South Carolina CCA News and Information

General Information

Russell Duncan is our newly elected regional representative t to the International Board. He is also a member of the ICCA continuing education committee. He will serve a 3-year term as regional representative. The several regions of the U.S. and Canada are represented on the International Board by Regional Representatives. We are in the Southern region, which has two representatives. Conrad Lavender, a CCA in Georgia, is the other regional representative. You can contact Russell directly by e-mail <rdncn@clemson.edu> if you want to discuss an issue that you feel should be presented to the International Board.

If you change local providers, send your new e-mail address to soils@clemson.edu.  Also, remember to update your profile on the International web site http://www.agronomy.org/cca/login/

Tom Kemp is the past current Chair of the International (ICCA) Board. Tom is a former chair of our state board, was a regional representative to the ICCA Board, and the first recipient of the South Carolina CCA-of-the-year award.

Also you can send ideas to our Board Chair, Eddie Miller cottonmill@sc.rr.com and Ralph Franklin soils@clemson.edu, our contact with ICCA headquarters who represents us at annual meetings with the ICCA Board.

Exam Information

The international and state and regional exams are held on the first Friday in February and August but South Carolina only offers the February exam. Deadlines for registration are on the 15^th of the previous December . The next exam date is February 6, 2009, with a deadline for registration of 15 December 2008.

Interested individuals should contact Michele Lovejoy mlovejoy@agronomy.org, our headquarters contact, can assist in finding a location where exams are administered.

Performance Objectives provide the basis for development of questions used on both exams. The Southeast Performance Objectives can be downloaded from the South Carolina CCA Web site http://cca.clemson.edu/

Continuing Education

Performance Objectives are no longer used as the references for planning and making application for continuing education programs. The new guide is the document Educational Areas, which can be downloaded from our Web site.

Soils Information

Visit the Clemson University soils web site <http://soils.clemson.edu> for more information about soils and soil resources.

Questions

Answers to many questions about membership requirements, continuing education, and distance learning opportunities can be found on the Internet site or by contacting our headquarters representative, Ms Michelle Lovejoy. Her e-mail address is mlovejoy@agronomy.org or by telephone, FAX, or regular mail using the information below:

Ms Michele Lovejoy

Certified Crop Adviser Program

677 South Segoe Road

Madison, WI 53711-1086

608-273-8090 Ext.325

FAX: 608-273-2081

Reciprocity

South Carolina has reciprocity agreements with CCA Boards in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Training approved for CEU credits by any of those state boards is accepted as Board approved in South Carolina. Only one-half of the 40-CEU requirement need to be Board approved by one of those states or the International Board. The remainder can be self-directed.

General Requirements to Maintain Certification

To maintain CCA certification, registrants must follow the Code of Ethics and participate in an extensive continuing education program. Failure to comply with these requirements will result in suspension or revocation of certification.

The primary purpose for continuing education is to further enhance the skills of CCAs and routinely update their knowledge as new information and technologies become available. To insure that the primary purpose of continuing education is achieved, specific requirements have been adopted that must be followed by CCAs to receive credit for continuing education activities.

Continuing education activities are measured in Continuing Education Units (CEUs), which are defined as one (1) hour of quality contact time in training or other qualifying activity addressing international or local performance objectives. You may begin accumulating CEUs from the day your certification becomes effective. CEUs obtained after the date of certification, but prior to 1 January will count toward your first CEU year.

A minimum of 40 CEU credits by the end of your two year CEU cycle with a minimum of 5 credits in each of the four major competency areas which are Nutrient Management, Soil & Water Management, Pest Management and Crop Management.

In South Carolina, one-half of the CEU requirement (20 CEUs) may be self-directed; the remaining one-half of the 40 CEUs must be pre- or post approved by the South Carolina or International CCA Boards, or one of the states with which we have reciprocity: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

A maximum of 20 self study Board approved CEUs may be obtained in each 2-year period if the certifying local board allows their registrants to report self study CEUs.

A fifth educational area, Professional Development, has been established. There is no minimum requirement for this area but up to 5 CEU may be used to satisfy the 40-CEU minimum of each 2-year cycle. 


The quality of continuing education is subject to review by a local CCA board that must pre- or post-approve half of all submitted CEUs. Local CCA boards have the option to pre- or post-approve all CEUs. CCA boards that approve half of the CEUs, the remaining CEUs (self directed) are subject to random audit and will be reviewed in conjunction with all complaints.

STATUS OF APPLICATIONS AND OTHER QUESTIONS:

Applicants may check on the status of their application to the CCA Program by contacting Michelle Lovejoy in the National Office.

TRANSFER CREDENTIALS FROM ONE STATE TO ANOTHER

Individuals desiring to transfer their certification to South Carolina from another state can request this by writing or otherwise contacting the International office. That office will notify the SC Board of the request and the State Board has the option of 1) automatically authorizing the transfer, 2) requesting the individual's file for review by the Standards & Ethics committee, or 3) requiring the individual to pass the sate exam as well as a review of the credentials.

SELF-STUDY AND HOME STUDY

CCAs who would like to see self-study programs developed for specific topics should contact an appropriate Extension specialist at Clemson University and express that desire. If there is sufficient interest in certain topics this will help specialists to appreciate the need for such training. Note: continuing education courses need to be focused on one or more of the educational areas.