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The State of PA now requires continuing Education classes to be licensed in the state. Our classes meet the requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions about Continuing Education Requirements for Engineers Licensed in Pennsylvania
Many questions are being asked about Pennsylvania’s continuing education requirements for professional engineers, land surveyors and geologists. Following is a list of frequently asked questions with answers that attempt to frame the issue.
Q. When will Professional Development Hours be required to renew my license?
A. Licensees will be required to have met the requirement for 24 Professional Development Hours (PDH) when license renewal occurs on September 30, 2011. PDH earned from October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2011 will qualify.
As this requirement only became effective on May 12, 2010, (Act 25 of 2010) the Registration Board will grant a 6 month grace period to licensees with a shortage of PDH as of September 30, 2011. During that grace period, the licensee must acquire the missing PDH. If hours earned under the grace period are applied retroactively to satisfy the 2009-11 requirements, they may not then be applied to the 2011-13 window.
Q. When can I start taking courses and collecting PDH?
A. PDH earned between October 1, 2009 and September 30, 2011 will qualify for the requirement during the current licensing cycle.
Q. What courses will qualify?
A. It is relatively safe to say that any course that relates to a licensee's professional practice will qualify. Courses on marketing, office management, general business courses or practice building are specifically excluded and will not qualify. In other words, the licensee is responsible to take courses that relate to his or her respective engineering practice. In the event that a course is questionable, the Registration Board has final authority. Courses in ethics and law do qualify.
Q. Can I get a list of approved courses?
A. There is no process that allows for preapproval of courses or providers in Pennsylvania so no pre-approved course list exists. The Board is given authority to pre-approve providers but it has not chosen to do so at this time.
Any provider offering “Pennsylvania preapproved” courses for engineers should be viewed skeptically. (New York State DOES require courses to be pre-approved. PSPE is an approved evaluator for NY courses.)
Q. Can the Pennsylvania State Registration Board challenge my determination that a course relates to my professional practice?
A. Yes. The Registration Board makes the final determination of whether or not a course qualifies.
Q. Will membership or holding an office in my technical society count?
A. No
Q. Will I get credit for teaching a course?
A. Yes. Teaching a course qualifies for double the PDH value of taking the course. Those PDH can only be earned the first time the course is taught. Full time faculty may not use teaching credit for courses taught at their employing institutions.
Q. Do the courses have to be college level?
A. No
Q. If I hold more than one type of license issued by the Registration Board, must I take separate courses for each (e.g. 24 PDHs for engineering and an additional 24 PDHs for land surveying)?
A. As long as a course relates to your professional practice in both fields, the PDH may apply to both license renewals.
Q. What documentation must I have to prove to the Board that I met the continuing education requirement?
A. Licensees will be required to keep proof of completion of continuing education for 5 years.