Continuing Education (CE)

On October 4, 2023, Board staff gave a webinar discussing and explaining recent CE changes, the audit process, and other information related to continuing education. You can view it on the Board's YouTube channel here.

To review a summary of the Rules changes effective in March 2024, please click here.

Every licensed professional engineer in Nebraska must meet the continuing education requirements (CE) as a condition for license renewal.

License reinstatement applicants are required to provide documentation of compliance with CE requirements during the two-year period prior to their application.

Acceptable CE topics must be either: 1) technical in nature, or 2) a topic that is part of that profession’s body of knowledge as developed by the applicable national professional engineering society or categorized as a Health Safety and Welfare topic by NCARB.

The Board has received numerous questions about what kind of courses are approved. Below are some key points to keep in mind when selecting a course for engineering CE hours.

• The Board has final authority with respect to approval of courses and credits and does not pre-approve courses.
• The Board does not require that architectural-related courses be AIA-approved.
• The continuing education activity must be related to the practice of engineering.
• Any web-based activity in which both the instructor and attendees have the ability to receive and discuss information in real-time is not restricted. A licensee can accrue all their hours this way.
• Self-guided activities are separate and different from web-based activities. Self-guided continuing education learning is learning obtained during a self-guided educational activity. This activity may not have a sponsor or host; you did not receive a certificate for this educational time and you earned it under your own direction and guidance.  Any licensee who wants to self-guide should complete the Nebraska Continuing Education Self-Guided Reporting Form.  Self-guided activities planned and performed under the licensee’s own direction and guidance may constitute no more than one-fourth of the biennial education requirement, which is seven and one-half hours for professional engineers.

To learn more about the continuing education guidelines and restrictions, see Chapter 9 of the Board's Rules. If you have any questions about CE or requirements and restrictions, please contact the Board at nbea.compliance@nebraska.gov.

Requirements

The Board has final authority with respect to approval of courses and credit. The Board does not pre-approve ANY courses. 

Professional engineers must complete 30 actual hours of engineering-related learning every biennial renewal period. Of these, all must be either 1) technical in nature, or 2) part of the professional body of knowledge as developed by applicable national professional engineering societies (NSPE, ASCE, IEEE, etc.), and one must be directly related to ethical issues of professional practice.

One actual hour of learning means at least 50 minutes spent in verifiable educational pursuit. 1 CEU = 1 PDH/PDU = 1 actual hour

Newly licensed engineers are exempt from the continuing education requirements for their initial renewal period.

Rule 9.3.1: Web-Based Offerings

Web-based course offerings provided by the following types of providers may constitute the entire biennial requirement:

1. International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) approved providers,
2. institutions of higher education that have an accredited program in architecture or engineering,
3. professional engineering or architectural societies,
4. technical societies and associations recognized at a national level
5. governmental agencies, or
6. NCARB and NCEES may constitute all of the biennial education requirement

Web-based course offerings provided by other types of providers may constitute no more than one-fourth of the biennial education requirement that is six hours for architects or seven and one-half hours for professional engineers.

Rule 9.3.2 clarifies that web-based course offerings led by an instructor that enables both the instructor and attendees to give, receive, and discuss information in real-time is not restricted under Rule 9.3.1.

More detailed information can be found in Chapter 9 of the Board's Rules. You can find more Frequently Asked Questions regarding CE here.

Carry Over

Licensees can carry over excess hours, up to one-half of the previous biennial (two-year) requirement. In order to use excess hours as carry over, the new licensee must accrue more than the CE requirement and may then be able to use up to one-half of the biennial requirement. Excess credits can be carried over only into the biennial period immediately following the period in which the credit was earned. New licensees are exempt from CE requirements during their initial renewal period. 

Professional engineers may carry over a maximum of 15 hours of CE credit. For example, if you accrued 47 hours in a renewal period (17 more than the 30 hours required), you may carry over a maximum of 15 hours into the next renewal period, as 15 hours is half the biennial requirement of 30.

To carry over excess hours accrued during the previous biennial renewal period, you must provide a Continuing Education Log and supporting documentation of all hours completed during the previous renewal period in addition to the CE log and documentation for the current renewal period. This documentation is required if you are selected for audit and intend to use carry over hours.

Recordkeeping

Maintenance of records used to support continuing education credits claimed is the responsibility of the licensee. Records must be maintained for a period of four years and copies may be requested by the Board for audit verification purposes. Please do not send records to the Board unless requested for an audit.

Required records include, but are not limited to:

1. A Continuing Education Log showing the type of activity claimed, sponsoring organization, location, duration, instructor's or speaker's name, and unit credits earned;
2. Attendance verification records in the form of completion certificates, the Nebraska Continuing Education Self-Guided Reporting Form, or other documents supporting evidence of attendance; or
3. Records of CE activities maintained by the licensee through the NCEES CPC Registry, the Professional Development Registry for Engineers and Surveyors (PDRES), or similar repositories.

Audits

The Board establishes a number of licensees to be selected at random for an audit of their continuing education. The selection of licensees typically occurs in October, when the renewal system is activated. Licensees are notified of their selection for an audit in the new year following their renewal.

If selected for an audit, the following information must be submitted for review:

• Records relating to continuing education maintained by NCEES, NCARB, or other organizations OR
• A completed Continuing Education Log of your continuing education activities for the renewal period AND attendance verification records in the form of completion certificates or other documents supporting evidence of attendance

The Continuing Education Log and attendance verification records must be arranged in order by completion date and combined into one document, such as a PDF. If the Board receives materials not in compliance with this requirement, the information will not be accepted, and the licensee will be required to resubmit their information in conformance with the requirements. If a licensee claims carry over hours from a previous renewal period, all documents for the renewal period carrying over must be submitted with the renewal period documents, including a completed CE log and supporting documentation for the hours claimed for the entire renewal period. 

Licensees may send the information by email to nbea.compliance@nebraska.gov or by mail to: Nebraska Board of Engineers and Architects, PO Box 95165, Lincoln NE 68509-5165. Once accepted, it may take Board staff up to 30 days to review. The licensee will be notified of the audit results via email. 

If you have questions, please call (402) 471-9602 or email nbea.compliance@nebraska.gov.

Forms

 Continuing Education Log

Nebraska Continuing Education Self-Guided Reporting