Mortuary Science Section Mission Statement
To
protect the overall health, safety, and welfare of the general
public and those who are involved in the care and disposition
of the dead through licensing, regulation, education, and enforcement.
Minnesota
Funeral Directors Association Continuing Education Mission Statement
The
conveyance of materials and information so as to elevate the standards
of practice for funeral service practitioners who are licensed
by the Minnesota Department of Health.
CONTINUING
EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS
PART
ONE - Defining a Continuing Education Unit and specifying
accumulation and reporting procedures.
Subpart
1. General requirements. A mortician applying for licensure renewal
must have completed a minimum of 12 contact hours of continuing
education in the two years preceding licensure renewal. A contact
hour or Continuing Education Unit (CEU) shall consist of one continuous
50 minute block of time. Since CE reporting requirements are for
a two year period, all licensees have been divided by even and
odd license numbers to coincide CE reporting with licensure renewal.
All even numbered licensees will be required to report CE for
even numbered year renewals and all odd numbered licensees will
be required to report CE for odd numbered year renewals. Licensees
shall receive contact hours for continuing education activities
only for the biennial licensing periods in which the continuing
education activity was performed.
To
qualify as a continuing education activity, the activity must
be a minimum of one contact hour. Contact hours must be earned
and reported in increments of one contact hour for each continuing
education activity. A new licensee or individual licensed by endorsement
is exempt during the time from initial licensure until the commencement
of the first full license period.
The
Minnesota Department of Health is NOT responsible for financing
the cost or providing continuing education activities for licensure.
Subpart
2. Standards for determining qualified continuing education activities.
In order to qualify as a continuing education activity, the activity
must:
A.
constitute an organized program of learning;
B.
I reasonably be expected to advance the knowledge and skills of
the funeral service practitioner;
C.
pertain to subjects that directly relate to funeral service, except
as provided in PART ONE, Subpart 3, C.
D.
be conducted by individuals who have education, training, and
experience by reason of which said individuals should be considered
experts concerning the subject matter of the activity; and
E.
be presented by a sponsor who has a mechanism to verify participation
and maintains attendance records for three years.
Subpart
3. Activities qualifying for continuing education contact hours,
The following activities qualify for continuing education contact
hours if they meet all other requirements of this part.
A.
A registrant may obtain an unlimited number of contact hours in
any two-year continuing education period through participation
in the following:
(1)
attendance at funeral service related educational programs of
annual conferences, lectures, panel discussions, workshops, in-service
training, seminars, and symposiums;
(2)
successful completion of college or university courses. The registrant
mustr obtain a grade of at least a "C" or a pass in a pass or
fail course in order to receive the following continuing education
credits;
(a)
one semester credit equals 14 contact hours;
(b)
one trimester credit equals 12 contact hours; and
(c)
one quarter credit equals 10 contact hours; and
(3)
successful completion of home study courses that require the participant
to demonstrate the participant's knowledge following completion
of the course.
B.
A licensee may obtain a maximum of six contact hours in any two-year
continuing education period for teaching continuing education
courses that meet the requirements of this part. A licensee is
entitled to earn a maximum of two contact hours as preparation
time for each contact hour of presentation time. Contact hours
may be claimed only once for teaching the same course in any two-year
continuing education period. A course schedule or brochure must
be maintained for audit.
C.
A licensee may obtain a maximum of two contact hours in any two-year
continuing education period for continuing education activities
that are not funeral service related in any of the following areas:
(1)
business-related topics: marketing, time management, administration,
risk management, government regulations, techniques for training
professionals, computer skills, and similar topics;
(2)
personal skill topics: career burnout, communication skills, human
relations, and similar topics;
(3)
training that is obtained in conjunction with a licensee's employment,
occurs during a licensee's normal workday, and does not include
subject matter specific to the fundamentals of funeral service;
and
(4)programs
provided by suppliers on product information.
D.
A licensee may obtain a maximum of six contact hours in any two-year
continuing education period for supervision of a practicum or
intern.
E.
A licensee may earn one contact hour for every eight hours of
practicum student or intern supervision. Licensees must maintain
a log listing the name of each practicum student or intern supervised
and the specific date and hours supervised. Contact hours can
only be obtained for individuals in or having completed an American
Board of Funeral Service Education accredited program.
F.
Activities not qualifying for continuing education contact hours.
No credit shall be granted for the following activities: entertainment
or recreational activities, employment orientation sessions, holding
an office or serving as an organizational delegate, meetings for
the purpose of making policy, non-educational association meetings,
and private employee training programs.
