IOWA'S CONTINUING EDUCATION RULES:

HISTORY

In 1979, Iowa became the first state in the country to have mandatory continuing education for professional engineers and land surveyors.

It is both Iowa law and administrative rules which govern the continuing education requirements. The law is a simple one. Basically, all the law states is that there shall be mandatory continuing education for licensed professionals. The law left it up to the various licensing boards to determine through administrative rules how the law should be implemented.

The following information is condensed from Iowa's Administrative Rules, 193C.

WHAT ARE THE CONTINUING EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS?

Iowas rules require 30 professional development hours (PDH) every two years in order to maintain the license to practice engineering or land surveying.

• One PDH equals one hour of professional development activity.
• One semester hour of university credit equals 45 PDHs.
• One quarter hour of university credit equals 30 PDHs.
• One CEU (continuing education unit) equals 10 PDHs.

The requirements must be satisfied during the biennium prior to registration renewal.

CAN PDHs BE CARRIED OVER FROM ONE PERIOD TO THE NEXT?

The number of professional development hours which may be carried forward to the next biennium cannot exceed 15.

WHAT TYPE OF COURSES QUALIFY FOR PDHs?

The following activities are intended to maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge obtained prior to initial licensure. Quantities listed are maximum per renewal:

1. Mathematics and basic sciences - 10 PDH maximum

Math beyond trigonometry
Basic sciences:

• Chemistry
• Physics
• Life sciences
• Earth sciences

2. Engineering sciences - 10 PDH maximum

Mechanics
Thermodynamics
Electrical and electrical circuits
Materials science

• Computer science
• Courses in computer science will generally be considered a part of the Engineering Sciences category in the ABET criterion and therefore limited to a maximum of 10 PDH per renewal period.

3. Humanities and social sciences - 5 PDH maximum

Philosophy
Religion
History
Literature
Fine Arts
Sociology
Psychology
Political science
Anthropology
Economics
Foreign languages
Professional ethics
Social responsibility

4. Engineering curriculum courses - 10 PDH maximum

Accounting
Industrial management
Finance
Personnel Administration
Engineering economy
English
Speech

The following group of activities are intended to develop new and relevant skills and knowledge. Credit for participation in activities in the group is unlimited, subject to maximum carryover. Typical areas include:

Postgraduate level engineering science or design
New technology
Environmental regulation

WHAT TYPE OF COURSES DO NOT QUALIFY FOR PDHs?

A lot of things don't qualify (see193C3.4(1) and 3.4(3)). Following are examples of the types of courses or activities that will not qualify for PDHs:

• Courses in CAD and fundamental computer applications will generally not be accepted. (Only computer courses which have the solution of engineering or land surveying problems as a purpose will be acceptable; i.e., a course which trains an engineer in the utilization of a specific software package to perform structural analysis.)
• Regular employment
• Toastmasters club meetings
• Service club meetings or activities
• Personal estate planning
• Banquet speeches unrelated to engineering
• Professional society business meeting portions of technical seminars
• Financial planning/investment seminars
• Foreign travel not related to engineering study
• Personal self-improvement courses
• Real estate licensing courses
• Stress Management
• Trade shows
• Peer review
• Accreditation review
• Self-study

DO MANAGEMENT-TYPE COURSES QUALIFY FOR PDHs?

Yes. (See administrative rule 193C3.4(2).) Courses in management of engineering or land surveying activity do qualify. However, the more directly the courses are related to engineering the safer you will be in claiming them. (Regular work duties do not qualify.)

DOES PARTICIPATING IN THE IOWA ENGINEERING SOCIETY QUALIFY FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT?

Yes, if you are actively participating. (See 193C3.2(1) and 193C3.2(2).) If you serve as an officer or actively participate in a committee you can claim one PDH for each year (limited to two PDHs per renewal period).

CAN COURSES BE PRE-QUALIFIED FOR APPROVAL BY THE STATE?

