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Continuing Education Requirement
Certificate
holders are required to participate in at least
12 hours of continuing education or training every two
years. The policy affects all CWEA certificates and
grade levels.
Continuing
Education is required to help ensure that individuals
certified by CWEA continue to be knowledgeable of technological
advancements and regulatory requirements in the wastewater
fields. Continuing education enhances the operation,
maintenance and management skills of the certificate
holders, and ensures the quality of wastewater treatment.
This ultimately increases the ability and confidence
of certificate holders and the credibility of the wastewater
professions certified by CWEA.
What This
Means For Certificate Holders
Certificate holders are required to include documentation
of 12 Contact Hours of pre-accepted training and/or
education with their certificate renewals every two
years. The
training must address the Essential Duties
of the vocation
and grade level of the certificate held. The Essential Duties
are a list of job tasks that are covered on the
certification tests. The Essential Duties for each certificate
are available in each candidate Handbook.
Remember, any training or educational activity will
be acceptable as long as it is related to at least one
of the Essential Duties and is pre-approved by CWEA.
You may even apply your Contact Hours to more than one
certificate as long as the training program focuses
on some of the Essential Duties of each vocation.
12 Hours Every Two Years
Certificates are still renewed every year. However,
every other year each certificate requires documentation showing the 12 Contact Hours
of training
and/or education. The system is much like California’s
vehicle registration where smog certificates are required
every other year, but renewals occur annually.
|
Biennial Windows |
Month Certificate
Issued / Renewed |
Begin Earning Contact Hours
|
First Contact Hours Due |
| Month / 2009 |
Month / 2009 |
Month / 2011 |
| Month / 2010 |
Month / 2010 |
Month / 2012 |
The basic definition of a Contact Hour is 50 minutes
of training or instruction, or its equivalent (1.2 CEU
is equal to 12 Contact Hours). There
are many ways to earn Contact Hours. A few examples
are listed below:
- Participating in on-the-job training
- Attend training conferences or workshops
- Complete college courses
- Complete self-study courses (such as Cal Sate Sacramento
Wastewater Programs)
- Teaching a course
- Training others
- Writing technical articles or books
- Giving a technical presentation
Any training or education activity that focuses on
the Essential Duties of the vocation is likely to be accepted. Since all training programs must be
accepted before they are given, certificate holders are sure
to know which programs will be able to offer Contact
Hours.
Renewing Your Certificate
When Contact Hours are due, certificate
holders will need to pay their fees and submit all paperwork
documenting their Contact Hours. To minimize the flow
of paperwork, CWEA will only accept complete renewal
packages that include all required Contact Hour paperwork
and the appropriate fee. Partial Contact Hour documentation
will not be accepted. It is the responsibility of the
certificate holder to make sure that the records are
kept until renewal time. CWEA recommends that certificate
holders keep a copy of all training certificates just
in case things get lost in the mail.
Although CWEA will provide a general
form to record Contact Hours earned at a training event,
any paperwork will be acceptable as long as it includes
the following information:
- Certificate holder’s name
- Course completion date
- Educational unit type earned (Contact Hours, semester units, quarter
units, or continuing education units or points)
- Number of Contact Hours, units, or points awarded
- Course title
- Name of the issuing organization
- Authorized
signature, stamp, seal, or other means of validation
accepted by CWEA.
What This Means For In-House Trainers
In-house training (training conducted by the
employer or a contractor of the employer) does not need
to be pre-accepted. If the in-house training event is
related to a CWEA certified vocation, then it will be
accepted for that vocation. 1 Contact Hour will be
accepted for every 50 minutes of training.
More
information for in-house trainers
What This Means For All Other Trainers
Trainers, other than in-house trainers, are
required to have their training and educational program
pre-accepted for contact hours. Pre-acceptance means
that CWEA will accept certificates of completion, or
other suitable documentation, issued by the trainer.
Certificates of completion are issued by the trainer,
given to the attendee, who then sends a copy to CWEA
when his or her contact hours are due.
Certificates of completion should not be sent from the
trainer to CWEA.
More information for trainers (Other than in-house
trainers)
Standardized Training Programs
Pre-accepted standardized training programs may be
given multiple times within a two year period. The training
program must be submitted for approval again after two
years. If possible, the original application should
include all training dates and trainers for the program.
If dates and/or instructors are added or changed, CWEA
must be notified within two weeks of the training event.
Approved Training Events and Training Relevant to
Each Vocation
The Recertification
and Renewal page lists pre-approved training events,
trainers, and a list of training that is relevant to
each vocation.
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