September/October 2017

PE Report
Vermont Board Approves Mandatory Continuing Education Requirement

Professional engineers licensed in Vermont will now be mandated to earn 30 professional development hours every two years for license renewal. The new rules became effective on August 1, and the first renewal period begins August 2018. Licensees will need to obtain a minimum of 15 PDHs to renew during this period.

The Vermont Board of Professional Engineering requires that licensees take courses and activities in the following areas: technical topics directly related to the practice of engineering; awareness of professional practice ethical concerns and conflicts; an understanding of standards of practice or care; or engineering management.

The Vermont Society of Professional Engineers supports the enactment of mandatory continuing education. NSPE also supports mandatory continuing professional competency for licensed engineers in addition to comity among licensing jurisdictions to provide practice mobility of professional engineers. NSPE encourages uniformity in continuing education programs through use of the NCEES Model Rules for Continuing Professional Competence and urges its state societies to assist state licensing boards in implementing these rules in all jurisdictions.

Licensees in Vermont will be able to obtain professional development hours in the following ways:

• College courses (10 PDHs per semester credit; six PDHs per quarter credit);
• Continuing education courses, seminars, presentations, and workshops, including those provided by employers outside of normal on-the-job training;
• Teaching or presenting college and/or continuing education courses and seminars. PDHs may be earned at double the presentation length; however, repetitions of the same material may not be credited and full-time faculty may not claim teaching credit associated with their regular duties;
• Authoring published papers, articles, or books related to the licensee’s specialty discipline or practice (five PDHs each and not to exceed 15 PDHs in a biennial period); and
• Active participation in development of engineering codes and standards (up to two PDHs per code or standard).

PDHs earned through college courses, continuing education courses, and teaching and presenting courses may be earned in person, online, through correspondence, by television, or through prerecorded media.

Access NSPE’s State-By-State Summary of Continuing Education Requirements for Professional Engineers.