Did you know that TSPS the best source for obtaining your CEUs? Yes, we are sure most of you know about the awesome courses presented at Convention and the really thoughtful and insightful courses developed by our members themselves and presented at Symposium; but, did you know that being active in TSPS can provide additional CEU opportunities? By attending chapter meetings and becoming active on committees, you have the opportunity to get to know fellow surveyors and learn from their experiences in addition to fulfilling annual licensing requirements. 

In a recent trip to a Chapter 10 (Permian Basin) meeting, Trisha realized the discussion that arose from the Ethics Committee Report provided so much insight into surveying in that region, that she found it more informative than some of the most well rounded speakers on the subject. It gave her an opportunity to witness members opening up and enlightening other members, who have not been in the area as long, about some very pertinent and informative advice. In this case, some considerably obscure court cases and decisions, that, if unaware of when working in the area, could result in some very wrong surveys. 

Over the past few years we have heard comments, questions and concerns about earning Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and how TSPS can help. As everyone is aware, surveyors are required to have at least 12 hours of CEUs per year to renew their license; three of which must be Rules or Ethics taken every year and cannot be carried over from any previous year. You are able to carry over up to eight units from the previous year. (Ref. Texas Board of Professional Surveyors website “self-study” and The Act & Rules 664.3 and 664.4).  

From Trisha’s experience with her home chapter, Chapter 11 (Alamo), she was always under the impression that in order for credit to be approved, a speaker had to be at the meeting and a brief bio had to be presented to the TBPLS, as Chapter 11 has done for a number of years. Chapter 11 was also under the impression that members were required to attend 4 meetings a year to qualify for this credit. From Anna’s experience the last few years as Secretary/Treasurer for Chapter 13 (Capital Area), when trying to get clarification, she was informed differently by seaparate sources, believing that the CEUs were only valid for a meeting if there was a speaker.  It was evident that not all chapters understood the requirements or the interpretation of the chapter meetings as CEUs in the eyes of the TBPLS and it was clear that chapters were handling their meetings differently in regards to CEUs.

After other chapters inquired about meeting CEUs as well, Trisha researched this with the TBPLS board to get their insight into the rules. We can report that while having a speaker is a great way to hold meetings and boost attendance, it is not mandatory for board approval, as in the Chapter 10 meeting Trisha attended. Having conversations at chapter meetings that lead us to be better surveyors and get CEU credit at the same time is a win for you, your fellow surveyor, the society, and the public which we are charged to protect. 

From the discussion over what constituted the rule 664.4 Types of Acceptable Continuing Education (8) that reads “Meetings and activities such as in-service programs which are required as part of one’s job; and have been approved by the board;” Trisha met with board members and requested their interpretation from the rule, thus approving additional ways TSPS can provide CEUs for surveyors.

The board has approved all “regular” chapter meetings (excluding those that are considered recreational functions such as fishing tournaments, softball games, golf tournaments, etc.) for 1 hour of CEU. Many chapters struggle with active participation and attendance at their meetings. These meetings are a good way for you to get your CEU credit with little or no money out of your pocket. There are a few items to remember in order to ensure acceptance of the credit by the board in the case of a CEU audit. 

1. A chapter officer or delegate must keep a registration or sign-in sheet of the attendees.
2. The attendee must be given a receipt or ability to obtain a receipt (i.e. the registration/sign in log).
3. The attendee must keep the receipt as part of their records in case of audit, as TBPLS does not maintain CEUs.
4. It is the responsibility of the attendee to obtain and keep proof of attendance for an event.

Did you also know there is another great way that TSPS helps you to obtain your CEUs? This opportunity falls under rule 664.4 Types of Acceptable Continuing Education (3) “Teaching or consultation in programs such as institutes, seminars, workshops which provide increased professional knowledge related to the practice of professional land survey.” How do you do this you ask? Under the Education Committee, TSPS offers Course Development workshops each year where we look for members to volunteer to assist in developing courses for presentation at the annual Symposium. These courses are also available to chapters under the TSPS Brand Courses. Speakers/Presenters of the courses are awarded CEU credit for teaching those courses.  As someone who has worked on developing courses and presenting them, Trisha can tell you that it is work but it is also very rewarding. If you are interested in getting involved in Course Development, you can contact Education Chair Chester Varner or visit ww.tsps.org/coursedev.

TSPS offers its members many benefits in addition to the ones mentioned here. Did you know you can track your CEUs in your profile on the TSPS website?  For any State TSPS course you attend you can print your Certificate of Attendance. Here’s how:

1. Login at www.tsps.org.
2. Go to My Profile.
3. Click the Professional Development tab on the left of the screen.
4. Find the class/classes you completed and click print!

