Current State Requirements for a Land Surveyor in the State of Texas:

 8 CEH minimum per renewal period

Currently, the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying has a strict pre-approval process for all continuing education materials. The Board also accepts courses that have been approved by other state land surveying licensing boards as long as they are in 4-hour intervals (ie: 4, 8, 12). For these courses, it is the responsibility of the customer to report these using the Individual Course Approval Form listed on the Texas Board of Professional Land Surveying website.

Renewal Date: Renewal occurs December 31 annually.

Statute: Board Rule §664

Stipulations

Excess continuing education units acquired by a registrant in one renewal period may be carried over only one renewal period.

Applicable Course of Study

The board shall, each year, produce or cause to be produced a home study program which the successful completion of will satisfy the requirements of subsection (b) of this section. Individuals and organizations may initiate requests for board approval and credit of specific programs for continuing education credit before those programs occur. Approval shall be given only for the specific program described in the request. Programs pre-approved by registration boards of other jurisdictions will be accepted by this board at the same continuing education unit value assigned by the other board unless such program has been specifically disallowed by this board.

Continuing education courses and professional development undertaken by a registrant shall be acceptable if the activity is approved by the board and falls in one or more of the following categories:
(1) appointment and membership on the board;
(2) completion of undergraduate or graduate academic courses with a passing grade in areas supporting development of skill and competence in professional land surveying at an institution which is accredited by ABET or the Association of Southern Colleges and Universities;
(3) teaching or consultation in programs such as institutes, seminars, workshops which provide increased professional knowledge related to the practice of professional land surveying;
(4) participation in those sections of programs (e.g., institutes, seminars, workshops, and conferences) which provide increased professional knowledge related to the practice of professional land surveying and are conducted by persons qualified within their respective professions by appropriate state licensure or certification where state licensure or certification exists, or in states outside of Texas where licensure or certification does not exist by completion of a graduate degree and certification by their respective professional associations;
(5) author of a technical paper relating to professional land surveying published in a refereed publication. The board shall maintain a list of approved publications;
(6) appointment to and active participation by non-board members on a committee of the board;
(7) satisfactory completion of scheduled assignments in a correspondence course;
(8) meetings and activities such as in service programs which are required as a part of one's job; and have been approved by the board.

Each continuing education experience submitted by a registrant will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
(1) satisfactory completion of undergraduate or graduate academic courses in areas supporting development or skill and competence in professional land surveying at an institution which is accredited by ABET or the Association of Southern Colleges and Universities;
(2) teaching in approved programs which shall be in accordance with §664.4(3) of this title (relating to Types of Acceptable Continuing Education) and documentation from sponsor(s) including evaluative statement of performance;
(3) satisfactory completion of academic work which shall be in accordance with §664.4(2) of this title (relating to Types of Acceptable Continuing Education) and official transcript(s) from accredited school(s) showing completion of hours in appropriate areas for which the registrant received at least a passing grade;
(4) attendance at programs which shall be in accordance with §664.4(4) of this title (relating to Types of Acceptable Continuing Education) and shall consider the following:
(A) relevance of the subject matter to increase or support the development of skill and competence in professional land surveying;
(B) objectives of specific information and/or skill to be learned;
(C) subject matter, education methods, materials, and facilities utilized including the frequency and duration of sessions and the adequacy to implement learner objectives; and
(D) sponsorship and leadership of programs including the name of the sponsoring individual(s) or organization(s); program leaders if different from sponsor(s); and contact person if different from the preceding.

