Continuing
Education
Reminder:
Your signed continuing education log must be included with your renewal form
and renewal fee!
A
Primer on Continuing Education
Continuing Education Highlights
Short on Continuing Education Hours?
Architect Emeritus
Credit Verifications for
Pro Bono Work
Health, Safety, and Welfare Subject Matter
NMBEA On-Line Continuing
Education Course
See
also, Rule 16 NMAC 30.3.11.2 and Continuing
Education Form
A
Primer on Continuing Education
This is the second
renewal cycle where registrants have been required to meet continuing education
requirements in order to maintain their registrations in New Mexico. as a
refresher, here are answers to the most often asked questions:
- What
is the time frame in which I have to accumulate my credit hours, and how
do I keep track of what I've done?
You have had a two-year period to acquire your credit hours, beginning on
January 1, 2002 and ending on December 31, 2003. In addition, if you accumulated
more than 24 hours in the last renewal cycle, you were eligible to carry-over
a maximum of 8 of these additional
hours to be credited during this cycle. You received a reporting form for
2002-03 with your registration. The form was also included in the renewal
packet just mailed to you. The form is
also available on the website.
- If
I have an AIA transcript, do I need to rewrite everything on the continuing
education form?
If you have an AIA transcript, attach a copy of it to the
NM continuing education form and write "See Attached" on the NM
form. Remember, you must sign the affidavit
on the NM form.
- What
is a contact hour, and how many do I need to accumulate?
A contact hour is 50 minutes of contact, which may be acquired through a
wide variety of activities. The activities are listed under Rule 16
NMAC 30.3.1.1.2. You need to accumulate 24 contact hours in a 24 month
renewal period. At least 16 of these hours must be related to public protection
subjects, safeguarding life, health, property and promoting public welfare.
If you earn additional hours during the 24 month renewal period, you can
carry over a maximum of 8 hours to the next renewal cycle.
- Does
the board pre-approve courses?
Neither the
Board nor the staff pre-approves courses. The activities listed under Rule
16 NMAC 30.3.1.1.2 provide a guide for you to
determine if the specific activity you are considering qualifies.
- I live
in a remote area and would find it burdensome to have to travel to larger
cities to obtain college or seminar credits. Is there another
way for me to acquire my contact hours?
There are many options available through distance learning for those who
do not have access to in-person contact. Self-study courses offered by the
National Council of Architectural Registration Boards and the American Institute
of Architects are examples of this option. Another example of a way in which
to acquire contact hours would be serving on your local planning commission
or building code advisory board.
- Do
I submit all my records and documentation of the activities I completed
when I renew my license in December of 2003?
No! The only thing you turn in with your license renewal is the continuing
education form. The Board will be conducting a random audit of registrants
regarding continuing education. If you are audited you will be required
to submit proof of completion of the activities you listed on your form.
So you do need to keep all receipts and proof of attendance in the event
you are audited.
- Can
I submit the renewal form and check if I haven't completed all my continuing
education hours?
No! Your renewal will be processed ONLY if you have submitted the continuing
education form and have recorded the required number of hours. Remember,all
fees are non-refundable and late renewals mean late fees.
- Is
there any way I can find out about courses and seminars others have taken
to know if they were useful or not or let other registrants know about courses
I did or did not like?
The Board suggests that registrants submit their opinions of the various
activities they've been involved in so that other registrants may benefit
from their experiences. Please feel free to email your suggestions to nmbea
- Are
exemptions granted?
Exemptions are listed under 16.30.3.11 B (8) NMAC
- Does
the Board consider hardship cases?
Under 16.30.3.11 B (10) NMAC, the Board can consider a hardship case. During
the last renewal cycle, the board considered a few medical hardship cases.
These registrants were asked to provide a letter of explanation and a letter
from the physician.
*** Please remember, you are responsible for familiarizing yourself with
the entire rule pertaining to continuing education. Rule 16
NMAC 30.3.1.1.2 gives you a complete description of the accepted activities,
records and record keeping, and all other facts relating to this requirement,
including the results of non-compliance.
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Continuing
Education Highlights
For a complete
description see Rules: 16 NMAC 30.3.1.1.2
- A contact
hour is 50 minutes of contact with an instructor or course. Most distance
learning courses, such as monographs from NCARB, give the course a value
in terms of contact hours. It will state that this course is worth 7 contact
hours. Instructor-taught courses will run a certain amount of time and,
therefore, it should be easy for the registrant to figure out the contact
hours.
- A registrant
can earn a maximum of 8 contact hours biennially for professional service
to the public [Rules: 16 NMAC 30.3.11.1.2 D7]
only when that service is voluntary. For instance, if a registrant
is also acting as a building inspector in his jurisdiction, and being paid
to do so, he cannot use this time for continuing education credits.
