Texas Register

TITLE 22 EXAMINING BOARDS
PART 23TEXAS REAL ESTATE COMMISSION
CHAPTER 535GENERAL PROVISIONS
SUBCHAPTER FREQUIREMENTS FOR EDUCATION PROVIDERS, COURSES AND INSTRUCTORS FOR QUALIFYING EDUCATION
RULE §535.65Responsibilities and Operations of Providers of Qualifying Courses
ISSUE 08/31/2018
ACTION Proposed
Preamble Texas Admin Code Rule

(a)(No change.)

(b)Use of approved Instructor.

  (1)Except as provided by this subsection, a provider must use an instructor that is currently approved by the Commission to teach the specified course;

  (2)Each instructor shall be selected on the basis of expertise in the subject area of instruction and ability as an instructor;

  (3)A provider shall require specialized training or work experience for instructors teaching specialized subjects such as law, appraisal, investments, taxation or home inspection;

  (4)An instructor shall teach a course in substantially the same manner represented to the Commission in the instructor's manual or other documents filed with the application for course approval [form]; and

  (5)A provider may use the services of a guest instructor who is not approved as an instructor by the Commission for qualifying real estate or inspector courses provided that person instructs for no more than 10% of the total course time.

(c)Advertising.

  (1)The following practices are prohibited:

    (A)using any advertising which does not clearly and conspicuously contain the provider's name on the first page or screen of the advertising;

    (B)representing that the provider's program is the only vehicle by which a person may satisfy educational requirements;

    (C)conveying a false impression of the provider's size, superiority, importance, location, equipment or facilities, except that a provider may use objective information published by the Commission regarding pass rates;

    (D)promoting the provider directly or indirectly as a job placement agency, unless the provider is participating in a program recognized by federal, state, or local government and is providing job placement services to the extent the services are required by the program;

    (E)making any statement which is misleading, likely to deceive the public, or which in any manner tends to create a misleading impression;

    (F)advertising a course under a course name other than the course name approved by the Commission; or

    (G)advertising using a name that implies the course provider is the Texas Real Estate Commission, including use of the acronym "TREC", in all or part of the course provider's name.

  (2)Any written advertisement by a provider that includes a fee that the provider charges for a course must display any additional [all] fees that the provider charges for the course in the same place in the advertisement and with the same degree of prominence.

  (3)The provider shall advertise a course for the full clock hours of time for which credit is awarded.

  (4)The provider is responsible for and subject to sanctions for any violation of this subsection by any affiliate or other third party marketer or web hosting site associated with or used by the provider.

(d) - (f)(No change.)

(g)Presentation of courses.

  (1)Classroom Delivery:

    (A)The location for the course must be:

      (i)conducive to instruction, such as a classroom, training room, conference room, or assembly hall that is separate and apart from work areas;

      (ii)adequate for the class size;

      (iii)pose no threat to the health or safety of students; and

      (iv)allow the instructor to see and hear each student and the students to see and hear the instructor, including when offered through the use of technology.

    (B)The provider must:

      (i)check the photo identification of each student at class sign up and when signing in for each subsequent meeting of the class;

      (ii)ensure the student is present for the course for the hours of time for which credit is awarded;

      (iii)provide a 10 minute break per hour at least every two hours; and

      (iv)not have daily course segments that exceed 12 hours.

    (C)If the course is a qualifying or non-elective continuing education course delivered through the use of technology and there are more than 20 students registered for the course, the provider will also use:

      (i)a monitor at the broadcast origination site to verify identification of each student, monitor active participation of each student and facilitate questions for the instructor; and

      (ii)a proctor at each remote site with more than 20 students to verify identification of each student, monitor active participation of each student and proctor any on-site examination.

    (D)Makeup Session for Classroom Courses.

      (i)A provider may permit a student who attends at least two-thirds of an originally scheduled qualifying course to complete a makeup session to satisfy attendance requirements.

      (ii)A member of the provider's staff must approve the makeup procedure to be followed. Acceptable makeup procedures are:

        (I)attendance in corresponding class sessions in a subsequent offering of the same course; or

        (II)the supervised presentation by audio or video recording of the class sessions actually missed.

      (iii)A student shall complete all class makeup sessions no later than the 90th day after the date of the completion of the original course.

       [(iv)Dropped status may not be changed by makeup sessions, and any hours accumulated by a student may not be transferred to any other course, prior to being dropped from a course.]

      (iv)[(v)] A student who attends less than two-thirds of the originally scheduled qualifying course is not eligible to complete a makeup session. The student shall automatically be dropped from the course with no credit [and the provider shall report the student's status to the Commission].

  (2)Distance Education Delivery. The provider must ensure that:

    (A)the student taking all topics of the course and completing all quizzes and exercises is the student receiving credit for the course through a student identity verification [validation ] process acceptable to [that meets guidelines approved by] the Commission;

    (B)an approved instructor is available to answer students' questions or provide assistance as necessary in a timely manner;

    (C)a student has completed all instructional modules and attended any hours of live instruction required for a given course; and

    (D)an approved instructor is responsible for providing answers and rationale for the grading of the written course work.