The requirements for determination of continuing education units shall be as follows.
(1) Membership of the board will satisfy continuing education for renewal periods which occur during the appointment.
(2) Satisfactory completion of academic work at an institution which meets the accreditation standards acceptable to the board shall be credited on the basis of 15 continuing education hours, by previous action, for each semester hour completed and passed as evidenced by an official transcript.
(3) Parts of programs which meet the criteria of §664.3 of this title (relating to Numerical Requirements for Continuing Education) and §664.6 of this title (relating to Criteria for Approval of Continuing Education Activities) shall be credited on a one for 10 basis with one continuing education unit credit for each 10 contact clock hours spent in the continuing education activity.
(4) Teaching or consultation in programs which meet the board's criteria as set out in §664.4(3) of this title (relating to Types of Acceptable Continuing Education) shall be credited on the basis of two hours credit for each continuing education hour credit received by the program attendees.
(5) Authorship which meets the board's criteria as set out in §664.4(5) of this title (relating to Types of Acceptable Continuing Education) shall be credited with 2.5 hours continuing education credits, for each such publication.
(6) Participation on a committee which meets the criteria as set out in §664.4(6) of this title (relating to Types of Acceptable Continuing Education) shall be credited at the amount set when such appointments are made.
(7) Satisfactory completion of scheduled assignments in a correspondence course approved by the board shall constitute an amount set by the board when such courses are approved.
(8) Continuing education units will be assigned as deemed appropriate by the board for other experiences for which a determination is requested in writing.

Proof of Compliance

The requirements for reporting continuing education shall be as follows:
(1) A registrant's continuing education report shall be filed on a form provided by the board which the registrant shall complete and sign.
(2) A registrant may submit the required report any time during the continuing education cycle; provided, however, continuing education must be reported and approved prior to renewal at the end of the cycle, or §664.11 of this title (relating to Failure To Complete Required Continuing Education) will apply.
(3) The continuing education sponsor may submit a roster on a form provided by the board of those registrants completing a continuing education experience; however, the registrant is ultimately responsible for ensuring that the board receives timely notice of the registrant's completion of any continuing education activity.
(4) Each report must be accompanied by appropriate documentation of the continuing education claimed on the report as follows:
(a) for a program attended, a signed verification by a program leader or instructor of registrant's participating in the program by certificate, letter on letterhead of the sponsoring agency, or official continuing education validation form as supplied by the board;
(b) for teaching or consultation in approved programs, a letter on the sponsoring agency's letterhead giving name of program, location, dates, and subjects taught and giving total clock hours of teaching or consultation and continuing education hours credited to attendees. Documentation such as the board's roster form, official programs, or other appropriate documentation may be accepted; or
(c) for completion of academic work from accredited schools, an official transcript showing course credit with a passing grade.
(5) The registrant shall maintain a complete set of records relating to the person's professional education activities. The records are subject to audit by the board.

The registrant is ultimately responsible for providing, or arranging for sponsors to provide, the information necessary for the board to make a determination of the applicability of the program to the continuing education requirements.
 

Non-Compliance

The board shall not renew the certificate of registration of a registrant who fails to complete the required continuing education within any reporting period. A registrant who failed to complete all requirements for renewal of the certification of registration may complete the required continuing education within 90 days after the end of his or her continuing education period. The registrant's certificate shall be renewed upon submission of the required continuing education report within the 90-day period and upon payment of required late renewal fees as appropriate. The ending dates of a registrant's subsequent annual continuing education cycles under §664.2 of this title (relating to Deadlines) are not changed or extended when a registrant did not meet continuing education requirements in any previous period(s).

Disallowed Credits

The following activities are unacceptable as continuing education:
(1) authorship of letters to editor or self-opinionated articles of a non-technical nature which are included in trade publications;
(2) education incidental to the regular professional activities of a registrant such as learning occurring from experience or research;
(3) organizational activities such as serving on committees or councils or as an officer in a professional organization;
(4) any experience which does not fit the types of acceptable continuing education in §664.4 of this title (relating to Types of Acceptable Continuing Education);
(5) any continuing education activity completed before the first renewal period for which the registrant is required to obtain continuing education credit;
(6) any continuing education activity completed before or after the annual renewal period for which continuing education credit is submitted except as allowed in §664.11(c) of this title (relating to Failure To Complete Required Continuing Education) and in §664.10 of this title (relating to Acceptable Carry-over Continuing Education).

Carryover Hours Allowed

8 CEH per renewal period

Exceptions

N/A

For More Info:

This information provided by the State Board Statutes and Rules.