Ala. Admin. Code r. 380-X-6-.04 - Continuing Education
(1) A registered
forester will be required to have annually completed 10 hours of acceptable
continuing education which can be taken during the two-year period immediately
preceding the renewal date as a condition for license renewal. Classes taken
more than two years prior to the renewal date may not be used. Credit for a
class may only be used once.
(2)
Acceptable continuing education credit hours can be carried over one year
provided the hours have not been used to satisfy the previous year
requirements.
(3) Registered
foresters licensed for less than one year at the date of license expiration
will not be required to complete any hours of continuing education prior to
that first license expiration, but will be required to have the 10 required
hours of continuing education as of the second license expiration as a
condition for license renewal.
(4)
Registered foresters will report the continuing education credits to be applied
to this requirement as a part of the license renewal form. Documentation shall
be retained by each licensee and shall include evidence of completion of each
course or program, a description of the contents of each course or program, and
verification of the number of hours of each course or program; or, for other
activities which meet the requirements, such documentation as to ascertain
their completion. All registered foresters are subject to an annual Board of
Registration audit of continuing education documentation.
(5) Failure to comply with the provisions of
this section will result in nonrenewal of the registered forester license.
Registered foresters whose licenses have expired for nonrenewal are prohibited
from identifying themselves as registered foresters and practicing professional
forestry.
(6) Responsibility for
documenting the fulfillment of the continuing education requirements provided
for in this section rests with the licensee, and the licensee must retain for a
period of two years, from the date of license renewal, copies of the evidence
to support fulfillment of the requirements.
(7) Credit accrues at a rate of one hour for
each hour of actual contact. This shall be known as a contact hour or clock
hour. Travel time on tours or field sessions will not be included in
calculating contact hours. For providers who measure continuing education
activities in "Continuing Education Units (CEUs)," one CEU is defined as 10
contact hours of continuing education. Credit will not be allowed for any
program which in its entirety, including question and answer periods, lasts
less than sixty minutes. However, credit may be rounded down to the nearest
whole or half hour, so long as it is at least one hour. Credit will not be
given for time spent in introductory remarks, coffee and luncheon breaks,
meals, or business meetings where no organized course work is
presented.
(8) There are six
categories of continuing forestry education which cover the various activities
for which credit may be granted.
(a) Category
1. Organized course work or activities in forestry or forestry-related subject
matter such as silviculture, mensuration, biometrics, economics, forest pest
management, habitat management, watershed management, best management
practices, genetics, urban forestry, forest policy, spatial technology, wood
products, forest real estate, or professional ethics. Included are seminars,
short courses, and workshops conducted or sponsored by public or private
organizations, forest management related seminars and courses held by forest
industry and public employers for their employees, as well as technical
sessions of professional forestry society meetings or conferences. A Category 1
activity must satisfy all of the following conditions:
1. It constitutes an organized program of
learning (including a meeting, workshop or symposium) which contributes
directly to the professional competency of the registered forester.
2. It deals primarily with matter directly
related to the practice of forestry or to the professional responsibility or
ethical obligations of foresters.
3. It is conducted by foresters or
individuals who have special education, training and experience by reason of
which they can be considered experts in the subject matter of the
program.
4. It is conducted in a
setting physically suitable to the educational objectives.
5. The subject matter is applicable to
foresters in general. (Activities may be approved where attendance is limited
to the members of a particular company, firm or governmental agency but only if
the subject matter is broad enough to be of interest to foresters in
general).
(b) Category
2. The development, preparation, and presentation of professional level
forestry or forestry-related course work, in an instructional capacity such as
described in Category 1, which require effort beyond the general scope of the
individual's normal duties or job description. Credit accrues at the rate of
two contact hours for each hour of presentation.
(c) Category 3. Other organized course work
or activities not specifically forestry or forestry-related but which are
professionally enriching or directly benefiting the individual in his or her
present position. Examples include general sessions of forestry or other
professional meetings or course work in areas such as real estate, finance,
appraisal, business management or computer science.
(d) Category 4. The preparation, writing and
publication of forestry or forestry-related subject matter, which requires
effort beyond the general scope of the individual's normal duties or job
description. Credit accrues at the rate of 15 hours for each publication
requiring technical review or 5 hours for an article or a series of articles of
a substantial nature in magazines, newspapers, or similar
publications.
(e) Category 5.
