 BOARD OF EXAMINERS OF LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTS
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Continuing Professional Competency Regulations Draft Completed
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Regulations addressing the new licensing renewal requirement of continuing professional competency (CPC) have been drafted, and the Board intends to have them published this summer in the Maryland Register and on the DLLR website. Once they are published, the public will be invited to participate in a hearing before the Board prior to the regulations becoming final.
The phase-in period for CPC will be from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016, wherein licensees will have to report 12 hours of continuing professional competency, or half of the full requirement. Beginning October 1, 2016, licensees will be required to report the full 24 hours. Licensees will be exempt from the requirement for their first renewal.
Continuing professional competency will be measured in units called professional development hours (PDHs), with one PDH defined as 50 minutes of face-to-face or distance learning instruction in health, safety and welfare subjects. The courses or other activities must have prior approval for credit by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), the Landscape Architecture Continuing Education System (LACES) or the Board. The PDHs earned must incorporate clear outcome measures (e.g., quizzes, projects, narratives), and a maximum of 12 PDHs earned in excess of the required 24 can be carried forward to the following license renewal term.
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As part of the Maryland applications for original licenses, licenses by reciprocity and the prequalification application to take the Landscape Architect Registration Examination (L.A.R.E.), applicants are required to provide evidence of landscape architect experience by submitting a Report of Professional Experience (RPE). The RPEs for each employment are required to be endorsed by a licensed landscape architect who is/was (ideally) the immediate supervisor of the applicant's work. However, if an applicant is unable to obtain an endorsement from a licensed landscape architect, there are three other options that are potentially acceptable to the Board: * A licensed architect * A professional engineer * A certified planner In each case, the endorser must have experience that is acceptable to the Board in the planning and design of land development. Please contact Board Secretary Deborah Heil if you have any questions.
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 BOARD OF ARCHITECTS
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Groups Work Toward Expediting Path to Licensure
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Committees formed by the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), the National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB), the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and higher educational institutions have been making strides toward the common goal of speeding up the licensure process for aspiring architects. For several years, NCARB has been vetting each of the major criteria for licensure, and adopting more streamlined, time-saving protocols: The Intern Development Program (IDP) can now be started earlier than before, and now includes credit for experience such as construction work and academic internships. The Architect Registration Examination® (ARE®) can now be taken before the IDP is completed. Work on simplifying the Broadly Experienced Architect (BEA) and Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect (BEFA) programs is ongoing.
In March 2014, the Board hosted University of Maryland representatives David Cronrath, Dean of the School of Architecture, and Brian Kelly, Program Director of the School of Architecture at its regular monthly meeting. Mr. Cronrath proposed a partnership with board members to develop model regulations for NCARB in support of speeding up licensure for students while still enrolled in academic programs. The university's immediate goals are to have students complete the IDP while still in school, and to take parts of the ARE® before graduation. The Board considered the university's goals from the standpoint of Maryland law and regulation, and agreed to designate a subcommittee to work with them.
The Board is currently working on updating a Maryland-specific matrix for students of architecture to refer to while working on satisfying the requirements of licensure. It will address the various paths that can be taken by candidates possessing degrees that are not accredited by NAAB and those without a degree in higher education.
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NCARB Granting Certificates to Architects from Mexico
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In the continuing effort to facilitate mutual recognition of licensure credits between the neighboring countries of Canada, Mexico and the United States, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) has announced it has begun granting NCARB Certificates to Mexican architects via the Tri-National Mutual Recognition Agreement for International Practice. The agreement, ratified by Member Boards in 2006, is modeled after the Broadly Experienced Foreign Architect (BEFA) program. Applicants must possess a recognized degree in architecture, 10 years of post-licensure practice with 2 years in responsible control (as opposed to the BFEA requirement of 7 years of experience), submission of a dossier, an interview, and completion of Certification through their local colegio and the Consejo Nacional de Registro de Certificacion (CONARC). NCARB anticipates that only Mexican architects will apply for an NCARB Certificate through the Tri-National Mutual Recognition Agreement, since Canadian architects can take advantage of the recently ratified Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA), which provides a more direct path for them to obtain an NCARB Certificate. To read about the MRA, please see the last issue of By Design.