- A registrant
may earn up to 8 contact hours biennially for serving as a mentor for the
Intern Development Program (IDP) or the ARE study sessions. An alternative
to this would be serving as a mentor for a student/intern architectural
project that benefits the general public.
- The N.M.
Board of Examiners for Architects will conduct random audits of its registrants
to verify authenticity of reported continuing education credit hours. The
random audits will be conducted on an undetermined percentage of registrants.
- When audited,
a registrant shall send copies of original receipts and other authentication
for all courses claimed on the continuing education form.
- Registrants
are encouraged to send their comments on courses taken (positive and negative)
to the Board office.
- Amaximum
of 8 hours may be carried over from one renewal cycle to another.
- If another
jurisdiction accepts the N.M. Continuing Education Requirements as credit
in their state, New Mexico will accept that jurisdictions CE requirements.
- The continuing
ed form must be returned with the renewal (due December 31, 2003).
The form only is returned. No documentation is required at that time;
that will be requested if the person is audited.
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Short
on Continuing Education Hours? (Please refer to 16
NMAC 30.3.1.1.2 )
The
NMBEA on-line course is free and available 7/11. You can accumulate 5 h/s/w
contact hours by completing all scenarios. For various fees, other on-line
vendors have courses that can be accessed quickly . Have you done any pro
bono work in the last two years? A maximum of 8 hours can be accumulated for
pro bono work for non-profits or ARE/IDP mentoring. [See (h) or (i)] Credit
hours are also available for service in an architectural capacity to the public
or profession on boards and commissions. [See (g)] Still counting? Did you
attend an office luncheon meeting on architectural materials and uses presented
by a manufacturers representative. [See (b) or (c)]
Architect
Emeritus
(formerly "Senior Architect")
"Architect Emeritus " is a category established by board rule for
those who have retired from the practice of architecture,
are 60 years of age or older, and have had ten years of continuous practice,
five of which have been as a registered architect in New Mexico. Architects
Emeritus are exempt from continuing education requirements.
Credit
Verifications
- To
authenticate community service credit hours the
following is needed:
- Correspondence
from the non-profit entity, on its letterhead, which gives its specific
non-profit status.
- In this
same letter the non-profit should state what the architectural nature
of the work performed consisted of.
- The letter
should also state how many hours the registrant donated to the non-profit
for the architectural project involved.
- A maximum
of 8 credit hours can be granted for this kind of work.
- To
authenticate contact hours for professional service to a board, commission
or committees
the following is needed:
- Correspondence
from the entity, on its letterhead, which states what specific purpose
this board or commission is mandated to address.
- This
letter should also state how the registrant's architectural expertise
served the purpose of the board or commission.
- This
letter should also state approximately how many credit hours the registrant
spent in participation with the board or commission.
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Health,
Safety, and Welfare Subject Matter
By
rule, 16.30.3.11 (2) (b) NMAC, “Health, safety and welfare in architecture”
is anything that relates to the structure or soundness of a building or site
or its role in promoting the health, safety or well being of its occupants.
At
its February 2, 2001 Board meeting, the New Mexico Board of Examiners for
Architects voted to allow the AIA definitions for Health, Safety, & Welfare
to serve as examples to clarify appropriate subject matter in the determination
of the Board's continuing education health, safety, and welfare requirements.
Health, Safety, and Welfare in architecture is anything that relates to the
structure or soundness of a building or site.
Examples:
A. Health: Aspects of architecture that
have salutary effects among users of buildings or sites and address environmental
issues. Examples would be appropriate air temperature, humidity, and quality;
adequate provisions for personal hygiene; and nontoxic materials or finishes.
B. Safety: Aspects of architecture intended
to limit or prevent accidental injury or death among users of buildings or
sites. Examples would be the provision of fire-rated egress enclosures, automatic
sprinkler systems, and stairs with correct rise-to-run proportions.
C. Welfare: Aspects of architecture that engender positive emotional
responses among, or enable equal access by, users of building or sites. Examples
would be spaces whose scale, proportions, materials, and color are pleasing
for the intended use; spaces that afford natural light and views of nature;
and provisions for users with disabilities.
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NMBEA
Offers On-Line Continuing Education Course
The
NMBEA web site now features a continuing education course on the Architectural
Act and Board rules and regulations. The course consists of 5 scenarios. Each
scenario is worth 1 contact hour as a health,safety, and welfare subject.
A few points to keep in mind: please be patient with download times; make
sure all the correct answers show before you click the button for a verification
page, and print out the verification page for your continuing education records.
To reach the course, click here
