Section 3.05. Examinations.

 

(1)   Required examinations. An applicant for initial licensure as a professional hydrologist shall pass examinations for the professional practice of hydrology approved by the professional hydrologist section. Required examinations shall include a fundamentals examination and a principles and practice examination.

(2)   Fundamentals examination. The fundamentals examination requires an understanding of the physical and mathematical sciences involved in the fundamentals of hydrology. To be eligible to take the fundamentals examination, an applicant shall have done one of the following:

(a) Completed at least 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours of course credits in hydrology or water resources and be of not less than second semester senior standing in a bachelor program meeting the requirements of s. GHSS 3.04 .

(b) Completed at least 4 years of experience which is determined by the professional hydrologist section to be equivalent to the requirements of s. GHSS 3.04 .

(3)   Principles and practice examination. The principles and practice examination requires the ability to apply hydrologic principles and judgment to problems in the practice of professional hydrology. To be eligible to take the principles and practice examination, an applicant shall have done one of the following:

(a) To be eligible to take the principles and practice examination, an applicant under s. 470.04 (3) (c) 1. , Stats., shall have done the following:

1. Met the requirements under s. 470.04 (3) (a) , Stats.

2. Met the requirement under s. 470.04 (3) (b) , Stats., or have at least 5 years of professional experience in addition to the qualifying experience under subd. 3. , which is determined by the professional hydrologist section to be equivalent to the requirement under s. 470.04 (3) (b) , Stats.

3. Completed at least 4 years of professional experience in hydrologic work of a character satisfactory to the professional hydrologist section, or completed at least 3 years of professional experience in hydrologic work of a character satisfactory to the section if the applicant has one or more advanced degrees relevant to the practice of professional hydrology, demonstrating that the applicant is qualified to assume responsible charge of hydrologic work. At least one year of the qualifying professional experience under this subdivision must have been performed under the supervision of one or more of the following:

a. A person who is at the time of application licensed as a professional hydrologist under this chapter or who, during the period of supervised experience, was licensed as a professional hydrologist under ch. 470 , 1997 Stats.

b. A person who, during the period of supervised experience, was licensed as a professional hydrologist in another state, territory or possession of the United States or in another country that has licensure requirements for professional hydrologists that are not lower than the requirements for licensure under this chapter.

c. A person who, during the period of supervised experience, is deemed by the professional hydrologist section to have been qualified to have responsible charge of hydrologic work.

(b) To be eligible to take the principles and practice examination, an applicant under s. 470.04 (3) (c) 2. , Stats., shall have done the following:

1. Met the requirements under s. 470.04 (3) (a) , Stats.

2. Met the requirement under s. 470.04 (3) (b) , Stats., or have at least 5 years of professional experience in addition to the qualifying experience under subd. 3. , which is determined by the professional hydrologist section to be equivalent to the requirement under s. 470.04 (3) (b) , Stats.

3. Completed at least 6 years of professional experience in hydrologic work of a character satisfactory to the professional hydrologist section, or completed at least 5 years of professional experience in hydrologic work of a character satisfactory to the section if the applicant has one or more advanced degrees relevant to the practice of professional hydrology, demonstrating that the applicant is qualified to assume responsible charge of hydrologic work. At least one year of the qualifying professional experience under this subdivision must have been performed under a peer review system approved by the professional hydrologist section.

(3m)   Application for examination. An applicant for initial licensure shall file an application for examination with the professional hydrologist section of the board not less than 2 months before the scheduled date of the examination.

(4)   Americans with disabilities act. Otherwise qualified applicants with disabilities shall be provided with reasonable accommodations.

(5)   Examination and refund fees. The fee for the examinations for professional hydrologists and the requirements for refund of fees are specified in s. 440.05 , Stats., and ch. SPS 4 , respectively.

(6)   Place and time of examinations. The examinations required by this section shall be held at sites and on dates designated by the professional hydrologist section.

(7)   Passing scores.

(a) The passing scores set by the professional hydrologist section represent the minimum competency required to protect public health and safety.

(b) The fundamentals of hydrology and the principles and practice of hydrology examinations are scored separately. An applicant shall achieve a passing score on each of the required examinations to qualify for licensure.

(c) The professional hydrologist section shall make the determination of the passing score on each required examination after consultation with subject matter experts who have reviewed a representative sample of the examination questions and available candidate performance statistics.

(8)   Cheating. The professional hydrologist section may deny release of scores or issuance of a credential if the board determines that the applicant violated rules of conduct of the examination or otherwise acted dishonestly.

Cr. Register, December, 1999, No. 528 , eff. 1-1-00, am. (2) (b) and (7) (b), Register, November, 2000, No. 539 , eff. 12-1-00; correction in (5) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7. , Stats., Register November 2011 No. 671 .