Section 11.03. Continuing education requirements for license renewal.

 

(1)  Except as provided in sub. (3) , every licensee shall complete a minimum of 4 continuing education credit hours during each biennial reporting period.

(2)  The continuing education credit hours required under sub. (1) shall consist of all of the following:

(a) One continuing education credit hour reviewing the laws governing the cosmetology professions and establishments.

(b) Three continuing education credit hours in safety, sanitation, and infection control.

(c) Licensees holding more than one license need to fulfill the requirements listed in pars. (a) and (b) one time only regardless of how many licenses they hold.

(3)  A licensee is not required to complete continuing education credit hours between initial licensure and the first license renewal period.

(4)  If a licensee fails to complete the continuing education requirements within a biennial reporting period, continuing education credit hours acquired on or after April 1 of any odd-numbered year will be first applied to the preceding biennium until the requirement is fulfilled. Continuing education credit hours may not apply to more than one biennium.

(5)  Continuing education credit hours may be obtained through any of the following means:

(a) Attending seminars, corporate in-house courses, workshops, professional or technical presentations made at meetings, conventions, or conferences approved by the board under s. Cos 11.04 . Attendance may be in person or via remote classroom where a qualified provider is available to the participant to comment and answer questions.

(b) Teaching a continuing education program. A person who teaches may only receive credit for the initial offering or presentation of a course or program during a biennium. Fifty minutes of actual instruction is equivalent to one continuing education credit hour. A maximum of 4 credit hours may be obtained by teaching in any biennial reporting period. Full-time faculty may not claim continuing education credits for teaching done as part of their regular duties.

(c) Distance education, including completion of interactive short courses or tutorials, delivery of educational programs and courses on CD-ROM or the internet or correspondence courses. Distance education courses shall meet the following criteria:

1. The course or program is offered by a provider approved under s. Cos 11.04 and the program meets the requirements of s. Cos 11.03 .

2. The course or program requires assignments that are completed and prepared by the licensee and submitted to the provider for correction, grading, or both. The assignment must be graded or corrected by the continuing education provider and returned to the licensee before the licensee is allowed to take the course examination. The continuing education provider may not provide a licensee with the assignment answers before the licensee has submitted their completed assignment.

3. The course or program includes a written examination designed to ensure that the licensee actively participated in the presentation of the material and derived a measurable benefit from participation. A score of 75 percent or higher shall be considered a passing examination score. The continuing education provider may not provide a licensee access to the examination answers before the licensee has taken the exam.

4. The course or program contains a reasonable procedure for verifying the enrollees' identities.

5. The course or program contains a minimum of 50 minutes of actual instruction for each credit hour offered. For purposes of calculating actual instruction time, the time spent for testing and assessment purposes shall not be included. All continuing education courses made available online, including booklets and text based courses, must include a timer that cannot be fast-forwarded by the licensee unless they have already completed that section of the course and are reviewing the material again. The timer shall ensure that there is a minimum of 50 minutes of actual instruction for each credit hour offered. Text based courses that require licensees to read a substantial amount of course material must include a minimum of 5,000 words per continuing education hour of educational material.

6. All corrected or graded lessons and examinations are maintained by the provider for no less than 5 years and submitted to the board or its designee upon request for auditing purposes.

History: CR 11-011 : cr. Register March 2012 No. 675 , eff. 4-1-12; corrections in (2), (5) (a), (c) 1. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 6. , 7. , Stats., Register February 2013 No. 686 ; CR 15-035 : am. (5) (b), (c) 2., 3., 5. Register December 2015 No. 720 , eff. 1-1-16.