24 Del. Admin. Code § 2700-10.0

Current through Register Vol. 28, No. 5, November 1, 2024

Section 2700-10.0 - Continuing Education

10.1 Biennium Requirements. Effective each biennium, as a condition for renewal of a license for the practice of land surveying, a Professional Land Surveyor shall be required to successfully complete 24 hours of professional development within the preceding biennium. Any licensee who completes in excess of 24 hours of professional development within the preceding biennium may NOT have the excess applied to the requirements for the next biennium.

10.1.1 No more than 8 PDHs of the required 24 PDHs for any renewal period may be obtained by an online course.

10.1.2 Retired Licensees. Licensees 62 years old and over at the time of license renewal who are retired (working less than 20 hours weekly) shall need only 12 PDHs each subsequent biennium to satisfy the professional development requirements outlined herein. A total of 4 PDHs may be obtained by online courses each biennium. This provision shall also apply to retired licensees (working less than 20 hours weekly) under the age of 62 who have been deemed disabled by the state or federal government.

10.1.3 Multiple State Licensees. Any licensee, who is not a Delaware resident and resides in another state or commonwealth, and is licensed in that state or commonwealth having a comparable continuing education requirement, shall not be required to satisfy these requirements in addition to those of the licensee's home state, but will satisfy these requirements as a minimum. Any questions regarding compliance with this Section shall be resolved by the Board.

10.2 Sources of Credit. In reviewing and approving applications for PDHs, the Board shall take into consideration:

10.2.1 Program Content: Courses must cover land surveying topics and must directly contribute to accomplishment of the primary purpose of continuing education, which is to help assure that licensees possess the knowledge, skills and competence necessary to function in a manner that protects and serves the public interest. The knowledge or skills taught must enable licensees to better serve surveying clients and the subject matter must be directly related to the land surveying practice. All educational courses and their instructors, both live and online, must be approved by the Board except for those courses sponsored or offered by surveying societies located in any state or United States territory, including the District of Columbia. Courses that are sponsored or offered by surveying societies located in any state or United States territory, including the District of Columbia, will receive automatic approval and do not require Board review and approval.

10.2.2 Instruction: The course must be one that will be conducted by a qualified instructor. Instructors must submit a complete resume with the PDH course approval request.

10.2.3 Examples of acceptable topics include:

ALTA/ACSM land title surveys

GPS (survey related)

GIS (survey related)

Delaware land use laws

Case law

Boundary laws and regulations

Research

Evidence

Boundary determination

Unwritten rights

Conflict resolution; i.e. boundary line agreements

Adverse possession

Highway surveys

Railroad surveys

Easements and rights of way

Geodesy

Highway design/Highway safety

Surveyor in court/Expert testimony

State and international boundaries

Water boundaries

Technical writing related to deed descriptions and survey reports

Mathematics and computer applications of land surveying

Measurement and analysis

Photogrammetry and aerial photo interpretation

Survey standards

Survey instrumentation

Business management and professional development related to the land surveying practice; i.e. surveying contracts, communicating with clients, good business planning and management, quality assurance

Ethics and professionalism

Liability for land surveyors

Drainage design

Sediment and erosion control

First aid/CPR

Subdivision Plans and planning

Land Development Plans and planning

Grading and Grading Development Plans

Condominium Plans

Roadway and Street Design and Planning

Storm Water Drainage Plans

Utility Plans and Easements

10.2.4 Serving as a member of a committee or a board or a commission, which has as its primary duty the preparation or grading of written tests which are given for the purpose of determining the proficiency of an applicant for registration, using accepted test development principles, shall be counted as 1 PDH per hour of attendance.

10.2.5 Attendance at workshops or seminars, which are directly related to land surveying, shall count as 1 PDH per actual hour of classroom attendance. These sessions must be planned in advance, a record must be maintained describing the content and a record of attendance must be kept. This may include society meetings in which educational programs are presented.

10.2.6 The active teaching of land surveying at the college level, within the immediate preceding biennium, shall be counted as 8 PDHs per year. No more than 16 PDHs shall be issued for teaching at the college level in any renewal period. CREDIT WILL NOT BE GIVEN TO FULL TIME EDUCATORS.

10.2.7 Teaching a workshop or seminar, which is directly related to land surveying or professional development, shall be counted as 2 PDHs per actual hour of teaching time, not to include preparation. No more than 18 PDHs may be claimed in any 2-year period. CREDIT WILL BE GIVEN FOR ONLY 1 PRESENTATION IN A 2-YEAR PERIOD.