No. At first glance this may seem strange that the state will not pre-qualify a class or activity for professional development hours. However, the reason the state will not pre-qualify a course is quite simple. Under Iowas rules, what may qualify for one individual may not qualify for another.

The state and the engineering community feel very strongly that in order for continuing education to be successful we cannot have engineers going to classes just for the sake of meeting continuing education requirements. The courses that a professional engineer takes should be courses that are relevant to his or her practice of engineering.

For example, should a basic course and structures qualify for continuing education hours for a mechanical engineer working in an industrial facility? If you are one of the 2% of registrants that are audited annually by the state, the state might question why this individual had taken such a course. However, if during the audit you were able to explain that in your job you had the responsibility for seeing that a large press, for example, was safely installed on a second floor, and that is why you were taking a course in structures, the Board would readily accept the course.

On the other hand, if you were a 20 year veteran of structural engineering, the Board might look with a bit of suspicion as to why you would be taking a basic structures course. Or, if you were a chemical engineer not able to show why such a course is valuable in your area of practice, the Board may deny credit for such a course in your case.

SO HOW CAN YOU DETERMINE IN ADVANCE IF A PARTICULAR CONTINUING EDUCATION COURSE OR ACTIVITY WILL MEET THE REQUIREMENTS FOR PDHs?

Continuing education activities which satisfy the professional development requirements must meet the following five criteria:

1. There is a clear purpose and objective for each activity.
2. The content of each presentation is well organized and presented in a sequential manner.
3. There is evidence of preplanning which should include the opportunity for input by the target group to be served.
4. The presentation will be made by persons who are well qualified by education or experience.
5. There is a provision for individual participant registration which will include information required for record keeping and reporting.

Other activities which may be used to satisfy continuing education requirements are: sabbatical or leave for study or research; appropriate in-house programs conducted by corporations or other organizations; published papers, articles, or books, presentations at technical meetings, and instruction of continuing education courses. Continuing education credit will be granted for the time required for preparation of published materials, presentations at technical meetings, and for the first-time preparation of continuing education courses.

WHAT IF I AM LICENSED IN MULTIPLE BRANCHES?

Even if you are licensed in more than one branch of engineering, the continuing education requirements are the same as if you were licensed in a single branch.

WHAT IF I AM LICENSED AS BOTH AN ENGINEER AND A LAND SURVEYOR?

For those that are both licensed professional engineers and licensed land surveyors, you must have 20 PDHs in each area. You may carry forward 10 hours in each area.

WHAT IF I AM ALREADY A LICENSED ENGINEER; HOWEVER IM NOT PRACTICING ENGINEERING BUT WOULD LIKE TO MAINTAIN MY LICENSE?

You may petition the state to be placed on an inactive status. You will still be considered a licensed engineer, but you cannot practice until you are reinstated to an active status.

HOW DO I BECOME REINSTATED TO ACTIVE STATUS?

To become reinstated you must satisfy one half the biennial requirements multiplied by the number of years you were on an inactive or lapsed status. The minimum number of hours shall be one half the biennial requirement. The maximum requirement shall be one and one half times the biennial requirement.

Or, you can also be put back on the active status by successfully completing the Principles and Practice Examination within one year immediately prior to application for reinstatement.

DOES THE STATE CONSIDER HARDSHIPS FOR NOT MEETING THE EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS?

The Board may in individual cases involving hardships or extenuating circumstances grant waivers of the continuing education requirements for a period of time not to exceed one year. You must make a written request to the Board for such action.

HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT LICENSING REQUIREMENTS?

For more information on Iowas professional development requirements, contact the Iowa Engineering and Land Surveying Examining Board at 515-281-7360, or at their home page http://www.state.ia.us/government/com/prof/engineer/home.html.

You should also review the Iowa Administrative Rules, 193C, Chapter 3. Also, in the annual report published by the Licensing Board there are additional guidelines for continuing education.