SECTION 158:30-9-4. Continuing Education

(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 including correspondence and online courses approved by the Plumbing Examiners 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 change must include the Course ID number.

(6)   The training location shall be outside the regular work place or after regular working hours.

(7)   A credit hour is at least fifty (50) minutes of instruction with a ten (10) minute break.

(8)   CE courses shall be presented in one of the following formats:

(A)   Six (6) credit hours presented on one (1) day

(B)   Two sessions of three (3) credit hours each presented within a seven (7) day period

(C)   One (1) session of two (2) credit hours for the purposes of presenting a manufacturers' installation course,

(D)   An approved correspondence or online course, or

(E)   Another format approved by the Committee.

(9)   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 Plumbing License Unit the original sign-in sheets from the course.

(D)   Providers must maintain copies of all sign-in sheets for a period of two (2) years following the conclusion of the course.

(10)   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.

(c)   Any organization desiring approval of a course shall apply to the Plumbing Examiners 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 organization 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, lunches and evaluation 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 or the product for which the installation education is being provided.

(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 assessments 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 reconsider and grant or revoke approval of an application or course.

(A)   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.

(B)   A provider's failure to comply with the provisions of 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.

(5)   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.

(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 Plumbing Examiners Committee for _____ hours of CE credit.

(e)   Correspondence or online course approval.

(1)   Entities seeking to offer correspondence courses for continuing education shall submit a course curriculum and study material for review and approval by the Committee prior to the courses being offered as continuing education. Approved correspondence 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 which certifies completion of approved correspondence courses.

(2)   Providers seeking to offer online courses for continuing education shall submit a course curriculum and study material for review and approval by the Committee 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. Providers of an on-line course shall submit verification of six (6) hours of real time on-line instruction. Correspondence or online courses shall have sufficient explanation and or graphics to expound the concepts 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. Providers shall provide a student with a document of completion that shall certify completion of an approved online course.

(3)   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 the 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 held 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.

[Source: Added at 21 Ok Reg 491, eff 11-14-03 (emergency); Added at 21 Ok Reg 761, eff 4-26-04; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1856, eff 6-26-08; Amended at 26 Ok Reg 2451, eff 7-11-09; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 771, eff 10-22-12 (emergency); Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1533, eff 7-11-13; Editor’s Notice published at 30 Ok Reg 2095, eff 7-11-13; Amended at 31 Ok Reg 899, eff 9-12-14; Amended at 32 Ok Reg 1616, eff 9-11-15; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 873, eff 10-1-17; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 1406, eff 10-1-19]