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Professional Development

This information is identical in content with that printed in the Annual Report.

001. As a condition for renewal of a Certificate of Registration for the Practice of Land Surveying in Nebraska, all actively registered professional land surveyors are required to successfully complete 30 hours of professional development within the preceding 2 calendar years. Any certificate holder who completes in excess of 30 hours of professional development within the preceding 2 calendar years may have the excess, not to exceed 15 hours, applied to the next biennium. All Professional Development Hours (PDHs) must be obtained during the time the professional land surveyor's registration has been active. Professional Development Hours specifically for compliance with paragraph 008. of this chapter and/or paragraph 013. of Chapter 4 will not apply to the biennial conditions for renewal and will only be counted toward those specific purposes exclusively.

002. Professional Development Hours (PDHs) are credited based upon the following list:

    002.01. The active full-time teaching of land surveying as defined by the Land Surveyors Regulation Act, at the college level within the immediately preceding 2 calendar years shall be counted as 3 PDHs per calendar year. Partial fulfillment of a calendar year in this rule will not be counted. Maximum credit of 6 PDHs in this category in any renewal period.

    002.02. Membership in a local, regional, state or national society which is directly related to the practice of land surveying shall be counted as 1 PDH per society per calendar year with a maximum credit of 4 PDHs in this category in any renewal period.

    002.03. Serving as a member of a board or commission which has as its primary duty the registration and review of professional land surveyors, such as a state board of registration, shall be counted as 1 PDH per calendar year.

    002.04. Serving as a member of a committee of a board or commission which has as its primary duty the preparation and grading of written tests which are given for the purpose of determining the proficiency of an applicant for registration as a professional land surveyor shall be counted as 5 PDHs per calendar year.

    002.05. Organizing a conference or seminar with a duration of a minimum of 4 hours which is directly related to land surveying shall be counted as 1.5 PDHs per conference or seminar.

    002.06. Attendance at a workshop, conference, or seminar which is directly related to land surveying shall be counted as 1 PDH per actual hour of attendance. “Attendance at” includes participation on a live interactive video conference. Such sessions must be certified by the sponsoring organization, planned in advance, and a record maintained describing the content.

    002.07. Teaching at a workshop, conference, or seminar which is directly related to land surveying shall be counted as 2 PDHs per actual hour of teaching time, not to include any preparation time.

    002.08. College level courses directly related to land surveying shall be counted as 30 PDHs per credit hour.

    002.09. Non-college level extension or correspondence courses which are directly related to land surveying shall be counted as 15 PDHs per credit hour.

    002.10. Publication of and/or presentation at a technical meeting of a professional paper, authored by the writer or presenter, directly related to land surveying shall be counted as 5 PDHs per professional paper. The maximum allowable under this paragraph is 15 PDHs in any renewal period.

    002.11. Completion of “on-line” correspondence, televised, videotaped, audiotaped and other non-interactive or pre-recorded short courses/tutorials shall be counted as 1 PDH per actual hour of attendance. An exam is required for completion unless attendance is documented. The maximum allowable under this paragraph is 15 PDHs in any renewal period.

    002.12. Completion of a minimum of 2 hours of Professional Development in an ethics course or a course on the Nebraska Land Surveyors Regulation Act is required for each renewal period. This course may be “on-line” or in person and is counted toward any previously established maximum described above.

003. Each registrant applying for renewal is required to submit a statement of their PDHs obtained in the period defined in this chapter in paragraph 001. Should the registrant desire to have any excess PDHs applied to the requirement for the next biennium it shall be so stated in the space provided on said form. If the Examining Board should, for any reason, deny or modify the registrant's request for carry-over, the Secretary of the Examining Board will notify the registrant of such action on or before the immediately following April 15th. The registrant's renewal application is to be submitted on a form provided by the Examining Board, containing a statement, signed by the registrant, which certifies the correctness thereof. Such statement will be included on the registrant's request for renewal.

004. The Secretary of the Examining Board will randomly select from the list of potential renewal registrants each biennium a percentage, determined by the Examining Board, to be audited for compliance with paragraph 001. All applicants who have received extensions to complete PDHs in the prior renewal period are automatically added to the audit list. The Examining Board may select for audit any biennial renewal not received on or before January 1st of each odd-numbered year.

005. Any registrant who has submitted a correctly completed renewal application as required in paragraph 003., has met all other requirements, and whose name does not appear on the audit list defined in paragraph 004., may be granted registration renewal by the Secretary of the Examining Board.

006. When a registrant whose number appears on the audit list applies for renewal, the Secretary of the Examining Board will obtain documentation from the registrant showing a detailed accounting of the various PDHs claimed by the registrant, review the documentation, and attempt to verify the PDHs shown on the documentation provided by the registrant. Upon completion of the review, the Secretary of the Examining Board will prepare a recommendation to the Examining Board stating whether the registrant's PDHs meet the requirements of paragraph 001. and 002.

007. The Examining Board will review all documentation and the Secretary of the Examining Board's recommendations of all registrants shown on the audit list. If the Examining Board determines the registrant has met the requirements, the registrant may be granted renewal of their registration. If the Examining Board determines the registrant has not met the requirements, the registrant's registration will not be renewed. Any registrant denied registration by renewal will be notified by the Secretary of the Examining Board.

008. Any registrant not having obtained the necessary minimum PDH's applying for registration renewal, may request an extension at the time of application for renewal. A valid request is received by the Secretary of the Examining Board prior to the end of the registration biennium and shows good cause as to why the registrant was unable to comply with the biennial renewal regulations described in this chapter. An invalid request for an extension is a request received after the end of the registration biennium and is not eligible for consideration of an extension. The request for an extension will include the reason for the request and any relevant documentation supporting the request. The Examining Board may take into consideration such reasons as extensive travel outside the United States, extended illness of the registrant or immediate family members, or the death of an immediate family member. All valid extension requests are ruled on by the Examining Board and the decision of the Examining Board is final. Invalid extension requests will be automatically denied by the Secretary of the Examining Board.

009. Any registrant denied renewal pursuant to this chapter, may contest said ruling by filing an appeal within 30 days of denial by the Examining Board. Appellants may be allowed a hearing as prescribed in Chapter 11. Such hearing will be determined at the convenience of the Examining Board and will be held within 90 days of the receipt of the appeal by the Examining Board. The decision of the Examining Board on all such appeals is final. The current registration of the appellant shall be extended during the appeal process and will run from the date of filing of the appeal until the Examining Board reaches a final decision.

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Information Provided By:

The Nebraska Board of Examiners for Land Surveyors
555 North Cotner Blvd. - Lower Level
Lincoln, Nebraska 68505
Tel: (402) 471-2566