SECTION 158:85-9-4. Continuing education

(a)   Continuing education required for endorsement renewal. No roofing contractor commercial endorsement shall be renewed unless the endorsee has completed at least four (4) hours of continuing education within thirty-six (36) months preceding the commercial endorsement expiration date; and thereafter, the endorsee shall complete four (4) hours every three (3) years or thirty-six (36) months preceding the commercial endorsement expiration date.

(b)   Continuing education course requirements.

(1)   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 emergency situations when written notice of the emergency is provided to the Committee within seven (7) days of the course. The continuing education material shall cover codes and revisions adopted by the Oklahoma Uniform Building Code Commission or other trade related subject matters appropriate for topics of continuing education for endorsees and approved by the Committee including manufacturers' installation of materials or equipment, the registration act, the trade rules and regulations, and other trade or safety related subject matters approved by the Committee.

(2)   Course content should be designed to update knowledge and improve roofing contracting knowledge and skills.

(3)   Credit will be given for CE courses approved by the Committee of Roofing Examiners, or its designee.

(4)   Except as provided herein, these rules shall apply to every registered roofing contractor commercial endorsement.

(5)   An endorsee is excluded from the education requirements of these rules for three (3) years from the date he or she passed their current endorsement exam.

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

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

(2)   Any written material that is distributed during the session shall be readable, of high quality and shall be made available to all attendees.

(3)   The program shall be presented in a comfortable location such as hotel/motel conference room, corporate meeting room, or regular classroom.

(4)   The training session shall be presented outside the regular workplace or after regular working hours. An onsite conference room, that meets standards imposed by (3) of this subsection, shall be considered outside the regular workplace.

(5)   A credit hour means at least 50 minutes of classroom instruction with a 10 minute break.

(6)   CE courses shall be presented in one of the following formats.

(A)   Four (4) credit hours presented in one day.

(B)   Two sessions of two credit hours each presented within a seven day period.

(C)   One session of two credit hours of trade related instruction, Roofing Contractor Registration Act and/or Roofing Contractor Industry Regulations.

(D)   An approved correspondence or online course.

(E)   Another format approved by the Committee.

(7)   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 current photo I.D. prior to the attendee signing the sign-in sheet form approved by the Construction Industries Board. Sign-in sheets shall include the name and registration number of each registrant in attendance.

(C)   As soon as practicable but in any event on or before seven (7) days following an approved continuing education program, the provider shall furnish the original sign-in sheets from the course to the Roofing Unit of the Construction Industries Board.

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

(8)   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.

(d)   Application procedures and requirements.

(1)   In order to receive continuing education credit, a course must be approved by the Committee.

(2)   A completed application form, with all supporting documentation, shall be submitted to the Construction Industries Board at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the Regular meeting of the Committee from which the applicant wants the course to be considered for approval, and at least thirty (30) days prior to the date for which the course is scheduled.

(3)   An application is to be submitted for each date, or dates, that constitute a single course.

(4)   Each course must be included on a separate application.

(5)   The application shall include the following information:

(A)   Name and address of the provider.

(B)   Contact person and his or her address, telephone number and fax number.

(C)   The location of the courses or program.

(D)   The number and type of education credit hours requested for each course.

(E)   Topic outlines listing the summarized topics covered in each course.

(F)   If a prior approved course has substantially changed, a summarization of these records.

(G)   The names and qualifications of each instructor who is qualified in accordance with this Chapter.

(H)   Information as to how the proposed course meets the standard in accordance with this Chapter.

(I)   Supporting documents which shall include the following:

(i)   A resume or brief summary of qualifications of all course developers and instructors.

(ii)   A course agenda designating the beginning and ending of actual instruction times, sign-in times, breaks, lunches and any evaluation time.

(iii)   A course curriculum indicating the subject or code areas to be taught with sufficient detail to determine which codes and codes revisions are to be addressed or the trade related instruction being provided and, if requested, a copy of any course materials.

