CPC Guidelines
(From the NCEES publication LICENSURE EXCHANGE, December 2009, ISSN NO. 1093-541X, VOLUME 13, ISSUE 6 – PAGE 10)
BY WILLIAM R. (RICK) HUETT
ASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INVESTIGATOR
ALABAMA STATE BOARD OF LICENSURE FOR
PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS AND SURVEYORS
NCEES encourages uniformity in CPC guidelines
As an increasing number of licensing boards implement Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) requirements, the importance of uniformity among the jurisdictions becomes more urgent.
If each jurisdiction has a variation of the rule, then licensees who practice in multiple states must keep track of the details for each jurisdiction in order to renew their licenses. Add to this the fact that renewal periods vary across jurisdictions — some are annual, others biennial, with some states rotating renewal periods according to last name, etc. — and CPC requirements become a burdensome chore for multistate licensees.
NCEES endorses establishing uniform CPC requirements for licensees and encourages boards to follow the NCEES Model Rules and Continuing Professional Competency Guidelines. Doing so would protect the public while making the renewal process less complicated.
NCEES also encourages boards to audit a percentage of CPC reporting forms to verify that the law and rules are being met and to establish disciplinary procedures for dealing with incomplete or inaccurate reporting forms.
Recently, members of the Alabama Board were asked to review a number of questionable CPC reports submitted by licensees during its 2009 CPC audit. Some of these questionable activities included the following:
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A P.E. who fell 1.5 hours short of the required 15 professional development hours because he failed to realize his Alabama license renewed annually (His license in his home state renewed biennially.)
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A P.E. who counted preparation and expert witness testimony as professional development hours
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A P.E. who incorrectly counted a course taken two years earlier as hours for the current year
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A P.E. who claimed the teaching of intermediate algebra as continuing professional competency
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Multiple licensees who failed to respond to the audit notification and request for documents
To assist with the CPC issue, NCEES and ACEC have created the Registered Continuing Education Program (www.rcep.net), a comprehensive registry of quality continuing education providers for engineers and surveyors. The purpose of the program is to promote quality and consistency in engineering and surveying continuing education and training. It measures and monitors providers against established criteria and provides a single source for licensees to track their progress in meeting CPC requirements.
Ultimately, each member jurisdiction must determine its specific CPC needs. But using the NCEES Continuing Professional Competency Guidelines in establishing the requirements strengthens the profession by making the process less confusing for multistate licensees.
