Application Hearing for South Carolina PE License

[hokie13]

I recently submitted my application package for the PE License by Exam to South Carolina board. This week I received an email from the board with the following information:

"[SIZE=14pt]Your application has been reviewed by a professional member of the board.  Due to responses provided regarding your work experience, an Application Hearing before the full board is required.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]The purpose of an Application Hearing is to allow you to demonstrate to the Board that you are qualified for licensure as an engineer.  At the hearing, you may be represented by counsel at your expense, you may bring witnesses, and you may present any evidence you have that supports your request for licensure as well as evidence of your character and fitness to practice engineering in this state."[/SIZE]

My confusion is this: I've submitted all the same material to the NCEES board and beyond the request for modification to my work experience descriptions, all references and work listed have been the same. I initially started my application material while living and working in SC and midway through the process, moved and started working in NC. Technically I could have dismissed finishing the package for SC, since NC is one of the handful of states where you can file for your license through NCEES only. 

The question now is can I withdraw my application from the state of SC and continue filing with NCEES only or will this leave any sort of "blemish" on my record? Is this "Application Hearing" something anyone else has had to attend and defend their experience? Any input is much appreciated. 

 

[RBHeadge PE]

I've never heard of something like this happening before, at least not for an initial license for someone with a clean record. Could one of your character or experience references burned you? Would you have something else in your record that could have raised a flag, like a criminal misdemeanor or traffic offense?

I'm not sure if withdrawing your application would hurt you elsewhere later. Some states might* ask if you've ever been denied license in another jurisdiction or were ever up for disciplinary action. I doesn't sound like either of those apply to this current situation now. However it could apply if they deny your application after the scheduled hearing.

*I certainly don't know the questions for all 55 jurisdictions. But I've seen similar questions from more than one state.

 

[leggo PE]

Hm, I've never heard of this happening before, either. I think @RBHeadge PE has brought up some very good points. Is there anything in your application that might have made them question it? The response you got is so general that unfortunately, it sounds like it could be something within your work experience or something someone said about something more personal, for instance, your demeanor or character.

What is the process to schedule a hearing? Do they schedule it automatically for you, and you have to appear? Or are you the one who has to initiate the next step?

At the very least, I would consider contacting the SC board to explain that you no longer live nor work in SC, that you don't see yourself needing to be licensed in SC in the future (if this is true), and that you would like to explore withdrawing your application for licensure.

But even so, if you are able to and subsequently were to withdraw your application, if you ever were to need to be licensed in SC, it could raise a question. I would poke around this site and see if anyone in the SC threads (like in past test sessions) has ever encountered this, and if so, what they did.

 

[DrZoidberWoop]

I got initial my initial PE license in SC a few months back. They had excellent communication and a quick turnaround. SC is also not a large or densely populated state, so I would rule out general incompetence by the SC Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (for now). If they are asking for an interview, it is likely for clarification of experience or character, and not to set you up for outright rejection/denial. I'd imagine a simple denial would have been much easier for them to process, and this may be their attempt to give you an opportunity.

Having said that, it may be in your best interest to have a licensed PE at your company carefully review your work experience to ensure you submitted a carefully documented timeline of qualifying engineering work. If that checks out, I would consider the individual verifying the work experience as suspect. From my understanding, it's uncommon, unprofessional, and rude for a verifier to undercut an applicant in such a fashion, as they would normally ask for a modification or outright refuse to verify (typically with a silent rejection of email, call, etc.). 

Edited to add the following line:

I would give them a call, inquire about the consequences of withdrawing, and decide based on their response.