CHAPTER 7
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
[Prior to 11/14/01, see 193C—Chapter 3]
193C—7.1(542B,272C) General statement. Each licensee is required to meet the continuing education requirements of this chapter for professional development as a condition of licensure renewal.
193C—7.2(542B,272C) Definitions. As used in these rules, the following definitions apply:
“College or unit semester or quarter hour” means the unit of credit given for advanced technical and graduate courses from universities with programs accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.	or other related college course qualified in accordance with this chapter.
“Continuing education” means education obtained by a licensee in order to maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge obtained prior to initial licensure or to develop new and relevant skills and knowledge.
“Continuing education unit (CEU)” means the unit of credit customarily granted for continuing education courses. One continuing education unit is given for ten hours of class in an approved continuing education course.
“Course or activity” means any qualifying course or activity with a clear purpose and objective which will maintain, improve, or expand the skills and knowledge relevant to the licensee’s field of practice.
“Independent study” means any course or activity in which there is no real-time interaction between the training provider and the licensee, such as courses offered on the Internet.
“Professional development hour (PDH)” means a contact hour of instruction or presentation and is the common denominator for other units of credit.
193C—7.3(542B,272C) Professional development hours.
	7.3(1) Allowable activities. Licensees may earn professional development hours by participating in a variety of activities. The following is a sample list of allowable activities and is not all-inclusive:
	a. 	Successful completion of college courses;
	b. 	Successful completion of continuing education courses;
	c. 	Successful completion of correspondence, televised, videotaped, and other short courses or tutorials;
	d. 	Successful completion of courses on-line via the Internet;
	e. 	Active participation in seminars, in-house courses, workshops, technical committees of professional engineering organizations, and professional conventions;
	f. 	Teaching or instructing in the activities set forth above if such teaching or instruction is outside of the licensee’s regular employment duties and if the licensee can document such teaching activity or instruction was newly developed and presented for the first time;
	g. 	Authoring published papers, articles or books;
	h. 	Obtaining patents;
	i. 	Attendance at online video courses;
	j. 	Participation on an NCEES examination development committee;
	k. 	Attendance at engineering college graduate research seminars.
All of the allowable activities listed above must meet the requirements and restrictions set forth in this chapter to be accepted by the board.
	7.3(2) PDH conversion. The following chart illustrates the conversion from other units to PDH:

ACTIVITY	PDH	
1 College or unit semester hour
Credit for qualifying college or community college courses will be based upon course credit established by the college.	45 PDH
per semester hour	
1 College or unit quarter hour
Credit for qualifying college or community college courses will be based upon course credit established by the college.	30 PDH
per quarter hour	
1 Continuing Education Unit as defined in 193C—7.2(542B,272C)	10 PDH	
1 Contact hour attendance in a class, course, seminar, or professional or technical presentation made at a meeting, in-house training session, convention or conference. Credit for qualifying seminars and workshops will be based on 1 PDH unit for each hour of attendance. Attendance at qualifying programs presented at professional or technical society meetings will earn PDH units for the actual time of each program, excluding time for breaks and meals.	1 PDH
per hour	
1 Contact hour teaching a class, course, seminar, or a professional or technical presentation
a. Teaching credit is valid for teaching a course or seminar for the first time only.
b. Teaching credit does not apply to full-time faculty.
c. Teaching credit is limited to 10 PDH per biennial renewal period.	2 PDH
per hour	
Each published paper, article, or book
Credit for published material is earned in the biennium of publication.	10 PDH
per publication	
Active participation in a professional or technical society.
Credit for active participation in professional and technical societies is limited to 2 PDH per renewal period per organization and requires that a licensee serve as an officer or actively participate in a committee of the organization. PDH credits are earned for a minimum of one year’s service.	2 PDH
per organization per renewal period	
Each patent
Credit for patents is earned in the biennium the patent is issued.	10 PDH
per patent	
Participation on an NCEES examination development committee or Iowa state specific land surveying examination development committee, including the writing and grading of examination questions, writing reference materials for examinations, and evaluating past examination question performance. Licensees may claim a maximum of 30 PDH per biennial renewal period for participation in this activity.	2 PDH
per hour of committee participation	
	7.3(3) Determination of credit. The board has final authority with respect to approval of courses, credit, PDH value for courses, and other methods of earning credit. No preapproval of offerings will be issued. The board may deny any renewal or reinstatement upon a determination of insufficient or unsatisfactory continuing education.
