Over half of U.S. states have Continuing Professional Competency (CPC) requirements for professional engineers.  At this time, it appears that New York and Florida are the only states that require pre-approval of activities or vendors for professional development hours (PDHs).   Engineers in Florida and New York are required to take continuing education courses from Approved Providers.  In Arkansas, Louisiana and North Carolina, use of Approved Providers is not required, but pre-approval assures that PDHs will be accepted by the certifying or licensing boards.  If you are in one these states, your chapter may want to contact the state licensing board to find out what is required to become an Approved Provider or Sponsor. 

In other states with mandatory CPC requirements, it is generally the responsibility of the engineers to select courses that meet the state guidelines.  However, some of these states will pre-approve PDHs.  You should contact the licensing board or professional engineering society in your state to determine whether pre-approval is possible.  Professional engineers will be much more likely to attend an activity where they are guaranteed to receive PDHs, which can be expensive to obtain elsewhere.  Typical state guidelines define a qualified course as one whose purpose and objective are clear with a content that will “maintain, improve, or expand the skills and knowledge of the licensee’s field of practice.”

National Society of Professional Engineers

 703-684-2800

www.nspe.org