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Last Chance for Some to Finish the ARE®
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Attention candidates who passed divisions of the ARE® prior to January 1, 2006:
The grandfather period of the 5-year rolling clock on passing all divisions of the ARE® is set to expire on July 1, 2014. If you passed any division of the exam, but haven't passed all divisions by that date, your score(s) will start to be invalidated for the division(s) passed prior to January 1, 2006.
NCARB informed the Board of Architects that Maryland candidates who may be affected by the expiration of the grandfather period were contacted personally by them. If you are affected, but did not receive notice and instructions from NCARB, please contact Board Secretary Terry White. If you want to see when your division credits are set to expire, log on to NCARB's My Examination and review your Rolling Clock history.
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NCARB Modifies Six-Month Reporting Rule
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At the March 2014 meeting of the Board, members voted to approve a change to the Intern Development Program (IDP) reporting requirement that will allow for interns to report on IDP experience earned outside of the six-month reporting rule. Currently, interns lose all credit for experience not reported in reporting periods of no longer than six months, and within two months of completion. If the change is voted on and approved by its Member Boards, NCARB will begin to count IDP credits up to five years beyond the current reporting requirements at a reduced value of 50 percent credit.
NCARB hopes that by adding some flexibility to reporting requirements, interns will be better supported in their path to licensure. If the change receives a favorable vote, it will be implemented beginning January 1, 2015.
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BOARD FOR PROFESSIONAL ENGINEERS
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Firm Permits Required by October 2015
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As noted in the Spring/Summer 2013 edition of By Design, Governor Martin O'Malley signed enabling legislation to establish a firm permitting requirement for Maryland corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies offering engineering services. Beginning on October 1, 2015, business entities that offer engineering services must hold a permit issued by the Board. Read the law online.Since the legislation was enacted, the Board has been establishing procedures to process new firm permits. So far, the permit application has been developed and fees have been discussed that will follow suit with the other professional design boards that already have firm permitting set in law and regulation. A notable provision of the firm permit statute is the requirement of firms to designate a "managing agent" on permit applications and renewals. The law states that a corporation, partnership, or limited liability company shall designate a Maryland professional engineer in good standing to be the managing agent for the entity. The managing agent shall be: - In a position to act on behalf of the corporation, partnership, or limited liability company in matters related to the practice of or the offering of the practice of engineering; and
- An employee, an owner, a director, an officer, a member, or a partner, as applicable, of the entity seeking a permit.
If the business entity's managing agent ceases to be affiliated with the entity, the Board must be notified within 30 days after the change, and a revised application must be submitted with the information for the new managing agent. The Board will update its website as it progresses on the implementation of the firm permit requirement. If you have any questions, please contact Board Secretary Ruby Courtney.
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Regulations Allowing Digital Signatures to be Published
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For several years, the Board for Professional Engineers has been discussing how to implement the use of digital signatures on engineering documents that are submitted to clients and public authorities for permit purposes. This spring, a set of proposed regulations has been formulated, and the Board intends to have them published in the Maryland Register shortly. The regulations are intended to allow for, but not require, the use of digital signatures by professional engineers. They do so by clarifying the definition the definition of "original signature" in Md. Code Ann., Bus. Occ. And Prof. §14-4A-02(a)(1). If a professional engineer opts to sign and seal documents with digital signature instead of a handwritten one, the digital signature will be acceptable in Maryland as long as it satisfies the following four requirements: - It contains identification unique to a licensee using it, such as the licensee's name and license number;
- It is under the exclusive control of the licensee using it;
- It cannot be repudiated and is independently verifiable; and
- It is linked to the document in such a manner that the digital signature is invalidated if any data in the document is modified.
After the proposed regulations are published, there will be a comment period for the public to respond, followed by final action to adopt them at the next open meeting of the Board.