(6)   Entities seeking to offer correspondence courses for continuing education must comply with the application procedures and requirements of this Subchapter and 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.

(7)   Providers seeking to offer online courses for continuing education must comply with the application procedures and requirements of this Subchapter and 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 four (4) 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 illicit 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. Approved online 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 that shall certify completion of an approved online course.

(8)   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.

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

(e)   Instructor requirements. An instructor must be qualified and approved by the Committee. An instructor should have one of the following qualifications:

(1)   Three (3) years of recent experience in the subject matter being taught, or

(2)   A degree related to the subject area being taught, and two (2) years of recent experience in the subject area being taught, or

(3)   Other educational, teaching, or professional qualifications determined by the Committee to constitute equivalent qualification to one or more of the qualifications in the previously stated sub-paragraphs of this paragraph.

(f)   Committee of Roofing Examiners acceptance.

(1)   The Committee, or its designee, will review each application for completeness of form and supporting documentation, as well as course content.

(2)   The approval of any course or instructor will be made by a majority vote of the Committee at the regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee of Roofing Examiners.

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

(4)   The applicant will be notified in writing whether the program is approved or disapproved, and the reason for disapproval.

(g)   Committee rejection and reevaluation of a course.

(1)   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 topic approved.

(D)   Inadequate experience of program developer or instructor.

(E)   Unsatisfactory evaluation of the course instructor or materials from previous classes.

(2)   The Committee may, at any time, re-evaluate and grant or revoke approval of application, course, or instructor.

(3)   The Committee may, at any time, review courses for quality of instruction. The Committee may also investigate complaints regarding approved courses. The Committee may then take appropriate action, up to and including revocation of authority to provide CE courses.

(4)   A provider's failure to comply with any continuing education rule 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 course work.

(5)   The Committee, or its designee, will notify the provider, in writing, of any changes in approval status.

(h)   Appeals.

(1)   Applicants denied approval of a course may appeal such a decision by submitting a written letter of appeal to the committee within fifteen days of the receipt of the notice.

(2)   All appeals will be heard by the Committee at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

(i)   Course presentation.

(1)   The course 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 minor alterations.

(2)   Changes including but not limited to location, date, instructors, or cancellations must be requested from the Committee, or its designee, in writing prior to start of class. All requests for change must include the course ID number.

(j)   Course advertisement.

(1)   All advertising must include the course ID 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 Committee of Roofing Examiners for "x" hours of CE credit.

(k)   Correspondence and online courses.

(1)   Applications, approvals and rejections, and appeals of all correspondence and online courses shall be the same as for classroom-based courses.

(2)   Correspondence courses shall be required to comply with all requirements of continuous education courses, except sign-in sheets.

(3)   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. Correspondence or online courses shall have sufficient explanation and or graphics to expound the concepts and changes being taught. The format of the online course shall be constructed so as to illicit 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.

(4)   Providers of an on-line course shall submit verification of four (4) hours of real time on-line instruction.

(5)   Course providers shall provide a student with a document of completion which certifies completion of approved correspondence course.

(6)   Applications shall be resubmitted annually, from date of approval, for review and approval.

(l)   Alternate credit accrual.

(1)   Credit may be earned through teaching an approved continuing education course. The Committee may award up to four (4) hours of CE credit, not to exceed the number of approved hours for that CE course.

(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 four (4) hours of CE credit for each semester of academic credit awarded by the academic institution for the course.

(m)   Exception to continuing education requirement. Continuing education is not required for roofing registration (residential work) only.

(n)   Course, instructor, and provider 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 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, denying future course or instructor approval, 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 and an admission of the allegations in the complaint.

(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 32 Ok Reg 436, eff 12-17-14 (emergency); Added at 32 Ok Reg 1657, eff 9-11-15; Amended at 34 Ok Reg 898, eff 10-1-17]