Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 3, § 6512.2 - Interactive Online and Webinar Continuing Education Courses

(a) Requests for approval of interactive online courses shall be submitted at least 60 days before the intended course offering date. Requests for approval of webinar courses shall be submitted at least 30 days before the intended course offering date. Courses shall not be approved for more than 8 hours of continuing education credit per application. Submissions must include:

(1) A complete Interactive Online and Webinar Continuing Education Approval Request Application form LIC-131B (Rev. 07/23), hereby incorporated by reference, $45 fee, and:

(A) For interactive online courses, a comprehensive course syllabus which provides a detailed outline of the course. The syllabus must contain at a minimum, the learning objectives for the course, the amount of time allocated to each learning objective, and the continuing education category(ies) hours requested ("Pesticide Laws and Regulations," "Aerial Pest Control Equipment and Application Techniques," or "Other") for each learning objective.

(B) For webinar courses, a comprehensive agenda that provides:

1. A description of the course;

2. The title of each presentation;

3. The main points of each presentation;

4. The start and end time of each presentation;

5. The continuing education category(ies) requested for each presentation ("Pesticide Laws and Regulations," "Aerial Pest Control Equipment and Application Techniques," or "Other"); and

6. The name and affiliation of each speaker.

(2) Access to the course in the same format that the course will be presented to attendees.

(3) An explanation of how the identity of the attendee will be verified. Acceptable formats are:

(A) A means of visually observing the attendee throughout the duration of the course, such as web cameras and proctored locations, or

(B) Inclusion of the following verification of fraud statement that attendees are required to agree to prior to starting the course:

"Allowing someone other than the person identified as the course attendee to complete this online continuing education course, in order to qualify for Department of Pesticide Regulation approved continuing education hours, constitutes fraud. Committing fraud in connection with meeting any license requirement, including to obtain renewal of any license or certificate issued by the Department of Pesticide Regulation or a County Agricultural Commissioner may result in civil and criminal penalties or license denial, suspension, or revocation.

By selecting yes, I verify and attest to the fact that I am the person whose name and license or certificate number appears in course sign-in dialogue box and on the license or certificate.

Yes _____

No _____"

(b) Interactive online and webinar continuing education courses submitted for approval must include:

(1) Features for monitoring and ensuring course attendance and participation, such as: quiz or review questions, random pop-up questions, check boxes, and/or key codes.

(A) For interactive online courses, a minimum of three participation response actions per hour, at least one of which occurs at an irregular interval, is required. If these actions are not responded to, the participant must be automatically logged out of the course.

(B) For webinar courses, a minimum of three participation response actions per hour is required.

(2) Features to prevent an attendee from fast forwarding through any portion of the course or participating in more than one course simultaneously.

(3) Features for time stamping the course and tracking when the attendee starts the course, completes the course, and total time spent on the course. This attendance information must be recorded and retained by the sponsor in accordance with section 6513.

(4) A username and password used to access the course that is unique for each license or certificate holder.

(5) For interactive online courses longer than one hour, a minimum 5-question quiz meeting the requirements in (c) must occur every hour of accredited time.

(6) Upon conclusion of an interactive online or webinar course, a minimum 10-question final examination must be given that meets the requirements specified in (c).

(7) A copy of all quiz and exam questions.

(c) Interactive online and webinar continuing education quiz and final examination requirements:

(1) Questions must be directly derived from course content and answerable based on the content presented during the course.

(2) Questions must be in multiple choice format with one correct answer and at least two plausible but incorrect options and must not contain "all of the above," "none of the above," or other all-inclusive response options.

(3) For interactive online courses all quizzes must be passed with a score of 70 percent or greater before the attendee is allowed to advance in a course. The final exam must be passed with a score of 70 percent or greater before a course completion certificate may be issued to the attendee.

(4) For webinar courses, the final examination must be passed with a score of 70 percent or greater before a course completion certificate may be issued to the attendee.

(5) Different versions of quizzes and final examinations must be available for retest, if the sponsor allows the option to retest. Different versions may be achieved by presenting new questions to the attendee or by varying the order of questions and answers each time the final exam is taken. All possible quiz and exam questions must be submitted to DPR as required in (b)(7).

(d) Interactive online and webinar courses approved in the preceding year must also meet the following requirements for approval:

(1) Reflect current information.

(2) Contain quiz and exam questions different from any questions used in the preceding year's approved version of the course.

(e) The Director may deny any interactive online and webinar course that does not meet the criteria in sections 6512 and 6512.2. Previously denied interactive online and webinar courses must be revised to meet the criteria and resubmitted in accordance with subsection 6512.2(a) with a new fee before being reconsidered for continuing education hours.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 3, § 6512.2

1. New section filed 6-30-2023; operative 1-1-2024 (Register 2023, No. 26).

Note: Authority cited: Sections 11456 and 11502.5, Food and Agricultural Code. Reference: Section 11502.5, Food and Agricultural Code.

1. New section filed 6-30-2023; operative 1/1/2024 (Register 2023, No. 26).