[ARC 2022C, IAB 6/10/15, effective 7/15/15; ARC 4206C, IAB 1/2/19, effective 2/6/19]
193C—7.4(542B,272C) Professional development guidelines. Continuing education activities that satisfy the professional development criteria are those that relate to engineering or land surveying practice or management. It is recognized that an engineer’s specialized skills must have as their foundation a fundamental knowledge of chemistry, physics, mathematics, graphics, computations, communication, and humanities and social sciences. However, continuing education in the fundamentals alone will not be sufficient to maintain, improve, or expand engineering skills and knowledge. For that reason, licensees will be limited in their use of fundamental courses in proportion to ABET criteria for accreditation of engineering curricula. Continuing education activities are classified as:
	7.4(1) Group 1 activities. Group 1 activities are intended to maintain, improve, or expand skills and knowledge obtained prior to initial licensure. The following chart illustrates the maximum PDH allowable per renewal period for Group 1 activities:

Type of course/activity	Number of PDH allowed per renewal period	
Mathematics and basic sciences
Math beyond Trigonometry
Basic sciences: Chemistry, Physics, Life sciences, Earth sciences	10 PDH	
Engineering sciences
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.	10 PDH	
Humanities and social sciences
Philosophy, Religion, History, Literature, Fine arts, Sociology, Psychology, Political science, Anthropology, Economics, Foreign languages, Professional ethics, Social responsibility	5 PDH	
Engineering-related courses
Accounting, Industrial management, Finance, Personnel administration, Engineering economy, English, Speech, *Computer applications
*The computer is considered a tool available to engineers and land surveyors. Courses related to computer drafting and general computer applications are generally not applicable to either Group 1 or Group 2 activities. Computer courses that relate to engineering or land surveying design applications, such as structural design/analysis software, are considered acceptable.	10 PDH	
	7.4(2) Group 2 activities. Group 2 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 and courses in management of engineering or land surveying activity (regular work duties do not qualify).
	7.4(3) Independent study. To be readily acceptable by the board, independent study as defined in rule 193C—7.2(542B,272C) must meet all of the following criteria:
	a. 	A written evaluation process is completed by the independent study provider; and
	b. 	A certificate of satisfactory completion is issued by the provider; and
	c. 	An evaluation assessment is issued to the licensee by the provider; and
	d. 	Documentation supporting such independent studies is maintained by the licensee and provided to the board as required by subrule 7.8(2).
A maximum of ten professional development hours of independent study activity will be allowed per biennium per licensee.
	7.4(4) Exclusions. Types of continuing education activities which will be excluded from allowable continuing education are those in which it is not evident that the activity relates directly to the licensee’s practice of professional engineering or land surveying or the management of the business concerns of the licensee’s practice, or which do not comply with the board’s administrative rules. Examples of activities that do not qualify as continuing education include the following:
	●	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 abroad;
	●	Personal self-improvement courses;
	●	Real estate licensing courses;
	●	Stress management;
	●	Trade shows;
	●	Peer review;
	●	Accreditation review;
	●	Independent study or self-study that does not meet the requirements of subrule 7.4(3);
	●	Basic CAD and fundamental computer application courses;
	●	Undergraduate engineering seminars.
[ARC 4206C, IAB 1/2/19, effective 2/6/19]
193C—7.5(542B,272C) Biennial requirement. The biennial requirement must be satisfied during the biennium prior to licensure renewal except for the carryover permitted.
	7.5(1) The continuing education requirement for biennial licensure renewal is 30 professional development hours for an active licensee in engineering or land surveying. At least 2 of the 30 professional development hours must be in the area of professional ethics. For individuals actively licensed in both engineering and land surveying, at least 4 of the 40 total professional development hours must be in the area of professional ethics. The number of professional development hours that may be carried forward into the next biennium shall not exceed 15.
	7.5(2) Inactive licensees are exempt from the continuing education requirements.
	7.5(3) Continuing education requirements for licensure in more than one engineering branch are the same as for licensure in a single branch of engineering.
	7.5(4) The continuing education requirement for biennial licensure renewal for an individual who is active in both engineering and land surveying is 20 professional development hours in engineering and 20 professional development hours in land surveying. The number of professional development hours that may be carried forward into the next biennium shall not exceed 10 hours for each profession.
	7.5(5) A licensee who is active in one profession and inactive in another shall meet the continuing education requirements for licensure in the profession in which active licensure is maintained.
	7.5(6) A new licensee shall satisfy one-half the biennial continuing education requirement at the first renewal following initial licensure. A comity license is not an initial license. Professional engineers and professional land surveyors licensed by comity are not eligible for the one-half continuing education requirement.
[ARC 4206C, IAB 1/2/19, effective 2/6/19; ARC 5953C, IAB 10/6/21, effective 11/10/21]
193C—7.6(542B,272C) Exemptions. The continuing education requirements may be reduced in proportion to the following:
	1.	Periods of time that the licensee serves honorably on active duty in the military services;
	2.	Periods of time that the licensee is licensed in and a resident of another state or district having continuing education requirements for professional engineering or land surveying and meets all requirements of that state or district for practice therein;
	3.	Periods of time that the licensee is a government employee working as a professional engineer or professional land surveyor and assigned to duty outside the United States; or
	4.	Documented periods of the licensee’s active practice and absence from the United States that are approved by the board.
