New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 5 - COMMUNITY AFFAIRS › Chapter 23 - UNIFORM CONSTRUCTION CODE › Subchapter 5 - LICENSING › Section 5:23-5.20 - Standards for educational programs

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) To carry out their
				responsibilities, code enforcement officials must be fully knowledgeable about code
				standards and adequately prepared to administer and enforce them properly. Code
				enforcement officials have the necessary technical and administrative training to
				effectively enforce the Uniform Construction Code at the local level. This article
				adopts explicit guidelines and standards for code enforcement official educational
				programs. Procedures governing the approval of such educational programs set forth
				in 5:23-5.24.
(b) This subsection covers
				the organizational, administrative and operational functions that support the code
				enforcement educational programs.
1. Purposes and
				objectives: Programs for the effective education of code enforcement officials are
				expected to operate with appropriate purposes and objectives. An institution seeking
				initial and continuing approval of education programs should include in its category
				clearly defined statements of such purposes and objectives.
2. Organization: Sound educational programs can be
				operated effectively only when supported by adequate institutional arrangements.
				Accordingly, only programs offered by or under the auspices of institutions of
				higher education, licensed by the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education can be
				considered for approval.
i. The provisions of (b)2
				above notwithstanding, the Commissioner may approve other training programs, such as
				those conducted by an evaluation or inspection agency authorized to enforce
				standards adopted pursuant to the Interstate Compact on Industrialized/Modular
				Buildings, where the students are solely code enforcement officials employed by the
				agency or by national model code organizations. The educational program proposal by
				any such evaluation or inspection agency must be submitted to the Department in the
				form specified in
				N.J.A.C.
				5:23-5.24.
3. Admission, retention and evaluation policies
				and practices:
i. Admission to code enforcement
				official education programs: Provision should be made within the institution for
				orderly methods of obtaining and filing information relative to candidates applying
				for admission to code enforcement official education programs.
ii. Grading: An institution shall have evaluation
				procedures, including a mid-term and final examination, to assess the quality of its
				students when they complete programs and, at the very least, establish and apply
				pass/fail criteria.
iii. Retention: The
				nature of professional code enforcement studies calls for achievement and growth in
				technical competence. An institution should determine as objectively and
				systematically as possible specific strengths and weaknesses of the student as these
				effect the continuation of the student in code enforcement education
				programs.
iv. Evaluation: The
				institution should design and implement a well-defined plan for continuing
				evaluation of students enrolled in code enforcement programs. Measures of academic
				ability, observation by faculty (in courses, laboratories and field experiences) and
				other modes of appraisal should be utilized to assess specific strengths and
				weaknesses as they affect the student's retention within the education programs,
				readiness to assume a professional role in code enforcement.
4. Student personnel:
i. Supporting student services: Each student
				should know where to secure guidance and who is officially responsible for this
				program. Attention must be given to a plan for maintaining desirable student-faculty
				relationships.
ii. Student records: It
				is the responsibility of the institution to maintain an adequate system of student
				personnel accounting, including a permanent cumulative record of each student
				enrolled. To facilitate ready interpretation by licensing authorities, the graduate
				is entitled to an intelligible and adequate transcript of record, including a
				statement of course titles.
5. Faculty: Faculty members should be competent in
				their fields and have contacts with code enforcement environments and other sources
				so their teaching and research are current and relevant.
i. Faculty competence: The quality of the faculty
				is one of the more important factors in judging the effectiveness of an institution.
				Appraisal of the faculty should be made in terms of its competence to provide the
				program for which approval is being sought. Each faculty member, in subject matter
				and in professional fields, should have a high degree of competency in his area. The
				faculty consists of those instructors who teach in the curriculums and all personnel
				who direct students in all types of activities included as part of the curriculums.
				Those who teach courses should be familiar with practices in the code enforcement
				professional and/or building construction technology generally.
ii. Part-time faculty: The institution,
				recognizing that an appropriate faculty is one of the major determinants of the
				quality of its educational programs, should make provision for the use of part-time
				or adjunct faculty.
(1) No individual who has ever
				had a license suspended for a period of six months or more or has ever had a
				licensed revoked for any reason set forth in 5:23-5.25 shall be eligible to instruct
				code enforcement educational programs.
iii. Instruction: The institution will be expected
				to evaluate instruction systematically based on the performance of its students
				within the institution. Consideration will be given to such items as the performance
				of the student in class tests, the quality of their subsequent work, and the degree
				to which the institution as a whole attains its goals in the preparation of code
				enforcement personnel. The institution should show that it utilizes a variety of
				appropriate instructional procedures which contribute to the effectiveness of the
				student's preparation, such as class discussions, lectures, laboratory work, and
				newer media.
6. Facilities
				and instructional materials: The institution shall provide physical facilities,
				instructional materials and other resources essential for conducting education
				programs.
i. Building and grounds: An institution
				should have a physical plant designed to serve effectually its defined purposes for
				education.
ii. Library: The library, as
				the principal materials resource center of the institution, should be adequate for
				the instructional research and other services pertinent to the code enforcement
				educational programs.
iii. Laboratories:
				Each institution should be provided with laboratory equipment sufficient for
				instructional purposes for each program offered.
iv. Inspection experiences: Each institution
				should establish a field experience center or centers either as part of the
				institution or in cooperation with nearby code enforcement agencies. These may be
				organized for field inspection experiences.