirements for
professional development as a condition for license renewal.
(b) Terms used in this section are defined as
follows:
(1) Professional Development Hour
(PDH)--A contact hour (clock hour) of CEP activity. PDH is the basic unit for
CEP reporting.
(2) Continuing
Education Unit (CEU)--Unit of credit customarily used for continuing education
courses. One continuing education unit equals 10 hours of class in an approved
continuing education course.
(3)
College/Unit Semester/Quarter Hour--Credit for course in ABET-approved program
or other related college course.
(4) Course/Activity--Any qualifying course or
activity with a clear purpose and objective which will maintain, improve, or
expand the skills and knowledge relevant to the license holder's field of
practice.
(5) Self-directed
study--Time spent engaging in professional development that is not otherwise
identified in this rule. (Examples include, but are not limited to:
reading/reviewing trade magazines or books, watching tutorials, and viewing
other online content.)
(c) Every license holder is required to
obtain 15 PDH units during the renewal period year.
(d) A minimum of 1 PDH per renewal period
must be in the area of professional ethics, roles and responsibilities of
professional engineering, or review of the Texas Engineering Practice Act and
Board Rules. PDH units carried forward may not be counted to meet the
professional ethics requirement.
(e) If a license holder exceeds the annual
requirement in any renewal period, a maximum of 14 PDH units may be carried
forward into the subsequent renewal period. Professional Development Hours must
not be anticipated and cannot be used for more than one renewal
period.
(f) PDH units may be earned
as follows:
(1) Successful completion or
auditing of college credit courses.
(2) Successful completion of continuing
education courses, either offered by a professional or trade organization,
university or college, or offered in-house by a corporation, other business
entity, professional or technical societies, associations, agencies, or
organizations, or other group.
(3)
Successful completion of correspondence, on-line, televised, videotaped, and
other short courses/tutorials.
(4)
Presenting or attending seminars, in-house courses, workshops, or professional
or technical presentations made at meetings, conventions, or conferences
sponsored by a corporation, other business entity, professional or technical
societies, associations, agencies, or organizations, or other group.
(5) Teaching or instructing as listed in
paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection.
(6) Authoring published papers, articles,
books, or accepted licensing examination items.
(7) Active participation in professional or
technical societies, associations, agencies, or organizations, through:
(A) Serving as an elected or appointed
official;
(B) Serving on a
committee of the organization; or
(C) Serving in other official
positions.
(8) Patents
issued.
(9) Engaging in
self-directed study.
(10) Active
participation in educational outreach activities, including activities that
build awareness or skills regarding engineering, that involve K-12 or higher
educationstudents.
(11) A passing
score on the NCEES Principles and Practice of Engineering examination in
accordance with §
133.73
of this title (relating to Examination Results and
Analysis).
(g) To receive
PDH units, all activities described in subsection (f) of this section must be
relevant to the practice of engineering and may include educational, technical,
ethical, or managerial content.
(h)
The conversion of other units of credit to PDH units is as follows:
(1) 1 College or unit semester hour--15
PDH.
(2) 1 College or unit quarter
hour--10 PDH.
(3) 1 Continuing
Education Unit--10 PDH.
(4) 1 Hour
of professional development in course work, seminars, or professional or
technical presentations made at meetings, conventions, or conferences--1
PDH.
(5) 1 Hour of professional
development through self-directed study--1 PDH (Not to exceed 5 PDH).
(6) Each published paper, article, or
book--10 PDH.
(7) Active
participation in professional or technical society, association, agency, or
organization--1 PDH (Not to exceed 5 PDH per organization).
(8) Active participation in educational
outreach activities--1 PDH (Not to exceed 3 PDH).
(9) Each patent issued--15 PDH.
(10) Other activities shall be credited at 1
PDH for each hour of participation in the activity.
(11) A passing score on the NCEES Principles
and Practice of Engineering examination in accordance with §
133.73
of this title - 14 PDH.
(i) Determination of Credit.
(1) The board shall be the final authority
with respect to whether a course or activity meets the requirements of these
rules.
(2) The board shall not
pre-approve or endorse any CEP activities. It is the responsibility of each
license holder to assure that all PDH credits claimed meet CEP
requirements.
(3) Credit for
college or community college approved courses will be based upon course credit
established by the college.
(4)
Credit for seminars and workshops will be based on one PDH unit for each hour
of attendance. Attendance at programs presented at professional and/or
technical society meetings will earn PDH units for the actual time of each
program.
(5) Credit for
self-directed study will be based on one PDH unit for each hour of study and is
not to exceed 5 PDH per renewal period. Credit determination for self-directed
study is the responsibility of the license holder and subject to review as
required by the board.
(6) Credit
determination for activities described in subsection (h)(4) of this section is
the responsibility of the license holder and subject to review as required by
the board.
(7) Credit for activity
described in subsection (h)(7) of this section requires that a license holder
serve as an officer of the organization, actively participate in a committee of
the organization, or serve in other official positions. PDH credits are not
earned until the end of each year of service is completed.
(8) Teaching credit is valid for teaching a
course or seminar for the first time only.
(j) The license holder is responsible for
maintaining records to be used to support credits claimed. 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 or other documents supporting evidence of
attendance.
(k) The
license holder must certify that CEP requirements have been satisfied for that
renewal year with the renewal application and fee.
(l) CEP records for each license holder must
be maintained for a period of three years by the license holder.
(m) CEP records for each license holder are
subject to audit by the board or its authorized representative.
(1) Copies must be furnished, if requested,
to the board or its authorized representative for audit verification
purposes.
(2) If upon auditing a
license holder, the board finds that the activities cited do not fall within
the bounds of educational, technical, ethical, or professional management
activities related to the practice of engineering; the board may require the
license holder to acquire additional PDH as needed to fulfill the minimum CEP
requirements.
(n) A
license holder may be exempt from the professional development educational
requirements for one of the following reasons listed in paragraphs (1) - (4) of
this subsection:
(1) New license holders shall
be exempt for their first renewal period if the NCEES Principles and Practice
of Engineering exam was taken within 12 months of the license issuance
date.
(2) A license holder serving
on active duty and deployed outside the United States, its possessions and
territories, in or for the military service of the United States for a period
of time exceeding one hundred twenty (120) consecutive days in a year shall be
exempt from obtaining the professional development hours required during that
year.
(3) License holders
experiencing physical disability, illness, or other extenuating circumstances
as reviewed and approved by the board may be exempt. Supporting documentation
must be furnished to the board.
(4)
License holders who list their status as "Inactive" and who further certify
that they are not providing professional engineering services in Texas shall be
exempt from the professional development hours required.
(5) Exemptions must be claimed at the time of
renewal.
(o) A license
holder may bring an inactive license to active status by obtaining all
delinquent PDH units and submitting copies of CEP records demonstrating
compliance to the board or its authorized representative for verification
purposes. If the total number required to become current exceeds 30 units, then
30 units shall be the maximum number required, and hours acquired must be
within the two years prior to reactivation.
(p) Noncompliance:
(1) If a license holder does not certify that
CEP requirements have been met for a renewal period, the license shall be
considered expired and subject to late fees and penalties.
(2) Failure to comply with CEP reporting
requirements as listed in this section is a violation of board rules and shall
be subject to sanctions.
(3) A
determination by audit that CEP requirements have been falsely reported shall
be considered to be misconduct and will subject the license holder to
disciplinary action.
(4) If found
to be noncompliant, the board may require additional audits of the license
holder.