10.2.8 College level courses directly related to land surveying or professional development directly related to land surveying shall be counted as 40 PDH per credit hour. Ten PDHs will be counted for each CEU (continuing education unit) earned.

10.2.9 Presentation or publication of a professional paper will be counted as 10 PDHs. No more than 20 PDHs may be claimed in any biennium renewal.

10.3 Renewal Credit.

10.3.1 Each licensee applying for renewal shall attest to satisfying the continuing education requirements outlined in subsections 10.1 and 10.2 in the period defined in subsection 10.1 of these regulations.

10.3.2 Licensees should retain their PDH files and records for at least 5 years.

10.4 Pro-Rated Credits for Renewal. A licensee for renewal shall follow the following schedule of reporting PDH credits:

10.4.1 If, at the time of renewal, the licensee has been licensed for less than 1 year, NO continuing education is required.

10.4.2 If, at the time of renewal, the licensee has been licensed for more than 1 year, but less than 2 years, half (12 PDHs) is required. A total of 4 PDHs may be obtained by online courses.

10.4.3 If, at the time of renewal, the licensee has been licensed for 2 or more years, the full amount (24 PDHs) is required. A total of 8 PDHs may be obtained by online courses.

10.5 Renewal. Any licensee who has submitted an electronic renewal form and has met all other requirements shall be granted renewal.

10.6 Audit. Each biennium, the Division of Professional Regulation shall select from the list of renewed licensees a percentage, determined by the Board, which shall be selected by random method. The Board may also audit based on complaints or charges against an individual license, relative to compliance with continuing education requirements.

10.7 Documentation and Audit by the Board. When a licensee whose name or number appears on the audit list applies for renewal, the Board shall obtain documentation from the licensee showing detailed accounting of the various PDHs claimed by the licensee. Licensees selected for random audit are required to supplement the attestation with attendance verification. The Board shall attempt to verify the PDHs shown on the documentation provided by the licensee. The Board shall then review the documentation and verification. Upon completion of the review, the Board shall decide whether the licensee's PDHs meet the requirements of these rules and regulations. The licensee shall sign and seal all verification documentation with a Board approved seal.

10.8 Board Review. The Board shall review all documentation requested of any licensee shown on the audit list. If the Board determines the licensee has met the requirements, the licensee's certificate of registration shall remain in effect. If the Board initially determines the licensee has not met the requirements, the licensee shall be notified and a hearing may be held pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act. This hearing will be conducted to determine if there are any extenuating circumstances justifying the apparent noncompliance with these requirements. Unjustified noncompliance of these regulations shall be considered misconduct in the practice of land surveying, pursuant to 24 Del.C. § 2712. The minimum penalty for unjustified noncompliance shall be a letter of reprimand and a $250.00 fine.

10.9 Noncompliance - Extenuating Circumstances. A licensee may request an extension and be given up to an additional 12 months to make up all outstanding required PDHs providing the licensee can show good cause why the licensee was unable to follow the requirements and provided the statement is received and reviewed by the Board prior to the licensee renewing their license. The licensee must state the reason for the extension along with whatever documentation the licensee feels is relevant. The Board shall consider requests such as extensive travel outside the United States, military service, extended illness of the licensee or the licensee's immediate family, or a death in the immediate family of the licensee. The written request for extension must be received and reviewed by the Board before the licensee renewing their license. The Board shall issue an extension when it determines that one or more of these criteria have been met or if circumstances beyond the control of the licensee have rendered it impossible for the licensee to obtain the required PDHs. A licensee who has successfully applied and received Board approval for an extension under this subsection shall make up all outstanding hours of professional development within the extension period approved by the Board.

10.10 Appeal. Any licensee denied renewal pursuant to these rules and regulations may contest the ruling by filing an appeal pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act.

10.11 A member of the active-duty military, National Guard or the military reserve who is assigned to a duty station or deployed shall be deemed to have completed one hour of professional development for each month of active duty service.

24 Del. Admin. Code § 2700-10.0

6 DE Reg. 271 (09/01/02)
11 DE Reg. 1664 (06/01/08)
16 DE Reg. 436 (10/01/12)
17 DE Reg. 1098 (5/1/2014)
18 DE Reg. 651 (2/1/2015)
19 DE Reg. 142 (8/1/2015)
19 DE Reg. 1103 (6/1/2016)
20 DE Reg. 915 (5/1/2017)
27 DE Reg. 690 (3/1/2024)
27 DE Reg. 801 (5/1/2024) (Errata)