Section 8.04. Approval of continuing education programs and courses of study.

 

(1)  Except as provided in subs. (6) and (7) , to apply for approval of a continuing education program or course of study, a sponsor shall submit to the board office, at least 30 calendar days prior to the first date the program or course of study is offered, an application on forms provided by the board and shall include the name of the sponsor, the program or course title, general description and an outline of the program or course, the dates, the location, the name and qualifications of each instructor.

(2)  The following criteria shall be utilized in the approval process:

(a) The subject matter of the program or course shall pertain to an area or topic approved or required by the board which relates to the practice of fitting and dealing in hearing instruments, audiology or speech-language pathology.

(b) The program or course sponsor shall be approved by the board.

(c) The program or course sponsor agrees to monitor the attendance, furnish a certificate of attendance to each participant and maintain records verifying attendance for at least 5 years.

(3)  If a continuing education course includes subject matter other than the subject matter areas identified under sub. (2) (a) , only the board approved portions of the course which relate to the areas identified under sub. (2) (a) , qualify as continuing education required under this chapter.

(4)  Continuing education programs or courses of study offered by alternative delivery methods such as home-study courses, self-study packages, computer courses, televideo conferencing and other methods may be approved by the board.

(5)  A program or course sponsor may repeat a previously approved program or course without application, if the subject matter and instructor has not changed.

(6)  Subject to compliance with the requirements set forth in subs. (2) to (5) , the board may accept attendance at and completion of one or more continuing education programs or courses of study approved by the American Academy of Audiology, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, International Hearing Society, or the National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences as fulfilling the continuing education hours required under this chapter. Other acceptable continuing education activities include employer-sponsored in-service training programs, other professional organizations' continuing education programs, college or university course work from an institution that holds regional accreditation or its equivalent, and courses offered by any provider authorized by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training. Prior approval is not required for activities related to professional development or practice, which are completed during the biennial renewal period, and for which the licensee has obtained acceptable documentation of attendance and completion.

(7)  The board may accept attendance at and completion of graduate courses of study from an accredited university which pertain to the practice of fitting and dealing in hearing instruments, to audiology, or to speech-language pathology, as appropriate, as fulfilling one or more continuing education hours required under this chapter. Each clock hour of a course shall be equivalent to one hour of continuing education.

History: Cr. Register, February, 1999, No. 518 , eff. 3-1-99; CR 05-026 : am. (1) Register September 2005 No. 597 , eff. 10-1-05; CR 11-017 : am. (6) Register August 2011 No. 668 , eff. 9-1-11.

Note

Application forms for approval of continuing education programs and courses of study may be obtained from the board office at 1400 East Washington Avenue, P.O. Box 8366, Madison, Wisconsin 53708. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 The following entities may be contacted by writing to the: American Academy of Audiology (AAA), 8201 Greensboro Drive, Suite 300, McLean, Virginia, 22102; American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), 10801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852; Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), 125 South Webster, Madison, Wisconsin 53702; and the International Hearing Society (IHS) and National Board for Certification in Hearing Instrument Sciences (NBC-HIS), 16880 Middlebelt Road, Suite 4, Livonia, Michigan 48154-3367. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1