Distance Learning Course Sponsor Requirements

Verifying the Identity of the Trainee

Sponsors of a DEC approved pesticide applicator training course offered as distance learning must have procedures in place to verify the identification of the individual enrolled in the course.

  • The course application must include a description of the methods used to verify the individual's identity.
  • Include a user ID and password with the application to allow the DEC course reviewer access to the course.

Course Requirements

The sponsor must ensure that the student completes the entire course (all of the material and the required amount of time for the credits issued).

  • Each course must also include one or more quiz(s) (minimum of 10 questions) to assess comprehension of the course subject. A passing score of 70% is required to earn the credit assigned to the course.
  • Slides and other material within the course must be timed to prevent the student from skipping course material and proceeding directly to the quiz. DEC awards 1 credit for course material that should take at least 1 hour of time to complete.
  • The maximum number of hours of training allowed is 7 per day. Advise your students that DEC will not accept recertification credits for more than 7 hours of training in 1 day.
  • The student must complete a distance learning course within 6 months of the day they start the course.
  • A particular course may not be repeated in any recertification cycle.

Submitting Electronic Spreadsheets

The sponsor must submit electronic Excel spreadsheets for completed distance courses.

  • The spreadsheet must list all students completing any course, and must be submitted to DEC twice per month. For courses completed between the 1st and the 15th of the month, the spreadsheet must be received by DEC no later than the 20th. For courses completed between the 16th and the end of the month, the spreadsheet must be received by DEC no later than the 5th of the following month.
  • No spreadsheet is required if you don't have any students completing a course during the half month period. See below for the required column format for the spreadsheet, or download in Excel (25.5 KB).
NYSDEC
Course #		 Certification # Date
Started		 Date
Finished		 First Name Last Name Course Title
13-12345 P0123456 01/01/13 02/01/13 Joseph Smith Birds and the Bees
  • The spreadsheet will be uploaded directly into the DEC database. Do not add additional columns or headers to the spreadsheet. Do not change the order of the columns.
  • Email spreadsheets to [email protected] within the timeframes listed above. The spreadsheet will be used to record credits earned by your students. Failure to submit a properly formatted spreadsheet will result in no credits for your students!

Course Certificates

Sponsors must use the course certificate provided with the course approval documents. The course number on the certificate you issue should always reflect the course number that is current when the student actually starts the course even if they don't finish it until the following year. The certificate can only be issued to course attendees completing the full length of training as approved by DEC. The certificate will be a record of attendance to be kept by the attendee.

Failure to meet any of these requirements may result in denial of future course applications. Thank you for your assistance in training New York State's pesticide applicators.


Contact for this Page

DMM, Bureau of Pesticides Management
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-7254

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