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Subsidiaries Not Necessarily Approved for CPC
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When deciding on which courses to take for continuing competency, do you remember to check the Board's website to ensure you have chosen an approved provider? Recently, Board staff has seen an increase in Maryland professional engineers reporting PDHs (professional development hours) earned from subsidiaries of approved providers, and those entities are not necessarily recognized by the Board, since they did not go through the application approval process like their parent organizations. Licensees who obtain PDHs from subsidiaries do so at their own risk, and must submit supporting documentation to the Board, which may or may not be acceptable for license renewal. The full list of approved providers can be found online. ABET or regionally accredited academic learning institutions, national/local professional engineering societies, ACEC, NCEES and other organizations are pre-approved providers. For-profit companies can apply to the Board and become approved. A licensee may also take a presentation from other organizations, such as manufacturers, technical organizations, their own employer (brown bag lunches), and others and count as acceptable, provided the presentation maintains or enhances professional competency and fosters improvement, advancement, and extension of professional skills and knowledge related to the practice of engineering.
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CPC Reporting Successful in First Year After Phase-In Period
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Maryland professional engineers have been reporting on continuing professional competency (CPC) since October 2012, with the phase in of the full requirement on October 1, 2013. Now that almost a year of renewals at the 24 PDH level has passed, licensees are doing exceptionally well with reporting on CPC to the Board. Ninety-seven percent of 796 audits have now been completed successfully. Please remember to download a copy of the CPC Reporting Form to assist you in recording and categorizing your earned PDH units. If you've earned PDHs from a provider that is not pre-authorized, or you did not receive a certificate or other record of outcome measure upon completion, you can submit a CPC Assessment Form for the Board's consideration.
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FE Scheduling Rates and the CBT Transition
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Now that the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exam has fully converted to a computer-based format, licensing boards and NCEES have been monitoring candidates' scheduling rates to measure the success of the transition away from the paper-and-pencil format. How is Maryland doing so far?
NCEES compiled statistics from the first two testing windows of 2014. Numbers were available for the first full testing window of January through February and half of the April-May window. The numbers included those who took the exam, those who were scheduled for the remainder of the second window, and those who were either approved by the Board or waiting for approval by the Board to take the exam. All had registered and paid the fee to NCEES.
Although the Board expected the initial drop in registrations to be severe, that wasn't the case. When comparing the number of 2014 registrants to the same period last year, Maryland experienced a drop to 71%. Research suggested it would be much lower in the beginning of the CBT transition. By way of comparison, our neighboring states experienced the following decreases: Delaware dropped to 29%, Pennsylvania was at 64% and Virginia came in at 59%. Registration rates are expected to increase for all jurisdictions once candidates become fully acclimated to the new system, but the Board is pleased that Maryland candidates were so quick to embrace the change.
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Maryland Delegates Attend NCEES Northeast Zone Meeting
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 Board members and staff attended the NCEES Northeast Zone Interim meeting in early May. The meeting was held at the beautiful Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. The West Virginia Board of Professional Surveyors did an outstanding job both hosting the meeting and putting together an informative agenda. Topics included an update on conversion of the PS and PE exams to computer-based testing. Anticipated conversion dates of 2016 and 2017 were mentioned. All committees and task forces reported in preparation for voting at the annual meeting in August. |
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Unlicensed Individual Charged by Local Jurisdiction
In September 2012, the Board for Professional Engineers received a complaint alleging that an individual was using the license number of another engineer, and sealing documents without the engineer's consent. Through information obtained by the Board's investigator, it was learned that Pramod C. Mehta used the alias Paul C. Mehta, and signed and sealed documents using a license number belonging to someone else.
The local jurisdiction where the violations occurred (Montgomery County, Maryland) was contacted to pursue criminal charges. They instituted an investigation, and early this year, filed criminal charges. Pramod Mehta was charged with four counts ---- two for practicing without a license, and two for "unauthorized endorsement." He entered a guilty plea on all four counts, and was sentenced on July 11, 2014. He was fined $500 per count, but payment was suspended. He was also placed on one year unsupervised probation, and was granted probation before judgment.
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2014 Approvals for Continuing Competency Providers and Continuing Education Courses
The Maryland Professional Design Boards have approved the following course providers or courses for having met the criteria for offering qualifying programs to Maryland licensees. Each list represents providers that were not considered pre-authorized by law, and had to undergo an application process to determine the credibility and applicability of their offerings.
