Guidelines

Continuing Education Guidelines Printable PDF

1. All persons licensed as an Architect, Professional Engineer, Professional Land Surveyor, Landscape Architect and Professional Geologist in the state of Kansas must acquire 30 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) every two years before renewing their license. At a minimum, 24 of the required 30 CEUs shall be related to health, safety, property, and welfare(HSPW). Any licensee may obtain a maximum of 10 HSPW CEUs in any 24-hour period. A maximum of five self-study CEUs may be applied in any one renewal period. Proof of course completion shall be required. All licensed technical professionals will be required to document their CEUs by maintaining a list of activities and sign a statement that they have met this requirement before renewing. If the licensee is selected for an audit, he/she will be asked to submit proof supporting the required CEUs.

1. See paragraph 20 for a suggested list of typical qualifying CEU activities and paragraph 21 for a list of non-qualifying activities.
2. Dual License Requirement: Each licensee renewing a license in more than one profession shall have completed 20 HSPW CEUs for each profession every two years before renewal. At least 16of the required 20 CEUs for each profession shall be HSPW CEUs. The number of CEUs that maybe carried over into the next renewal period for each licensee renewing in
3. Professional Surveyors shall complete two (2) CEUs on the Kansas Minimum Standards, as adopted by K.A.R. 66-12-1, in each two-year renewal period.

Purpose 

2. Purpose of the Continuing Education requirement is to reinforce the need for lifelong learning in order to stay current with changing technology, equipment, procedures, processes, tools and established standards. Qualifying activities must have a clear purpose and objective which will maintain, improve or expand the skills and knowledge relevant to the practice of a technical profession and necessary to safeguard health, safety, property and welfare. The licensee is given flexibility in selecting among a broad range of subjects that are intended to strengthen or maintain competency in technical, managerial (business) or ethical fields. Licensees are encouraged to select meaningful activities which will be of benefit in the pursuit of their chosen field. See paragraph 20 for a suggested list of typical qualifying CEU activities and paragraph 21 for a list of non-qualifying activities.

Continuing Education Unit (CEU)

3. Continuing Education Unit (CEU) is defined as one nominal contact hour of instruction or presentation.

1. Seminar example: the maximum CEU for a seminar that starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. with an hour lunch is eight (8) CEUs. Short breaks are permissible as long as a minimum of 50 minutes of presentation/participation per hour is undertaken. If there are no breaks, or there are breaks of less than 10 minutes per hour, no additional time may be claimed. Seminar presenters may attempt to take the number of elapsed minutes (such as 8 hours times 60 minutes) and then divide by 50 to arrive at the CEU for which the seminar is advertised. This would result in over nine CEUs in an eight-hour period which is not permitted. CEUs cannot exceed the actual contact clock hours.

Round

4. Round off CEUs to the nearest half-hour. No activity under a quarter-hour will be accepted for credit. For example, a qualifying activity of 30 to 49 minutes would be reported as 0.5 CEU and an activity of 50 to 60 minutes would be reported as 1.0 CEU.

Carry Over Hours

5. Carry Over Hours If you have over 30 qualifying CEUs in your last renewal, a maximum of 15 qualifying CEUs may be forwarded to the subsequent renewal period. If a licensee claims carry over CEUs from the prior reporting period, the Continuing Education Audit Report Form and all attendance verification records for the prior period must also be submitted.

Record Keeping

6. Record Keeping is the responsibility of the licensee. The required records must be maintained for a minimum of four years for auditing purposes. Examples of records required include, but are not limited to:

1. Continuing Education Audit Report Form; and,
2. Attendance verification records in the form of documentation which includes completion certificates, AIA transcript(s), NCEES CPC report(s), signed attendance receipts, a copy of a listing of all attendees signed by a person in responsible charge of the activity or other documentation verifying attendance and PDHs credits earned. If audited, submission of specific information on each activity is required. Simply stating “attending education activities at ABC Company” is not acceptable.

Semester Hour Credit for College Courses

7. Semester Hour Credit for College Courses – To qualify for this credit, a course must meet regularly and participants tested with a passing grade required. The course must deal with technical/design subjects or business practice, as listed under paragraph 20. One credit semester hour is converted to 15 CEUs or if on a quarterly credit system, 7.5 CEUs per credit quarterly hour.

