SECTION 59.51. Responsibilities of Providers

(a) A provider must ensure that courses are delivered in a manner conducive to learning.

(b) A provider must include in all advertisements for a continuing education course the provider's number and the course number assigned to it by the department. Provider web page announcements concerning courses are considered advertisements for purposes of this rule.

(c) A provider must ensure that instructors possess both the subject matter knowledge they are teaching as well as the teaching ability required to impart the information.

(d) No later than 15 days after the course completion date, a provider must issue to each participant who attended the entire course a certificate of completion that includes the following information:

(1) name and number of course;

(2) course completion date;

(3) provider name and number;

(4) number of hours of continuing education credit for which the course is approved;

(5) signature of the provider representative; and

(6) name, license type and license number of the participant who attended.

(e) A provider must submit to the department, on the appropriate department-approved form, a course completion report no later than seven days after the course completion date. The report shall include the following information:

(1) name and number of course;

(2) course completion date;

(3) provider name and number;

(4) the location where the course was taught;

(5) the number of participants to whom a certificate was issued;

(6) the name, license type and license number of each participant to whom a certificate of completion was issued; and

(7) the total amount of continuing education record fees owed to the department, if any.

(f) A provider must retain participant course completion records for a period of two years after completion of a course.

(g) Upon request, a provider shall provide to a participant, within ten days of the date of the request, copies of the participant's records. A reasonable fee to cover copying costs may be charged to the participant.

(h) Upon request, a provider shall provide information, including copies of specified records, to the department within ten days of the date of the request.

(i) A provider shall cooperate fully with the department, its employees and representatives in the investigation of a complaint or performance of an audit.

(j) A provider may not publish false or misleading advertisements.

(k) An advertisement which contains a fee charged by a provider shall display all fees for the course in the same place in the advertisement and with the same degree of prominence. If the provider requires participants to purchase course materials which are not included in the tuition, such fees must appear in the advertisement.

(l) Providers are responsible for the conduct and administration of their courses, including the punctuality of classroom sessions, verification of participant attendance and instructor performance. Providers shall ensure that their courses are administered in substantially the same manner as represented in the application for course approval.

(m) A provider must pay all required fees, including record fees, or administrative penalties, in a manner prescribed by the department.

(n) Upon notification by the department that a provider is past due or not current on the payment of any unpaid required fees, including record fees, or administrative penalties, a provider may not enroll a participant in a continuing education course without department approval.

Source Note: The provisions of this §59.51 adopted to be effective November 24, 2004, 29 TexReg 10765; amended to be effective October 1, 2016, 41 TexReg 7257