Self-improvement in forestry or forestry-related subjects. Examples are
attendance at meetings of state boards of forestry, forestry licensing
committees, or tree improvement associations. This may not include the business
or social portions of professional society meetings that do not qualify for
Categories 1 or 2. Also included is self-improvement through publications or
audio-visual presentations on technical forestry subjects. Independent study
programs that are forestry related but do not qualify for Category 1 are
included. Credit accrues at the rate of one hour for each hour of
activity.
(f) Category 6. Holding
elected or appointed office or active committee assignment in forestry or
allied professional organizations and on national, state or local boards as a
representative of the forestry profession. Credit accrues at the rate of 5
hours per year for holding office, chairing an assignment or one active
committee membership.
(9) Correspondence courses and independent
study programs are permitted under categories 1 and 2, if the course provides
for interaction between the participant and the course administrator. This
usually takes the form of periodic examinations and must be documented;
otherwise, correspondence courses may be counted under Category 5.
Contact-hours are assigned on the basis of the credits granted by the
sponsoring organization. If the organization uses a semester system, the number
of credits is multiplied by 15; for a quarter system, the number of credits is
multiplied by 10.
(10) University
and college taught activities taken in pursuit of a degree may be counted as
Category 1 so long as that degree is not being obtained to meet the minimum
qualifications for registration as a registered forester. This will generally
include graduate degrees and non-forestry degrees. Credits will be assigned as
described above for correspondence courses.
(11) Minimum continuing education
requirements for annual license renewal are a total of 10 contact hours of
continuing education.
(a) A minimum of 5
contact hours must be in Category 1 or 2. However, the entire requirement may
be met with hours in Category 1, only.
(b) A maximum of 5 contact hours may be
claimed in categories 3 through 6.
(12) Continuing forestry education hours may
be obtained from the following providers or through independent study, so long
as they conform with the requirements set out above. Providers described in
paragraphs a, b, c and d below will not require prior Board approval. Licensees
documentation for providers in a, b, c and d should include the course outline
and instructors' names and qualifications.
(a) Professional Associations. Continuing
forestry education hours may be obtained by participating in activities
sponsored by or approved by the Society of American Foresters or other
professional associations. A properly authorized official of the professional
organization shall certify the number of contact hours of educational content
of each sponsored or approved activity.
(b) Educational Institutions. Continuing
forestry education hours may be obtained by completing non-forestry degree or
graduate level course work or by participating in continuing educational
programs sponsored by or approved by educational institutions accredited by a
regional body recognized by the Council of Post-Secondary Accreditation. The
educational institution shall certify the number of contact hours of
educational content in each sponsored or approved program.
(c) Government Agencies. Continuing forestry
education hours may be obtained by participating in inservice training,
courses, or workshops sponsored by federal, state or local agencies. The
provider shall certify the number of contact hours of educational content in
each sponsored activity.
(d) Forest
Industry. Continuing forestry education hours may be obtained by participating
in in-house training, courses or workshops. The provider shall certify the
number of contact hours of educational content in each sponsored
activity.
(e) Board Approved
Providers.
1. Continuing forestry education
may be obtained by participating in activities sponsored by Board Approved
Providers, so long as the provider was approved at the time the program was
offered. Board Approved Providers may only offer programs in the topic areas
for which they have been approved. The provider shall certify the number of
contact hours of educational content in each continuing education
activity.
2. In order to qualify
for initial Board approval, to renew Board approval or to qualify for approval
in additional topic areas, a provider must apply to the Board. The application
must be received in the Board office prior to the date the course is to be
given. The application must include the following:
(i) A description of the topic areas in which
the provider plans to sponsor continuing education activities.
(ii) The names of all instructors currently
offering continuing education activities, a description of the topic areas in
which each instructor is qualified to teach along with a vita or other evidence
demonstrating that each instructor is qualified in the identified topic
area.
(iii) Program outlines,
including instructors, objectives and schedules for all continuing education
activities the provider has plans to present.
3. Board Approved Provider status shall
expire four years from the date of approval and may be renewed by application
to the Board. The Board retains the right to monitor continuing education
programs sponsored by Board Approved Providers and will withdraw approval from
providers who do not maintain the standards demonstrated in their application.
Board Approved Providers shall notify the Board in writing of a change of
address or of a decision to withdraw from Board Approved Provider
status.
(13)
Standards similar to those required for Category 1 providers are expected for
Category 2 providers except that the professional societies will be other than
forestry related. The Board will not approve any other providers but will
accept Category 1 and 2 courses approved by other state licensing boards in the
appropriate specialty areas.
Notes
Author: Aprille B. Cook
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, ยง 34-12-8(b).
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.