Short Courses/Seminars Interactive Activities

8. Short Courses/Seminars Interactive Activities – Active participation and successful completion of short courses or seminars dealing with technical/design subjects sponsored by colleges or universities; technical presentations on subjects which are held in conjunction with conventions or at seminars related to materials use and function; short courses or seminars relating to business practice or new technology and offered by colleges, universities, professional organizations or system suppliers. (One (1) CEU credit for each contact hour.)

Professional Service

9. Professional Service to the public that draws upon the licensees’ professional expertise on boards or commissions. (A maximum of two (2) CEUs per organization per year.)

Teaching Credits

10. Teaching Credits – Teaching credit shall be valid for teaching a course or seminar in its initial presentation only. Full-time faculty at a college, university, or other educational institution shall otherwise not receive teaching credit for teaching their regularly assigned courses. Teaching or instructing a new college or university course for the first time shall be the equivalent of 10 CEUs.

Published Papers, Articles or Books

11. Published Papers, Articles or Books – Five (5) CEUs may be claimed for technical/design research which is published or formally presented in a circulated technical journal or trade magazine. Credit cannot be claimed until that article or paper is actually published. 10 CEUs may be claimed for each published book. (Maximum of ten (10) CEUs per two-year renewal period.)

Active Participation in Professional and Technical Societies

12. Active Participation in Professional and Technical Societies includes all technical and professional societies, but does not include civic or trade organizations. CEUs are awarded only for those portions of the meeting that meet the requirements of K.A.R. 66-14. Licensees serving as an officer or member of a committee in a technical society or organization shall earn a maximum of two (2) CEUs annually per organization. Licensees serving as a mentor or sponsor for NCARB’s Architectural Experience Program (AXP) shall earn a maximum of two (2) CEUs annually. CEU credits are not earned until the end of each year of service is completed.

Pre-Approval of CEU Activities

13. Pre-Approval of CEU Activities: The Board does not pre-approve courses or activities with the exception of courses or activities related to Kansas Minimum Standards for Boundary Surveys and/or Mortgage Title Inspections and can only distribute information on what is and is not acceptable. With the broad range of opportunities to earn CEUs, it is up to the licensee to determine whether the activity qualifies under this Board’s requirements. For example, programs presented on topics that are not relevant to your profession should not be claimed for CEU credit. The Board has final approval of CEU credit.

Audits

14. Audits will be randomly conducted each two-year renewal period to insure compliance with the Board’s requirements. If selected for audit, you will be contacted to provide necessary documentation. Your records must be maintained for a period of four (4) years and copies must be furnished, upon request, to the Board for audit verification purposes. If, in its review, the Board finds that a CEU claimed is not acceptable, the Board shall inform the licensee of the criteria that has not been adhered to and he/she will have 120 days from the date of notification in which to substantiate the original claim or to earn other credits to meet the minimum requirements.

Exemptions

15. Exemptions are provided for licensees who are in their first renewal period; licensees serving honorably on full-time active duty in the armed forces of the United States; and, for those licensees who attest in the required renewal that for not less than twenty-one (21) months of the preceding two (2) year period of licensure, the licensee is a government employee working as a technical professional and assigned to duty outside the United States. If you are exempt, you must complete the renewal form, submit the renewal fee, and attach supporting documentation for the exemption.

Renewal Period

16. Renewal Period – Renewals are biennial. Each licensee whose last name begins with one of the letters A through L shall renew the license in even-numbered years. Each licensee whose last name begins with one of the letters M through Z shall renew the license in odd-numbered years. A written notice will be issued by the board to each licensee during the appropriate renewal year, and not later than 30 days before the following expiration dates:

1. architects, June 30
2. landscape architects, December 31
3. professional engineers, April 30
4. professional geologists, June 30
5. professional surveyors, March 31

To renew, the licensee must have obtained 30 qualifying CEUs within the two years immediately preceding the renewal date. For a renewal to be processed, the licensee must either certify that he or she has completed the required CEUs or elect to place their license in an INACTIVE status. Failure to do either will result in the automatic expiration of the license.