PART
TWO - Pre-approval of programs - Only continuing education
programs which have received pre-approval or that are conducted
by organizations accredited for funeral service education may
be used to meet the continuing education requirement.
An
accrediting body called the "Commission for Funeral Service Education
Accreditation" (CFSEA) will have the sole responsibility to review
and approve continuing education programs. The Oversight for the
Commission for Funeral Service Education Accreditation will be
the responsibility of the CFSEA Steering Committee, which will
comprise one representative from each of the following: Minnesota
Department of Health Mortuary Science Section, University of Minnesota
Program of Mortuary Science, and Minnesota Funeral Directors Association.
A.
Programs conducted by organizations and agencies recognized and
identified by CFSEA as accredited providers will qualify for continuing
education credit.
B.
Programs approved in other states for funeral service continuing
education credit will qualify for continuing education credit.
PART
THREE - Reporting continuing education contact hours. At the
time of license renewal, each licensee shall submit verification
that the licensee has met the continuing education requirements
of this part on the continuing education report form provided
by the commissioner.
Subpart
1. The continuing education report form may require the following
information:
A.
title of continuing education activity;
B.
brief description of the continuing education activity; sponsor,
presenter, or author;
D.
location and attendance dates;
E.
number of contact hours/CEU's; and
F.
licensee's notarized affirmation that the information is true
and correct.
Subpart
2. Continuing education report audits.
A. The commissioner may audit a percentage of the continuing education
reports -based on random: selection. A licensee shall maintain
all documentation required by this part for in four years after
the last day of the period in which the contact hours were earned.
B. All renewal applications that are received after the expiration
date may be subject to a continuing education report audit.
C. Any licensee against whom a complaint is filed may be subject
to a continuing education report audit.
D. The licensee shall make the following information available
to the commissioner for auditing purposes:
(1)
a copy of the completed continuing education report form for the
continuing education reporting -period that is the subject of
the audit including all supporting documentation required by Subpart
1;
(2)
a description of the continuing education activity prepared by
the presenter or sponsor that includes the course title or subject
matter, date, place, number of program. contact hours, presenters,
and sponsors. Self-study program must be documented by materials
prepared by the presenter or sponsor that include the course title,
course description, name of sponsor or author, the number of hours
required to complete the program, and verification of program
completion. University, college, or vocational school courses
must be documented by a course syllabus, listing in a course bulletin,
or equivalent documentation that must include the course title,
instructor's name, course dates, number of contact hours, and
course content, objectives, or goals; and
(3)
verification of attendance. Verification must consist of a signature
of the presenter or a designee at the continuing education activity
on the continuing education report form or a certificate of attendance
with the course name, course date, and registrant's name. A licensee
may summarize Or outline the educational content of an audio or
video educational activity to verify the licensee's participation
in the activity if a designee is not available to sign the continuing
documentation indicating that the individual has demonstrated
knowledge and has successfully completed the program. Attendance
at a university, college, or vocational course must be verified
by an official transcript.
PART
FOUR. Waiver of continuing education requirements. The commissioner
may grant a waiver of the requirements of this part in cases where
the requirements would impose an extreme hardship on the licensee.
The request for a waiver must be in writing, state the circumstances
that constitute extreme hardship, state the period of time the
licensee wishes to have the continuing education requirement waived,
and state the alternative measures that will be taken if a waiver
is granted. The commissioner shall set forth in writing, the reasons
for granting or denying the waiver. Waivers granted by the commissioner
shall specify, in writing, the time limitation and required alternative
measures to be taken by the licensee. A request for waiver shall
be denied if the commissioner finds that the circumstances stated
by the licensee do not support a claim of extreme hardship, the
requested time period for waiver is unreasonable, the alternative
measures proposed by the licensee are not equivalent to the continuing
education actively being waived, or the request for waiver is
not submitted to the commissioner within 60 after the expiration
date.
PART
FIVE. Penalties for noncompliance. The commissioner shall
refuse to renew or grant, or shall suspend, condition, limit,
or qualify the license of any person who the commissioner determines
has failed to comply with the continuing education requirements
of this part. A registrant may request reconsideration of the
commissioner's determination of noncompliance or the penalty imposed
under this part by making a written request-to the commissioner,
within 30 days of the date of notification to the applicant. Individuals
requesting reconsideration may submit information that the registrant
wants considered in the reconsideration.
PART
SIX. Effective date. The reporting requirements of this part
begin and continue to be in effect for license renewals beginning
January 1, 1999.
PART
SEVEN. The above continuing education program has been developed
and approved by the Minnesota Funeral Directors Association. Any
future changes or modifications to the above continuing education
program will be done with the approval of the Minnesota Funeral
Directors Association.
Back to Top
