(a)(No change.)
(b)Standards for course approval. To be approved as
a qualifying course by the Commission, a provider must satisfy the
Commission that the course:
(1)covers all topics [topic]
and units [unit areas] for the [specific]
course subject required by the Act, Chapter 1102 and this chapter;
(2)covers all units within the prescribed
topic;
[(2)devotes the time prescribed for
each topic required by a course approval form adopted by the Commission;]
(3)contains sufficient content to
satisfy the number of hours for which credit is being requested as
evidenced by:
(A)word count studies;
(B)samples of student time studies; or
(C)other methods acceptable to the Commission.
(4)[(3)] will be scheduled for
the full clock hours of time for which credit is awarded and presented
in full hourly units;
(5)[(4)] does not have daily
course segments that exceed 12 hours;
(6)[(5)] will be delivered by
one of the following delivery methods:
(A)classroom delivery;
(B)distance education delivery; (or) [and
]
(C)a combination of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this
paragraph, if at least 50% of the combined course is offered by classroom
delivery[; and]
(7)[(6)] include at a minimum,
the following methods to assess a student's comprehension of the course
material:
(A)topic quizzes, with at least three questions related
to the subject matter in [of] each course topic;
(B)at least one scenario-based learning exercise per
every increment of 10 credit hours or less; and
(C)if the course is delivered by distance education
delivery:
(i)Prevent the student from moving from one topic to
the next topic until the student answers all topic quiz questions
correctly and receives a passing grade on the scenario based learning
exercises; and
(ii)for quiz questions answered incorrectly, employ
a method to present the rationale behind the correct answer and ask
a subsequent related quiz question that will count toward passing
the topic if answered correctly; and
(8)[(7)] include [will
have] at least four versions of a final examination, and ensure
that each version of the examination:
(A)covers each topic required by the Act or Rules
for the specific course;
(B)does not contain any true/false questions;
(C)does not repeat more than one third of the questions
from [any] other versions [version]
of the final examination;
(D)for all qualifying courses other than a real estate
math course:
(i)consists of at least two questions per credit course
hour; and
(ii)draws from a question bank consisting of at least
four questions per credit course hour; and
(E)for all qualifying real estate math courses, consists
of at least 20 questions that are drawn from a question bank consisting
of at least 40 questions.
(c)If the course is currently certified by a distance
learning certification center acceptable to the Commission, the provider
will be deemed to have met requirements for verification of clock/course
hours [and design] for distance education delivery.
(d)Approval of currently approved courses by a secondary
[subsequent] provider.
(1)If a secondary [subsequent]
provider wants to offer a course currently approved for another provider,
the secondary [subsequent] provider must:
(A)submit the course application and approval forms
including all materials required;
(B)submit written authorization to the Commission
from the owner of the rights to the course material granting permission
for the secondary [subsequent] provider to offer
the course; and
(C)pay the fee required by §535.101 or §535.210
of this title.
(2)If approved to offer the previously approved course,
the secondary [subsequent] provider is required
to:
(A)offer the course as originally approved, assume
the original [including] expiration date, include [
with] any approved revisions, use [using]
all materials required for the course; and
(B)meet the requirements of §535.65 of this subchapter.
(e)Required revision of a currently approved qualifying
course.
(1)Providers are responsible for keeping current on
changes to the Act and Commission Rules and must revise or supplement
materials for approved courses when changes are adopted [
to present the current version of all applicable statutes and rules]
on or before the effective date of those statutes or rules.
(2)If the Commission adopts new requirements for a
course, including but not limited to a course approval form that divides
selected qualifying course subjects into topics and units, the Commission
will determine, at the time the Commission adopts the new requirements,
whether a provider must revise the course or supplement the course.
Any provider currently offering a course [on] that is subject
to change must:
(A)revise or supplement any currently approved classroom
qualifying course covering that subject no later than 12 months after
the effective date of the new requirements;
(B)revise or supplement any currently approved qualifying
course offered by distance or combination [education]
delivery no later than 15 months after the effective date of the new
requirements;
(3)If the Commission determines that a qualifying
course should be supplemented, a provider must submit the supplemental
materials required by the Commission. No fee will be required and
the course will maintain its original expiration date.
(4)If the Commission determines that a qualifying
course should be revised, a provider must:
(A)submit the course application and approval forms
including all materials required; and
(B)pay the fee required by §535.101 or §535.210
of this title.
(5)A provider may not offer a [currently approved]
course for qualifying credit after the deadlines established by this
subsection following a required revision or supplement [of a
qualifying course] if the provider has not received written
approval from the Commission to offer the revised or supplemented
course.
(6)If a provider paid a fee for the initial course
approval, the provider will receive a prorated credit on the fee paid
under this subsection for a revised course for the unexpired time
remaining on that initial approval. The Commission will calculate
the prorated credit by dividing the fee paid for the initial approval
by 48 months and multiplying that amount by the number of full months
remaining between the approval date of the revised course and the
expiration date of the currently approved version of the course.
(7)A revised course approved under this subsection
expires four years from the date of approval of the revision.
(8)No later than 90 days before the effective date
of a revised or supplemented course, a provider shall send written
notice to all students who have purchased the currently approved course
and not completed it, that credit will no longer be given for the
current course as of the effective date of the revised or supplemented
course.
(9)If an approved provider fails to give the notice
set out in paragraph (8) of this subsection, the provider shall allow
the student to take the revised or supplemented course at no additional
charge.
(f)(No change.)
(g)Approval and Expiration of approval.
(1)A Qualifying provider shall not
offer qualifying education courses until the provider has received
written notice of the approval from the Commission.
(2)A Qualifying course expires four
years from the date of approval and providers must reapply and meet
all current requirements of this Section to offer the course for another
four years.
[(1)Courses approved after January
1, 2011 are valid for four years from the date of approval.]
[(2)Courses approved before January
1, 2011 expire on December 31, 2015.]
(3)Courses approved for use by a subsequent provider
under subsection (d) of this section expire on the same date that
the originally approved course expires.
[(4)Currently approved versions of
a course expire 90 days after approval of a revised version of that
course.]
(h)Renewal of course approval.
(1)Not earlier than 90 days before the
expiration of a course approval, a provider may apply for [
obtain] a renewal of course approval for another four-year [
four year] period [by following the process and meeting
the current standards for an initial course approval].
(2)Approval of an application to
renew course approval shall be subject to the standards for initial
approval set out in this section.
(i)(No change.)
The agency certifies that legal counsel
has reviewed the proposal and found it to be within the state agency's
legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office
of the Secretary of State on August 17, 2018
TRD-201803573 Kerri Lewis
General Counsel
Texas Real Estate Commission
Earliest possible date of adoption: September 30, 2018
For further information, please call: (512) 936-3092
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