(A) Application for course
approvals.
(1) Any person seeking to
offer live classroom or online continuing education courses to licensees and
designated employees shall request approval from the superintendent. In order
for a course to be considered for approval the following information and
documentation shall be submitted to the superintendent in writing at least
fifteen days prior to the initial date of the proposed course.
(a) The name, address and telephone number of the person
proposing to offer the course, and the names and duties of all persons
affiliated in an official capacity with the course;
(b) The names and addresses of the owners of the entity or
association if the applicant is an entity or association;
(c) The policy regarding attendance and procedure for record
keeping of attendance;
(d) A summary of the course, including:
(i) A description of the
type of training (e.g. seminar, conference, course, other);
(ii) The time, date, and
location of the course. If the course will be offered more than once, the time,
date, and location for each course shall be provided;
(iii) The proposed
initial date of the continuing education course;
(iv) Any prerequisite for
admission to or participation in the course;
(v) The duration of the
course;
(vi) The form of
attendance certificate;
(vii) Methods of record
maintenance;
(viii) Textbooks and
student materials prescribed;
(ix) An outline or
syllabus;
(x) Attendance or
participation fees;
(xi) A sample of any
intended advertising;
(xii) The number of
credit hours offered to course participants. Each course shall be a minimum of
one credit hour. A credit hour must provide for no less than fifty minutes of
instruction. One credit hour consists of fifty minutes of a sixty-minute hour.
Breaks, introductions, lunches, announcements, and other non-instruction time
are to be excluded in calculating the credit hours requested.
(xiii) The title of the
continuing education course.
(e) The names and qualifications of the course instructors;
and
(f) Any other information required by the superintendent to
determine whether the proposed continuing education course will maintain or
increase a licensee's or designated employee's skill, knowledge, or
competency in the pawnbroker business.
(2) Whenever there is a
material change in an approved continuing education course, the course provider
shall promptly notify the superintendent of the change in writing. The course
provider shall notify the superintendent in writing, at least ten days in
advance of the addition of an offering date for an approved course, or change
in an offering date for an approved course, and notify the superintendent in
writing at least three days in advance of all course changes including
locations, times, instructors, or changes in course content.
(3) Each course provider
shall submit to the division of financial institutions, within fifteen days
after completion of each continuing education course, a list of licensees or
employees who successfully completed the course. The list shall
include:
(a) Course title;
(b) Date conducted;
(c) Address location where the course was conducted;
(d) Names of licensees or employees who successfully completed
the course; and
(e) Pawnbroker license numbers of the licensees.
(B) Course approval
criteria.
(1) The superintendent,
when considering approval of a continuing education course, shall apply the
following criteria:
(a) Courses will not be approved in segments of less than one
credit hour. No continuing education course shall be approved in which
classroom or online instruction exceeds eight credit hours in any one
day;
(b) Course instructors must meet at least one of the following
qualifications:
(i) Possession of a
bachelor's degree in a field related to that in which the person is to
teach, from a school listed as an institution of higher learning by the United
States department of education, or from a comparable school of a foreign
country;
(ii) Possession of a
valid teaching credential or certificate from this state or another state
authorizing the holder to teach in the field of instruction in which the person
is to teach;
(iii) Five years
full-time experience in a profession, trade, or technical occupation in the
applicable field; or
(iv) Any combination of
at least five years of full-time experience relevant to the applicable field
and college level education.
(c) The following entities may offer continuing education
following approval of the superintendent:
(i) Colleges or
universities;
(ii) Community or junior
colleges;
(iii) Pawnbrokers or
pawnbroker-related organizations;
(iv) Proprietary
schools;
(v) Individuals;
(vi) Other providers
approved by the division; or
(vii) State or federal
agencies or commissions.
(d) Passage of an examination by a licensed pawnbroker or
designated employee shall not be a requirement for successful completion of a
continuing education course.
(e) The superintendent shall approve courses for continuing
education which maintain and increase the skill, knowledge and competency of
state licensed pawnbrokers and their designated employees and which fall within
the following areas:
(i) Retail and safety and
security;
(ii) Appraisal of
precious stones and precious metals;
(iii) Copyright and
trademark laws;
(iv) Use of the internet
as it relates to the pawnbroker business;
(v) Compliance with
federal laws applicable to the pawnbroker business such as firearms,
bankruptcy, search and seizure, and lending laws;
(vi) Compliance with
state laws applicable to the pawnbroker business such as second hand dealers
law, search and seizure, and the pawnbroker act;
(vii) Computer software
application and training relating to the pawnbroker business;
(viii) Courses that
address issues related to human trafficking; and
(ix) Any other training which the superintendent deems to be
relevant to the efficient and lawful operation of a pawnbroker
business.