  (3)A provider is not required to present topics [and units] in the order outlined for a course on the corresponding course approval form.

  (4)The periods of time prescribed to each unit of a topic for a qualifying course as outlined on the corresponding course approval form are recommendations and may be altered to allow instructors flexibility to meet the particular needs of their students.

(h)Course examinations.

  (1)The final examination given at the end of each course must be given in the manner submitted to and approved by the Commission [a form and with questions that were submitted to the Commission with the course approval form]. All final examinations must be closed book [booked].

  (2)Final examination questions must be kept confidential and be significantly different from any quiz questions [quizzes ] and exercises used in the course.

  (3)A provider shall not permit a student to view or take a final examination before the completion of regular course work and any makeup sessions required by this section.

  (4)A provider must rotate all versions of the examination required by §535.62(b)(7) of this title throughout the approval period for a course in a manner acceptable to the Commission and examinations must:

    (A)require an unweighted passing score of 70%; and

    (B)be proctored by a member of the provider faculty or staff, or third party proctor acceptable to the Commission, who:

      (i)is present at the test site or able to monitor the student through the use of technology acceptable to the Commission; and

      (ii)has positively identified that the student taking the examination is the student registered for and who took the course.

  (5)The following are examples of acceptable third party proctors:

    (A)employees at official testing or learning/tutoring centers;

    (B)librarians at a school, university, or public library;

    (C)college or university administrators, faculty, or academic advisors;

    (D)clergy who are affiliated with a specific temple, synagogue, mosque, or church; and

    (E)educational officers of a military installation or correctional facility.

  (6)A provider may not give credit to a student who fails a final examination and a subsequent final examination as provided for in subsection (i) of this section.

(i)(No change.)

(j)Course completion certificate.

  (1)Upon successful completion of a qualifying [ core] course, a provider shall issue a course completion certificate that a student can submit to the Commission. The course completion certificate shall show:

    (A)the provider's name and approval number;

    (B)the instructor's name and instructor license number assigned by the Commission;

    (C)the course title;

    (D)course numbers;

    (E)the number of classroom credit hours;

     (F)the course delivery method;

    (G)[(F)] the dates the student began and completed the course; and

    (H)[(G)] printed name and signature of an official of the provider on record with the Commission.

  (2)A provider may withhold any official completion documentation required by this subsection from a student until the student has fulfilled all financial obligations to the provider.

  (3)A provider shall maintain adequate security against forgery for official completion documentation required by this subsection.

(k)Instructor and course evaluations.

  (1)A provider shall provide each student enrolled in a course with an instructor and course evaluation form and provide a link to an online version of the form that a student can complete and submit any time after course completion.

  (2)An instructor may not be present when a student is completing the evaluation form and may not be involved in any manner with the evaluation process.

  (3)When evaluating an instructor or course, a provider shall use all of the questions from the evaluation form approved by the Commission, in the same order as listed on that form. A provider may [also] add additional questions to the end of the Commission evaluation questions or request the students to also complete the provider's evaluation form.

  (4)A provider shall maintain any comments made by the provider's management relevant to instructor or course evaluations with the provider's records.

  (5)At the Commission's request, a provider shall produce instructor and course evaluation forms for inspection by Commission staff.

(l)Maintenance of records for a provider of qualifying courses.

  (1)A provider shall maintain records of each student enrolled in a course for a minimum of four years following completion of the course, including course and instructor evaluations and student enrollment agreements.

  (2)A provider shall maintain financial records sufficient to reflect at any time the financial condition of the school.

  (3)A school's financial statement and balance sheets must be available for audit by Commission staff, and the Commission may require presentation of financial statements or other financial records.

  (4)All records may be maintained electronically but must be in a common format that is legible [legibly] and easily printed or viewed without additional manipulation or special software.

(m)Changes in Ownership or Operation of an approved provider of qualifying courses.

  (1)An approved provider shall obtain the approval of the Commission at least 30 days in advance of any material change in the operations [operation] of the provider by submitting the Qualifying Education Provider Supplement Application, including but not limited to changes in:

     [(A)ownership;]

    (A)[(B)] Operations or records management; and

    (B)[(C)] the location of main office and any other locations where courses are offered.

   [(2)An approved provider, upon transfer to the new owner, must meet the financial review standards imposed by §535.61 of this subchapter.]

  (2)[(3)] An approved provider requesting approval of a change in ownership shall provide all of the following information or documents to the Commission:

     (A)An Education Provider Application reflecting all required information for each owner and the required fee;

     (B)A Principal Information Form for each proposed new owner who holds at least 10% interest in the school;

     (C)Financial documents to satisfy standards imposed by §535.61 of this title, including a $20,000 surety bond for the proposed new owner; and

     (D)Business documentation reflecting the change.

     [(A)a new bond of $20,000 for the proposed new owner, a statement from the bonding company indicating that the former bond will transfer to the proposed new owner, or other security acceptable to the Commission under §1101.302 of the Act;]

     [(B)an Education Provider Application reflecting all required information for each proposed new owner;]

     [(C)a Principal Information Form for each proposed new owner who would hold at least a 10% interest in the school; and]

     [(D)pay the fee required by §535.101 or §535.210 of this title.]

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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