Inactive Status

17. Inactive Status – Please note that at the time of renewal, you will have the option of placing your license in an inactive status. You do not have to show completion of any CEUs but you must submit the renewal fee and your renewal form prior to the deadline.

Reinstatement from Inactive Status and Continuing Education Requirements

18. Reinstatement from Inactive Status and Continuing Education Requirements: If a license is cancelled, a Reinstatement Application must be completed and the applicant must submit proof of 30 qualifying CEUs earned in the previous 2 years from the date of the application for Board review.

Expiration

19. Expiration – Failure to renew shall automatically cause the license to expire and be void. The holder of the expired license or certificate shall have no rights or privileges under such license, but may within the discretion of the Board, be relicensed under the licensee’s original license number providing the individual pays the required fee and satisfies the Board of their proficiency.

Typical Qualifying Continuing Education Activities

20. Typical Qualifying Continuing Education Activities

1. Contact hours in attendance at short courses, seminars, tutorials, workshops, correspondence courses, video courses, webinars or in-house corporate sponsored educational programs or training which relates to the practice of a technical/design professional. Correspondence courses must show evidence of achievement with a final graded test. Acceptable verification: signed completion certificates, sign-in sheets, conference programs. Attendee lists without signatures, receipts and/or emails verifying registration for an event will NOT be accepted as verification of attendance.
2. Attending technical or professional society meetings when a topic related to the licensee’s professional practice is presented as a principal part of the program. Acceptable verification: meeting minutes showing attendance and topics of discussion and duration.
3. Class preparation for post-secondary teaching of design/technical courses for the first time only. Acceptable verification: a catalog offering that contains your name as the instructor; if that is unavailable, provide a letter from the employing agency.
4. Preparing and conducting presentations at conferences and similar events sponsored by professional organizations for the first time only. (Maximum of three (3) CEUs per one contact hour course or seminar). Acceptable verification: conference programs with your name or a letter from the employing agency.
5. Computer software instructional courses which directly relate to the licensee’s technical profession. Acceptable verification: signed completion certificate.
6. Management or ethical courses which directly relate to the technical/design profession. Acceptable verification: signed completion certificates, sign-in sheets.
7. Educational tours of technically significant projects where the tour is conducted by a qualified sponsor such as a college, university or professional organization. Acceptable verification: certificate of attendance or participation with your name or AIA transcript.
8. Serving as a mentor or sponsor for the Architectural Experience Program (AXP) of NCARB. (Maximum of two (2) CEUs annually). Acceptable verification: NCARB forms that show fulfilment of responsibility as a mentor or supervisor.
9. Professional service to the public that draws upon the licensee’s professional expertise on boards or commissions, such as: serving on planning commissions, park boards, building code advisory boards, urban renewal boards, code study committees, city council, county commissions or state boards. (Maximum of two (2) CEUs annually per organization). Acceptable verification: meeting minutes showing attendance or official document showing leadership role or committee membership.
10. Self-study courses sponsored by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards, AIA or similar organizations. Acceptable verification: signed completion certificate or AIA transcripts.

Note: event announcements, emails confirming event registration, payment verifications (receipts), “accepted” calendar invites and “my internal learning” logs without accompanying certificates are not considered acceptable documentation.

Typical Non-Qualifying Activities

21. Typical Non-Qualifying Activities

1. Regular employment
2. Real Estate licensing courses
3. CPR/First Aid courses
4. Personal, estate or financial planning
5. Non-technical computer software courses
6. Personal self-improvement
7. Service club meetings or activities
8. Equipment demonstrations or trade show displays
9. Topics not relevant to licensee’s profession
10. Enrollment without attendance at courses, seminars, etc.
11. Repetitive attendance or teaching of the same course
12. Attending committee meetings or general business meetings of any organization
13. Conversational language courses for personal use
14. Tours of site development, buildings, structures, schools, museums and such unless there is a clear objective to maintain and strengthen competency in the technical aspects of the technical/design profession.

Self Study 

22. Self Study

1. Successfully completing one contact hour of professional development self-study coursework that is offered by a third-party sponsor with evidence of achievement with a final graded test shall be the equivalent of one CEU. A maximum of five self-study CEUs may be applied in any one renewal period. Proof of course completion shall be required.