Licensees can view the full lists of providers or courses on each of the Boards' websites using the links below each list. CPC/CEU providers should review the lists periodically to verify that all information is correct and up-to-date.
2014 Approved CPC Providers for Professional Engineers
A. Morton Thomas and Associates, Inc. American Ground Water Trust AVO Training Institute, Inc. Clark Construction Group, LLC Courses Provider Ferguson Enterprises Geosyntec Consultants, Inc. Hydraulic Institute Institute for Design Professionals, LLC Keystone Retaining Wall Systems, LLC LMK Technologies Lee & McShane, PC Professional Development Seminars, Inc. (PDS, Inc.) Rinker Materials Ruskin Company S. K. Ghosh Associates, Inc. Sargent & Lundy, LLC Sauerisen- CTS TA Hydronics South Atlantic Section of the Air & Waste Management Association Van A. Singer, PE Virginia Asphalt Association
Pre-approved providers include:
- National (ABET/EAC), regional, or State accredited academic institutions
- National, State or regional engineering professional or technical societies or organizations
- National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES)
- American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC)
- International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET)
- Entities currently certified as approved providers by the pre-authorized providers listed above
2014 Approved CPC Providers for Professional Land Surveyors
Civitech Designs, Inc. InfaMap Corp. Smart Vent Products, Inc.
Pre-approved providers include:
- National, regional, or State accredited academic institutions
- National, State, or regional land surveying organizations
2014 Approved CEU Courses for Certified Interior Designers
Sponsor
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Course #
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Approved
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Course Title
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CEUs
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ASID
| 101749
| 04/18/14
| Understanding Your Clients Needs
| .3
| ASID
| 102124
| 04/18/14
| Creative Re-use of Buildings which is IDCEC approved
| .2
| ASID
| 102264
| 04/18/14
| Early Modern Paris: Dandies Decadence and Design
| .1
| ASID
| 102765
| 04/23/14
| Creativity in Paris: Four Centuries of French art
| .2
| DAS
| 103034
| 04/18/14
| Got EBD? Evidence-Based Design
| .8
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Full list of approved courses
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Board Updates
Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects
Three new members have joined the Board this spring. Suzanne Grefsheim, a retired Director of Library Services at the National Institutes of Health Library, is a new consumer member from Montgomery County. Gareth Diedrick, Branch Chief of Architecture and Engineering for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has joined the Board from Prince George's County. Mr. Diedrick is also designated as a consumer member of the Board. David E. Locke is the Board's newest licensed landscape architect. Mr. Locke works for KCI Technologies, Inc. and resides in Baltimore City.
Two members of the Board have resigned from service. Jeanette M. Stern-Tansey, a licensed landscape architect from Baltimore County, and Beatrice Odom Scott, a consumer member from Baltimore City, have both stepped down from the Board. Both board members did exemplary jobs in their service to the Board and to the Maryland consumers who benefited from their service.
Board of Architects
The Board welcomes Cynthia Shonaiya as the newest licensed architect member. Ms. Shonaiya is Principal, Vice President/Senior Housing expert for Hold Coplan Macht. She has 23 years of professional experience as a housing specialist, especially senior housing and assisted living communities, and resides in Baltimore County.
This past winter, the Board bid farewell to one of its longest-seated members, Gary A. Bowden. Mr. Bowden took the oath of office in the spring of 2000, and stayed on the Board until his replacement was found and approved by the Governor. We thank him for sharing his knowledge and experience through his service to the Board and to the citizens of Maryland.
