Almost half of US state professional licensing boards already have a requirement for Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) for licensing of professionals in engineering, surveying and the geosciences (see 34 states ... below). A similar situation exists in Canada.

The requirement for CPC is intended to protect the public by reinforcing the need for lifelong learning to stay current with changing technology, equipment, procedures, processes, tools, and established technical and business standards. Rules specifying qualifying CPC activities are generally designed to give flexibility in selecting among a broad range of subjects that are intended to strengthen or maintain a licensee's competency.

A CPC requirement mandates a licensee to demonstrate to the licensing board the satisfactory completion of specified activities as a condition for renewal of the individual's professional license. Each state maintains its own requirements regarding CPC, and whether a state adopts a CPC requirement is ultimately decided by the state's legislature, professional licensing board, and/or professional society.

All activities must be relevant to a licensee's profession and may include technical, ethical, or managerial (business) content. Activities should advance the professional or technical competence of the licensee. Qualifying activities include …

Qualifying CPC activities may be sponsored or presented by colleges or universities, employers, government agencies, nationally affiliated engineering or land surveying technical/professional societies, or by various other organizations. Typically, licensing boards do not pre-approve courses for CPC, leaving it to licensees to ensure selected activities meet CPC requirements.

The advantages to licensees, in terms of cost and time commitments, of being able to participate in online continuing education courses to satisfy their CPC requirements are obvious. However, as yet most licensing boards have taken no action towards formal acceptance of online continuing education, leaving it to licensees to ensure such activities meet CPC requirements.

A typical CPC requirement for license renewal would be 30 PDHs (professional development hours) over a two-year period. A PDH is defined as a contact hour of instruction or presentation and is the common denominator for units of CPC credit.

The CEU (continuing education unit) is a nationally recognized and uniform unit of measure for continuing education and training. Since one CEU is awarded for each 10 contact hours of instruction, it follows that one CEU is equivalent to 10 PDH. For the purpose of CPC activity, the CEU must further meet the requirements of the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) for awarding CEUs.

(sources: National Society of Professional Engineers, 1/31/01; Canadian Council of Professional Engineers, 4/04/01)

EduMine meets the Criteria for Certification established by the Authorized Provider Commission of the IACET (International Association for Continuing Education and Training), 1620 Eye Street, N.W., Suite 615, Washington, DC 20006.

EduMine has adopted the IACET Guidelines and Criteria for qualification of online courses for certification. This empowers EduMine to award CEUs (continuing education units) for successful completion of qualifying online courses.