| (a) The department shall evaluate continuing education
programs and assign the number of qualified category units. No more
than one (1) unit will be assigned for any fifty (50) minutes of actual
instruction time. Each course must be approved annually by the department.
A course's content may be approved for a maximum of two (2) years.
After two years, any previously approved course content must be updated
to reflect changes in current laws, data and/or scientific research
in order to requalify for approval for continuing education credit.
The department will consider the learning objectives, technical information
given, the accuracy of the information, the relevance of the information
to structural pest control, the qualifications of the instructor as
determined by the provider, and the amount of actual training or self-study
time devoted to each program in the process of evaluation. Each continuing
education program, including self-study courses submitted for approval,
must contain the following:
(1) a copy of handout materials, if any, which will
be available to participants;
(2) inclusive length of time of the course stated in
hours and minutes;
(3) date, time, physical address, and city of presentation;
or if unknown, agreement to provide two (2) weeks' notice of each
date of presentation;
(4) the number of CEUs to be awarded;
(5) the category(ies) of CEU eligibility;
(6) a detailed course outline which will indicate the
scope of the course and learning objectives;
(7) videotapes, slides, compact discs, DVDs, download
links, or other media presentations, if applicable;
(8) examination for electronic, online, or self-study
courses, if applicable;
(9) the course provider's name, physical address, telephone
number, e-mail (if available), and company, organization, or institution
of higher learning affiliation; and
(10) additional information, as requested.
(b) Parts of courses which focus on promotion of products
and/or policies or procedures of a company will not be considered
as part of approved instruction time.
(c) Courses provided via webinar with a speaker presenting
live and able to answer questions from attendees will be consider
an in-person course. Applicants must mark their CEU applications to
indicate the course will be given via webinar. Applicants must provide
a link to join the webinar along with the course number to the department
at least 72 hours prior to the webinar.
(d) A self-study course is limited to one (1) CEU in
the general training or a specific category. A course may be approved
as a self-study if it meets the following additional criteria:
(1) the course taker must take an examination designed
to verify the course taker's knowledge of the material provided in
the course. The course provider must grade the examination and keep
records for a minimum of two (2) calendar years after the calendar
year in which the course was given; and
(2) the course taker's grade on the examination must
be at least 70% correct to obtain credit for the course.
(e) The minimum requirements to qualify as a speaker,
course presenter, self-study course provider (collectively referred
to as 'speaker') are:
(1) a degree from a recognized institution of higher
learning which pertains to the course being taught;
(2) five (5) years' experience as an applicator certified
by the department with a current license in the category to be taught;
(3) verifiable proof of training and teaching experience
within the preceding three (3) years; or
(4) a combination of education, work related training,
and teaching experience which would be equivalent to two (2) of the
three (3) speaker qualification requirements, as determined by the
department.
(f) Any person seeking approval of a continuing education
course must submit the required information at least thirty (30) days
prior to the first day of presentation or first offering of a self-study
course. Any changes to approved courses must be submitted to the department
thirty (30) days prior to the date of presentation. The department
may waive this requirement due to extenuating circumstances.
(g) The department shall evaluate and recommend credits
within thirty (30) days from the date received.
(h) At its discretion, the department may re-evaluate
its approval of a course or speaker under the provisions this section.
(i) A certified applicator may request CEU credit by
submitting the information required in subsections (a)(2), (a)(4)
- (6), and (a)(9) of this section, and verification of attendance
for any course attended by the certified applicator which was not
previously approved by the department. The department will evaluate
the request and notify the certified applicator of any CEUs awarded.
(j) The course provider is responsible for establishing
procedures for:
(1) verification of completion, including accurately
recording participant attendance throughout the stated class length;
(2) awarding course completion certificates;
(3) testing to verify a participant's comprehension
of the subject matter presented;
(4) the qualifications, competence, and performance
of the authors, speakers, presenters, or instructors who produce or
present its courses; and
(5) preparation and administration of a self-study
course examination.
(k) If the course provided is required to make an unexpected
change to an approved CEU course to include but not limited to the
approved speaker, location, time, or date of course, the course provider
must notify the department by email within 24 hours of the change.
(l) If an approved CEU course needs to be cancelled
for any reason, the course provider must notify the department by
email within seven (7) days of cancellation.
(m) The course provider must issue a certificate of
completion within twenty-one (21) days of the course to each applicator
completing the course. This document must include at a minimum the
following information:
(1) participant's name and license number;
(2) name of course provider or sponsoring agency, company
or organization;
(3) course number;
(4) number of CEUs awarded;
(5) CEU category; and
(6) date and location of training or date of completion
for self-study course.
(n) The course provider must maintain course completion
records for two (2) calendar years after the calendar year in which
the course(s) were given and a list of participants must be forwarded
to the department within twenty-one (21) days of completion of the
training course on the electronic form prescribed by the department.
The list must include the name of the course provider, course title
and course number, number of CEUs awarded, speaker name, name and
license number of participants.
(o) For purposes of this section, a continuing education
course is defined as specific instruction in a category presented
by any one (1) course provider, company, or organization.
(p) The department may monitor course providers, speakers,
or course presentations, and is exempt from any fee charged for attending
a CEU if department employees are monitoring the program as a part
of the duties of their employment.
(q) Course providers who falsify information on course
certificates provided to participants are subject to penalties, including
and up to denial of department approval for future courses.
|