We hope to see you at a future TSPS chapter meeting and/or event. We are blessed to have such a great and strong Society but it is nothing without the support, attendance and active participation of our members. For both Trisha and Anna, this is one of the best parts of TSPS… members networking with other members, not just for business purposes but to truly help their fellow surveyor. Trisha may be a big city girl with a small town soul, and Anna may be a small town girl who landed in the big city, but both feel that there is no better way to meet your fellow surveyors than becoming active in TSPS! The more active you become, the more connections you make. The more connections you make, the more resources you have available – all of which can be beneficial for you, your company and the surveying profession. As with anything we do in Texas…Let’s make it bigger and better!

The Texas Society of Professional Surveyors has a tradition of taking new steps in Education. I can still remember my first Seminar from Ken Gold on the “Minimum Standards of Practice”, one of the very first continuing education unit seminars. In recent times, a fresh approach by the Course Developers Workshops and Speaker Development Workshops have changed our educational offerings by incorporating adult learning techniques and activities to enrich learning, make it more interesting and a much better learning experience. Our education has expanded with new courses and current topics helping to keep surveyors abreast of current technology and topics dealing with better surveying and business techniques. The development of new courses and training of new speakers takes time and the number of volunteers is thinning. In order to reach more students with more courses we must stretch our imagination and reach out to embrace new technology to aid us in an additional direction.

Most colleges, technical schools and other educational institutions have incorporated online or distance learning courses to help expand educational offerings and so too will TSPS. In 2015, the Education Committee had Joe Paiva from GeoLearn do a presentation to the committee about online courses that they offered to the national surveying community. Most of the education committee saw that the courses were of a professional quality that TSPS would be glad to be associated with. We have asked GeoLearn to get 15 of their courses approved for continuing education credits for Registered Professional Surveyor in Texas. This has been done and there will be a link on the TSPS website in the near future (which should be used for us to get credit) to the courses.

An online learning portal can improve member services, capture lost revenue and upgrade the level of professional knowledge, improving public impression of the members and the services they provide.

Regardless of the quality and frequency of your association’s conferences, seminars and workshops, members occasionally need knowledge updates for themselves or their employees that need to come from other sources. This may be because it is a topic your conferences don’t currently offer OR your members need to get their continuing education requirements fulfilled near the end of their licensing period because their schedules did not permit them to attend your conferences to get sufficient credits.

Additionally, members and non−members may choose to get continuing education online or at sources other than your association’s events. Whatever their reason for doing so, your association’s ability to respond to those people, when and where they need the education is limited.

There is a global trend towards getting education, whether basic, advanced, technical or professional from online environments. Many professions today almost exclusively use online education to achieve mandatory continuing education, reserving their conference to education that is not well−served by an online format, to host panels, workshops and hands−on events, sponsor an exposition of products and services that the professionals use, to deal with professional issues that may or may not be directly society−related, and to conduct the business of the association. With the increased use of technology to deliver education in all environments including elementary and secondary schools, vocational schools, universities, technical training and professional development, it is inevitable that the need to offer an online choice will be required by your association to remain relevant to your members.

With very little effort on the part of your association, and with very little cost, GeoLearn can help you to capture those lost opportunities, add to your revenue stream, and prepare your association better for the future.

These courses can be a significant source of revenue, especially if you choose your state−specific content strategically. Most associations first look at content for their courses that is related to topics your state’s licensing board might mandate, such as minimum standards or ethics. Other areas might include content that is difficult for new and existing practitioners to access or review that is specific to your state.

What’s in it for me? That is the question on everyone’s mind when reading this article about Online Education. Let’s examine some examples of the possibilities of online education for TSPS members. Probably of most concern to Professionals are CEU courses. The most recent Texas Legislature gave the TBPLS the authority to make rules to increase the annual CEU requirements. No matter how you feel about the new requirements, you may need to increase your number of C.E.U.’s. There have been a limited number of online C.E.U.’s available in the past. This would allow another avenue of possible courses. S.I.T. and C.S.T. certification support courses would also be possible as new courses come online. Online courses can be taken on the TSPS member’s schedule rather than going to Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth, San Antonio or Houston. You could take these courses at your desk after hours or even at home after work. This also has the side effect of less cost by reducing travel and hotel lodging in many cases. The current economy makes reduced cost even more popular than ever before.

In summary, the potential exists to educate our members and employees without sacrificing production, while encouraging initiative to learn and excel. Online education is a part of that potential for those that are properly motivated. In the near future additional online classes will be added to the course catalogue. What courses would you like to see added? Let us know.