OAR 820-010-0635: Continuing Professional Development

The purpose of professional development requirements is to demonstrate a continuing level of competency of professional engineers, land surveyors, and photogrammetrists. (1) Requirements: (a) Every registrant is required to obtain 30 professional development hour (PDH) units during each biennial registration period and in order to renew for the next biennial registration period. (b) Registrants who are licensed for part of a registration period of six months or greater shall obtain a prorated amount of required PDH. (c) Registrants who are licensed for part of a registration period of less than six months, and not under registration discipline, are not required to obtain PDH for that registration period. (d) Every registrant shall report PDH units to the Board with the renewal application and fee. The renewal application must be completed in its entirety. (e) Supporting documentation to verify the PDH units recorded with the renewal application must be submitted to the Board office when requested to participate in an audit. Supporting documentation may include, but is not limited to: (A) Completion certificate(s); (B) Paid receipt(s); (C) Attendance log(s); (D) Other documents supporting evidence of attendance. (f) Supporting documentation must be submitted to the Board in English or translated to English. (g) Records must be retained for five (5) years. (2) PDH units must be obtained in qualifying activities related to the individual’s registration. A qualifying activity is any course or activity with a clear purpose and objective which improves, or expands the skills and knowledge relevant to the registrant’s field of practice or practices. (3) Non-qualifying activities may include, but are not limited to: (a) Regular employment; (b) Real estate licensing courses; (c) Personal, estate, or financial planning; (d) Personal self improvement; (e) Service club meetings or activities; (f) Equipment demonstrations or trade show displays; (g) Topics not relevant to engineering, land surveying, or photogrammetry professions; (h) Enrollment without attendance at courses, seminars, etc. (i) Repetitive attendance at the same course; (j) Repetitive teaching of the same course; (k) Attending committee meetings or general business meetings of any organization; (l) Taking professional or required examinations. (4) Units — The conversion of other units of credit to PDH units is as follows: (a) 1 College Semester hour equals 45 PDH; (b) 1 College Quarter hour equals 30 PDH; (c) 1 Continuing Education unit equals 10 PDH. (5) Sources of PDH units — One (1) PDH unit may be obtained for each contact hour of instruction or presentation. Unless otherwise noted, there is no maximum amount of PDH units a registrant may earn per biennial registration period. Sources of PDH units include, but are not limited to the following: (a) Successful completion of college courses; (b) Successful completion of short courses, tutorials, correspondence, web based courses, televised and videotaped courses; (c) Active participation in seminars, in-house courses, workshops, and professional conventions; (d) Teaching or instructing a course, seminar, or workshop one time only. (This does not apply to full-time faculty teaching college courses); (e) Authoring or co-authoring published papers, articles or books. Maximum of 10 PDH units per biennial registration period; (f) Active participation in professional or technical society, committee, or board. Maximum of 8 PDH units per biennial registration period; (g) Self study. Maximum of 6 PDH units per biennial registration period; (h) Mentoring of engineering, land surveying, or photogrammetry topics to a nonregistered individual not under your supervision. Maximum of 10 PDH units per biennial registration period; (i) Non-technical educational activities related to the registrant’s employment; (j) Developing, writing, or scoring an engineering, land surveying, or photogrammetric mapping examination for licensure or certification. Maximum of 15 PDH units per biennial registration period. (k) Participation in a student engineering, land surveying, or photogrammetric mapping competition. Maximum of 10 PDH units per biennial registration period. (6) Determination of Credit — The Board has final authority with respect to approval of courses, credit, PDH units for courses and other methods of earning credit. (a) The Board will approve without listing courses which are sponsored by nationally recognized technical societies and those technical societies listed in 820-001-0000(4)(b)(A) through (E) and (4)(c)(A) through (H). (b) Credit determination for activities is the responsibility of the registrant and is subject to review by the Board. (7) If a registrant exceeds the requirement in any registration period, a maximum of 15 PDH units in courses/activities may be carried forward into the next registration period. (8) In the event a registrant holds a license in another state that has a lesser PDH requirement than Oregon or no PDH requirement, the registrant will need to satisfy Oregon's 30 PDH requirement to renew the Oregon license. (9) Multiple Registrants. The number of PDH units required shall remain a total of 30 PDH per registration period for persons who hold registration as an engineer, land surveyor, and/or photogrammetrist.