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Staff Update
The Design Boards welcome James A. Baseman as our new Assistant Executive Director. James is a native of Baltimore County. After service in the US Air Force, he earned a Bachelor's Degree of Mathematics with a minor in Physics from Frostburg State University. He obtained a Masters of Engineering from Loyola College of Baltimore and was a Senior Engineer at Westinghouse Electric Corporation ILSD in Hunt Valley and Allied Signal Communications Division in Towson from 1983 to 1996. He worked as a consultant for the Maryland Home Improvement Commission and numerous area law firms for several years before joining the Office of the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division in 2004. At the OAG, he was an Administrator responsible for the Home Builder Guaranty Fund and New Home Warranty Security Plans. He brought enforcement actions against home builders, investigated complaints, drafted pleadings and negotiated settlements. He initiated policies and procedures regarding licensing and regulation of home builders, approval of new home warranty plans, and administration of the Home Builder Guaranty Fund.
When out of the office, Jim enjoys woodworking, hiking, and riding his motorcycle.
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Licensees: Update Your Email and Mailing Addresses
Please click on the links below to update your personal information with the Design Boards. Your changes will not be saved if you attempt to make them by replying to this message. Thank you!
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Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
Division of Occupational
and Professional Licensing
500 North Calvert Street,
3rd Floor
Baltimore, Maryland 21202
Michael Vorgetts, Acting Commissioner
Pamela Edwards,
Executive Director
410-230-6262
Fax 410-333-0021
Roberta Watson, Exam Coordinator and Continuing Education Specialist
Rita Watts, Office Secretary
Janet Morgan, Outreach Coordinator
State Board for Professional Land Surveyors
410-230-6256
Email the Board for Professional Land Surveyors
John V. Mettee III, Chair, Land Surveyor, Harford County
Brian Dunne, Consumer Member, Baltimore County
John Jensen, Consumer Member, Harford County
Daniel P. Lavelle, Land Surveyor, Frederick County
Donald J. Ocker, Property Line Surveyor, St. Mary's County
Thomas M. Orisich, Land Surveyor, Baltimore County
Deborah Heil, Administrative Secretary
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State Board of Examiners of Landscape Architects
410-230-6256
Email the Board of Landscape Architects
Christopher Schein, Chair, Landscape Architect,
Anne Arundel County
Charles Adams, Landscape Architect, Baltimore County
Gareth Diedrick, Consumer Member, Prince George's County
Suzanne Grefsheim, Consumer Member, Montgomery County
David E. Locke, Landscape Architect, Baltimore City
Deborah Heil, Administrative Secretary
State Board for Professional Engineers
410-230-6260
Email the Board for Professional Engineers
Howard (Skip) Harclerode II, P.E., Chair, Chemical Engineer, Baltimore County
Steven A. Arndt, Ph.D., P.E., Vice Chair, Mechanical Engineer, Montgomery County
Pastor Farinas, P.E.,
Electrical Engineer,
Montgomery County
David G. Mongan, P.E.,
Civil Engineer, Carroll County
Sandra J. Murphy, Consumer Member, Baltimore City
Sallye E. Perrin, P.E.,
Civil Engineer, Baltimore City
Karl J. Rickert, P.E.,
Structural Engineer, Baltimore County
Rosalind L. Yee, Consumer Member, Anne Arundel County
Ruby Courtney, Administrative Secretary
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State Board of Architects
410-230-6261
Email the Board of Architects
Diane Cho, Chair, Architect, Baltimore County
Paul R. Edmeades, Architect, Harford County
Gary Ey, Consumer Member, Harford County
William N. Parham Jr., Consumer Member,
Anne Arundel County
Stephen L. Parker, Architect, Montgomery County
Cynthia Shonaiya, Architect, Baltimore County
Magda Westerhout, Architect, Baltimore City
Terry White, Administrative Secretary
State Board of Certified Interior Designers
410-230-6259
Email the Board of Certified Interior Designers
Carla K. Viar, Acting Chair, Certified Interior Designer, Washington County
Danielle Bush, Certified Interior Designer, Baltimore County
Robyn Dubick, Certified Interior Designer, Howard County
H. Christine Pirrung, Consumer Member, Anne Arundel County
Barbara Portnoy, Certified Interior Designer,
Baltimore County
Karen Zopf, Certified Interior Designer, Baltimore County
Vacant, Architect
Janis Daniels, Administrative Secretary
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Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation / Maryland Professional Design Boards
500 North Calvert Street / Baltimore, Maryland 21202
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Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved.
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