No exemption will be granted without a written request from the licensee with documentation of the period of absence.
[ARC 0362C, IAB 10/3/12, effective 11/7/12]
193C—7.7(542B,272C) Hardships or extenuating circumstances. The board may, in individual cases involving hardship or extenuating circumstances, grant waivers of the continuing education requirements for a period of time not to exceed one year. No waiver or extension of time shall be granted unless the licensee makes a written request to the board for such action.
193C—7.8(542B,272C) Reports, records, and compliance review. At the time of application for license renewal, each licensee shall report, on a form provided by the board, the number of professional development hours achieved during the preceding biennium.
	7.8(1) Record keeping. Maintaining records to be used to support professional development hours claimed is the responsibility of the licensee. It is recommended that each licensee keep a log showing the type of activity claimed, sponsoring organization, location, duration, instructor’s or speaker’s name, and PDH credits earned. Documentation of reported PDHs shall be maintained by the licensee for two years after the period for which the form was submitted.
	7.8(2) Compliance review. The board may select licensees for review of compliance with continuing education requirements on a random basis or upon receiving information regarding noncompliance and shall review compliance with continuing education requirements for reinstatement of lapsed or inactive licenses. Each licensed board member shall be audited for PDH compliance for a biennium that is within each member’s respective three-year appointment term. For each PDH claimed, licensees chosen for compliance review shall furnish:
	a. 	Proof of attendance. Attendance verification records in the form of completion certificates, or other documents supporting evidence of attendance;
	b. 	Verification of the hours claimed; and
	c. 	Information about the course content.
	7.8(3) Compliance review sanctions. Any discrepancy between the number of PDHs reported and the number of PDHs actually supported by documentation may result in a disciplinary review. If, after the disciplinary review, the board disallows any PDH, or the licensee has failed to complete the required PDHs, the licensee shall have 60 days from board notice to either provide further evidence of having completed the PDHs disallowed or remedy the discrepancy by completing the required number of PDHs (provided that such PDHs shall not again be used for the next renewal). Extension of time may be granted on an individual basis and must be requested by the licensee within 30 days of notification by the board. If the licensee fails to comply with the requirements of this subrule, the licensee may be subject to disciplinary action. If the board finds, after proper notice and hearing, that the licensee willfully disregarded these requirements or falsified documentation of required PDHs, the licensee may be subject to disciplinary action as further identified in 193C—paragraphs 9.3(1)“c” and 9.3(3)“e.”
	7.8(4) Out-of-state residents. A person licensed to practice engineering or land surveying or both in Iowa shall be deemed to have complied with the continuing education requirement of this state during the periods that the person is a resident of another state or district which has a continuing education requirement for engineers or land surveyors and the individual meets all requirements of that state or district for practice therein. However, if selected for compliance review, such individuals must provide documentation as specified in 7.8(2).
[ARC 4206C, IAB 1/2/19, effective 2/6/19]
These rules are intended to implement Iowa Code sections 272C.2, 272C.3, 542B.6, and 542B.18.
[Filed 12/8/78, Notice 10/4/78—published 12/27/78, effective 1/31/79]
[Filed 9/25/81, Notice 7/22/81—published 10/14/81, effective 11/18/81]
[Filed 9/9/83, Notice 8/3/83—published 9/28/83, effective 11/2/83]
[Filed 5/13/88, Notice 3/9/88—published 6/1/88, effective 7/6/88]
[Filed 9/24/93, Notice 8/18/93—published 10/13/93, effective 11/17/93]
[Filed 10/5/95, Notice 8/16/95—published 10/25/95, effective 11/29/95]
[Filed 3/6/97, Notice 11/20/96—published 3/26/97, effective 4/30/97]
[Filed 9/5/97, Notice 6/18/97—published 9/24/97, effective 10/29/97]
[Filed 10/24/01, Notice 8/8/01—published 11/14/01, effective 1/1/02]
[Filed 11/21/02, Notice 10/2/02—published 12/11/02, effective 1/15/03]
[Filed 9/24/04, Notice 7/7/04—published 10/13/04, effective 11/17/04]
[Filed 3/11/05, Notice 12/22/04—published 3/30/05, effective 5/4/05]
[Filed ARC 0362C (Notice ARC 0156C, IAB 6/13/12), IAB 10/3/12, effective 11/7/12]
[Filed ARC 2022C (Notice ARC 1886C, IAB 2/18/15), IAB 6/10/15, effective 7/15/15]
[Filed ARC 4206C (Notice ARC 3946C, IAB 8/15/18), IAB 1/2/19, effective 2/6/19]
[Filed ARC 5953C (Notice ARC 5819C, IAB 8/11/21), IAB 10/6/21, effective 11/10/21]