(f) The following courses will not be considered by the
superintendent to meet the continuing education requirements for licensed
pawnbrokers and their designated employees:
(i) Courses in mechanical and business skills such as typing,
speed reading, memory improvement or language;
(ii) Sales promotion or other meetings held in conjunction with
the general business of the attendee or his business associates;
(iii) Meetings which are a normal part of in-house staff
training;
(iv) That portion of any course devoted to breakfast, lunch, and
dinner or other refreshment; or
(v) Courses consisting entirely of videotaped
information.
(vi) A concealed carry
course shall not be counted toward the continuing education requirements under
section 4727.19 of the Revised Code more than once every other licensing
cycle.
(g) The superintendent shall approve an online course for
continuing education credit based upon a satisfactory review of the following
criteria:
The application materials shall be submitted in writing
pursuant to this rule and must demonstrate the following:
(i) The course is
designed to ensure that students actively participate in the instructional
process while completing the course by utilizing techniques that require
substantial student interaction with the computer program;
(ii) If in each unit of instruction there
is no activity from the student after fifty minutes of instruction time, the
course will shut down and the student will have to begin from the beginning of
the unit;
(iii) The provider utilizes procedures that
provide reasonable assurance of student identity and that the student receiving
the continuing education credit for completing the course actually performed
all of the work required to complete the course; and
(iv) The provider utilizes a clock or timer
on each screen to control navigation through the course to ensure that course
completion time equals the amount of continuing education credit hours
received.
(2) Paragraph (B) of this
rule does not limit the superintendent's authority to disapprove any
application that fails to meet the standards of this rule.
(3) If the superintendent
approves an online course pursuant to paragraph (B)(1)(g) of this rule, the
superintendent shall designate the number of credit hours to be assigned to the
course.
(C) Alternative methods of course
approval by the superintendent:
(1) The superintendent
may, upon the request of a person licensed under Chapter 4727. of the Revised
Code, approve any course that meets the criteria set forth in paragraph (B) of
this rule. Licensees seeking approval of a course under this paragraph shall
submit the request for approval in writing, and shall provide sufficient
information about the course to demonstrate that the course meets the
requirements of paragraph (B) of this rule, and demonstrate that a designated
employee has completed the training.
(2) The superintendent
may, sua sponte, approve any course after making a determination that the
course meets the criteria set forth in paragraph (B) of this rule.
(3) The superintendent
shall retain the right to refuse to approve any course that fails to meet the
criteria set forth in paragraph (B) of this rule, or if insufficient
information is provided to support approval of the course.
(4) If the superintendent
approves a course pursuant to this paragraph, the superintendent shall
designate the number number of credit hours to be assigned to the
course.
(5) This paragraph shall
not apply to the approval of online courses.
(D) Continuing education credit may be granted for participation,
other than as a student, in continuing education courses approved by the
superintendent or in other processes or programs approved by the superintendent
which relate to pawnbroker practices or techniques. Participants receiving such
credit may include, but are not limited to:
(1) Instructors of
approved continuing education courses may receive continuing education for the
number of unduplicated subject matter hours taught for each different
course;
(2) An individual who has
authored pawnbroker articles or textbooks may receive continuing education
credit for the published article or textbook upon the submission of the
following:
(a) A copy of the published article or textbook;
(b) A summary of the article or textbook, with date of
publication;
(c) The number of copies sold or circulation of the publication
carrying the article; and
(d) An explanation of how the material published meets the
criteria set forth in paragraph (B) of this rule.
(E) For purposes of determining
compliance with division (A) of section 4727.16 of the Revised Code, the term
"employee" means any individual, including a licensee, who has direct
contact with customers, whether on a full time-part time, or seasonal basis,
such as an individual or licensee that sells or purchases merchandise, or makes
a loan on behalf of a pawnbroker.
(F) In the event that the licensee,
pursuant to paragraph (E) of rule 1301:8-5-03 of the Administrative Code,
designates a new employee for purposes of completing the continuing education
requirements referenced in division (A) of section 4727.19 of the Revised Code,
the continuing education credit hours completed within the required period by
both the former and new employee may be combined for purposes of determining
compliance with division (A) of section 4727.19 of the Revised
Code.
