SECTION 158:60-5-5. Continuing education

(a)   Continuing education requirements:

(1)   No license shall be renewed unless the licensee has completed at least six (6) hours of continuing education within twelve (12) months preceding the application for renewal.

(2)   Credit will only be given for continuing education programs approved by the Committee.

(3)   A licensee is exempt from the continuing education requirements of this Chapter for one (1) year from the date he or she passed their current licensing exam.

(b)   Application procedures for continuing education course approval. Any provider or instructor which desires to sponsor education to licensees in compliance with the continuing education requirements of OAC 158:60-5-4 shall file an application for approval on the form prescribed by the Committee, or its designee 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. The application shall include a list of the course instructors and their qualifications, an agenda detailing the material to be presented, the location of the training, the program objectives, and the number of credit hours of classroom and supervised instruction. Licensees shall not receive continuing education credit for attending classes that are not approved by the Committee. Within seven (7) days of the completion of the course, the provider or instructor shall submit the original sign-in sheets for all sessions to the Inspector Examiners Unit of the Construction Industries Board. The sign-in sheets shall include the signature and state inspector license number of each person in attendance. The provider or instructor shall verify the total number of continuing education hours completed by each attendee. All programs shall be presented as submitted and approved, including lunch and breaks shown on the approved agenda, unless changes have been approved. Changes to the program shall be submitted to the Committee, or its designee, within ten (10) days of the training session for review by the Committee. Failure to obtain approval of changes may result in loss of CEU approval.

(c)   Standards for continuing education. The following standards will govern the approval of continuing education programs by the Inspector Examiners Committee:

(1)   The program provider shall submit evidence that the provider and instructional staff are qualified by reason of education, experience or training.

(2)   All material and information presented shall pertain to the discipline in which the person is licensed.

(3)   All courses must be of at least two (2) credit hours in length.

(4)   The training location must be outside the regular work place or after hours.

(5)   Correspondence or online course approval standards:

(A)   Providers or instructors 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. 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. 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.

(B)   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.

(C)   Applications for correspondence or online courses shall be resubmitted annually, from date of approval, for review and approval.

(6)   Along with a course application, a video presentation may be submitted for course material and instructor approval by the Committee if the video presentation is closely related to the subject matter of the course and meets the following:

(A)   All video presentations must be submitted in electronic format at least thirty (30) days in advance of the Committee meeting reviewing the course application, except for manufacturer's videos generally accepted in the industry covering accepted industry practices or standards. If the electronic format does not allow forwarding by email, then seven (7) copies of a portable storage format are required.

(B)   Video segments shall be no more than thirty (30) minutes, followed by a discussion and no more than fifty percent (50%) of the total course time.

(C)   The required copies of each individual video presentation training segment must be submitted with the CEU class approval request for review and approval by the Committee of the course material and instructor. However, if the video is a manufacturer's video, the Committee is not required to approve of the instructor in the video as long as the video course material and video presentation is approved by the Committee.

(D)   An approved instructor will be present during the viewing of any video and will monitor the class for questions. Prior to any video presentation, class participants shall be instructed to raise their hand if they have a question or comment during the video presentation. When a class participant has a question or comment during the video presentation, the instructor must be able to stop or pause the video to accommodate live interactive discussion.

(E)   Audio and video equipment shall be arranged in advance or otherwise provided to assure that class participants are able to see and hear all portions of any video presentation. In the case of audio or video failure, the time of the video presentation may be presented by the approved instructor over subject matter previously approved for that instructor.

(d)   Course Advertisement.

(1)   All advertising must include the course ID number.

(2)   The provider of an approved continuing education program may announce or indicate as follows: Course #____ has been approved by the Construction Industries Board Inspector Examiners Committee for ___ hours of CE credit.

(e)   Approval Limitations.

(1)   The Committee's designee may approve additional course dates and locations after the course has been approved by Committee vote. Substantive change to course content must be brought before the Committee.

(2)   Approval of all courses, including correspondence and online courses, is rescinded upon the adoption of a different statewide code by OUBCC, and a new application showing updates of new code is necessary.

(3)   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 evaluations of the course, instructor, or materials from previous classes.

(4)   If an application is refused or disapproved, written notice detailing the basis of the decision shall be provided to the applicant.

(5)   The Committee may at an time re-evaluate and grant or revoke approval of an application or course.

(A)   The Committee or its designee shall be granted access to attend, observe and audit any continuing education course approved by the Committee.

(B)   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.

(C)   A provider's failure to comply with 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.

(6)   The applicant will be notified in writing by mail whether the program is approved or disapproved.

(f)   Alternate Credit accrual:

(1)   Credit may be earned through teaching in an approved continuing education class in the license category for which the renewal application is submitted. 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 an approved course in an accredited vocational school or a Building and Construction Inspector-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 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 the rules, 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 a statute or rule. 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 rule.

(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 including but not limited to all parts of this subsection.

[Source: Added at 19 Ok Reg 738, eff 1-22-02 (emergency); Added at 19 Ok Reg 1283, eff 5-28-02; Amended at 23 Ok Reg 1219, eff 5-25-06; Amended at 30 Ok Reg 1552, eff 7-11-13; Amended at 31 Ok Reg 930, eff 9-12-14; Added at 32 Ok Reg 1646, eff 9-11-15; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 892, eff 10-1-17; Amended at 36 Ok Reg 1420, eff 10-1-19; Amended at 37 Ok Reg 1065, eff 10-1-20]