Engineering Inc. - January/February 2007 - 48

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/mnt/data/www.nxtbook.com/fx/config_1.3/global.php on line 10 O N E ON ONE
New ACEC-NCEES Partnership Spells Greater Uniformity on Licensure Mobility
Louis A. Raimondi is president of the National Council of Examiners for
Engineering and Surveying in Clemson, S.C. Q. A What impact will the new
ACEC-NCEES Registered Continuing Education Providers Program RCEPP have on
the profession? . More than half of all states now require continuing
education for engineers, and requirements from state to state are far from
uniform. They can vary from the number of credit hours required per year to
the types of acceptable courses. This lack of uniformity has increasingly
become a threat to licensure mobility. For engineers and surveyors
licensed in multiple states, keeping up with license renewal can be
complicated and burdensome. Nonstandardization of recordkeeping has made
the process even more unmanageable. I’ve believed for some time now that
what we need is a central recordkeeping repository that member boards and
licensees can access. RCEPP was created to do just that. This
collaborative effort between ACEC and NCEES will make it easier for engi48
ENGINEERING INC. neers and surveyors to manage their continuing
professional competency CPC requirements. Licensees can select courses and
activities offered by providers that have agreed to meet the rigorous
standards developed by NCEES. RCEPP provides a central place where they
can look up CPC requirements for each state, search for registered
providers and even find upcoming classes listed on a master calendar. The
form they use to log their credits also is a standardized reporting form.
I believe that as RCEPP grows and as more providers register, it has the
potential to drastically reduce the amount of time licensed engineers and
surveyors must currently spend on reporting and tracking CPC activity.
This, in turn, will allow them to concentrate more on their profession.
vices in accordance with the NCEES standard. For a provider to meet this
standard, it must demonstrate highquality professional practices. Although
NCEES registers the providers, it is still up to the individual boards to
determine if an activity complies with a jurisdiction’s requirements. Q
. Do you believe in a single national license for engineers, or is the
status quo of individual state engineering licenses best? A Q A . How will
RCEPP affect state licensing boards? . The portability of a national
license would be welcome, but I believe that the individual license by
state works well in addressing the needs of the public. NCEES is aware of
the problems this can create for licensees who need licensure in more than
one state. We are striving to achieve greater uniformity in the
registration and comity processes among various state boards. dynamic
field as engineering. The increasing complexity of the field of
engineering and the globalization of the practice requires a constant
review of existing standards—with revisions as necessary. There is no
particular challenge in providing standards for professional ethics in the
engineering and land surveying professions. Solid standards already are in
place. Engineers should conduct business in an honest and aboveboard
fashion; practice only in areas in which they have the appropriate
expertise based upon education and experience; and work to ensure the
protection of the public. Q . What actions should be taken to address the
national shortage of engineers? A . Many state boards do not pre-approve
providers of continuing education activities and constantly are contacted
by licensees and asked for recommendations for courses and activities that
will satisfy that jurisdiction’s continuing education requirements. RCEPP
provides a list of registered providers that have agreed to offer their
ser- Q . What challenges does NCEES face in providing licensing standards
and professional ethics for practicing engineers and land surveyors? A .
Ensuring that licensing standards are current and appropriate to the times
is a constant challenge with such a . Engineering societies need to speak
with one voice in promoting the engineering profession and its benefits.
We also need to show that engineering is a great profession. We need to
change the perception of an engineer as someone who works 18 hours a day
in the back of an office to a professional who solves everyday problems
and enjoys the interaction of colleagues as well as the challenge of
discovering what makes something work and how to make it work better. n
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Engineering Inc. - January/February 2007

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