| (a) A person desiring to offer educational programs or courses of study under approval of the Texas Real Estate Commission pursuant to Texas Civil Statutes, Article 6573a (the Act), §7(f), shall file an application on forms adopted by the commission accompanied by the fee prescribed pursuant to §11(9) of the Act. (b) The Texas Real Estate Commission adopts by reference the following forms approved by the commission. These documents are published by and available from the Texas Real Estate Commission, P.O. Box 12188, Austin, Texas 78711-2188: (1) Form SCH 1-0, Proprietary School Application; (2) Form SCH 2-0, Principal Information Form; (3) Form SCH 3-0, Course Application; (4) Form SCH 3A-0, Course Application Supplement; (5) Form SCH 4-0, Instructor Application; (6) Form SCH 4A-0, Instructor Application Supplement;
(7) Form SCH 5-0, Real Estate School Bond; and (8) Instructor and Course Evaluation Form, Form SCH 6-0. (c) In considering an application, special attention will be given to management, instructorship, physical plant, financial base, and curriculum. (1) An entity filing an application for approval of a proprietary real estate school in Texas shall submit material for no less than 180 hours of core real estate courses with the original application for approval. (2) Professional or trade organizations or schools approved and regulated by an agency of this state may submit real estate or real estate related courses for approval limited to their areas of specialization. (d) The commission may request additional information from an applicant which the commission deems to be relevant and material to the consideration of an application. (e) The commission shall
notify the applicant in writing of the approval or disapproval of the application. The notice will be sent by certified mail to the address provided by the applicant in the application. If the application is disapproved, the notice shall contain the reason for the decision. (f) An applicant may appeal a disapproval by filing with the commission a written request for a hearing within ten days after the receipt of the notice of disapproval. Following the hearing, the commission may sustain or withdraw the disapproval or establish conditions for the approval of a provider, course or instructor. Proceedings involving applications will be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, Title 10, Government Code, Chapter 2001. Venue for any hearing conducted under this section shall be in Travis County. (g) Proposed change(s) in and of a program including, but not limited to, ownership, location of main office and any other locations
where courses are offered, management, instructorship, and formats shall be approved by the commission in advance of being instituted. Requests for approval of changes in ownership shall include a resume of proposed new owner(s); the proportion of ownership of each new owner; and if a purchase of a school, a financial statement of the new owner(s) and a statement of any proposed changes in the operation or location of the school. (h) No school may be accredited or operate under commission approval for the sole purpose of offering courses of instruction designed to prepare its students for the state examination for any license issued by the commission. Schools approved by the commission may offer examination preparation courses on a non-credit basis. Before being presented, any such courses must be submitted to and approved by the commission in the same manner as courses accepted for licensure requirements. Schools shall ensure that at the beginning of each
examination preparation course, the instructor reads aloud to all students the provisions of §535.61(hh) of this title (relating to Examinations). (i) All commission-accredited schools must be open to the public, and may not offer courses of instruction to businesses or organizations with a closed membership, unless such courses are publicly advertised in such a manner as to encourage an open enrollment. Courses may not be held in the offices of brokerage firms or real estate franchise organizations. (j) Directors of commission-accredited programs are responsible to the commission for the conduct and administration of each course presentation, and are responsible for punctuality of classroom sessions, student attendance records, instructor performance and attendance, examination administration, proper student certification, and certification of records. Instructors must 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. Directors or their staff shall establish business hours during which they shall be available for public inquiry and assistance. (k) Schools accredited by the commission shall select each instructor on the basis of expertise in the subject area of instruction and ability as an instructor. Except as provided by this section, schools may not utilize instructors who have not been approved by the commission. Schools shall require specialized training or work experience for instructors for specialized subjects such as law, appraisal, investments, or taxation. Guest speakers or other persons who have not been approved as instructors by the commission may not be used for more than three hours of instruction in a course. (l) Schools shall provide instructor evaluation forms for completion by students in every class and establish procedures for
instructional review. Student instructor evaluation reports must be tabulated and summarized by the school's director, and any comments by the school's management relevant to such reports must be filed in the school records. On demand by the commission the school shall produce student instructor evaluation forms for inspection. (m) Instructors who are deemed inadequate by the school's administration or who do not satisfy the school's standards of quality may not be used as instructors by the school. The school shall report to the commission the identity of any instructor no longer being used. (n) The application for original commission approval of an instructor must be filed on forms adopted by the commission. Requests that teaching assignments of previously-approved instructors be extended by the school must be made by letter to the commission. The commission may disapprove an application for approval of an instructor for
the same reasons as it may disapprove applications for real estate licensure and may withdraw approval for the same reasons as it may suspend or revoke real estate licenses. Appeals from application disapprovals will be conducted in the manner required by the Act, §10. Proceedings for the withdrawal of instructor approval will be conducted in the manner required by the Act, §17. Each person approved as an instructor must meet the following requirements: (1) a college degree in the subject area or five years professional experience in the subject area; and (2) three years experience in teaching or training; or (3) the equivalent of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection as determined by the commission after due consideration of the applicant's professional experience, research, authorship or other significant endeavors in the subject area. (o) Core real estate courses prescribed by the
Act, §7(a), and other standard courses of instruction for licensure credit offered by schools accredited by the commission must be presented in no less than 30 classroom hours of instruction. Courses must be advertised and scheduled for the full clock hours of time for which credit is awarded. (p) Core real estate courses must include, but are not limited to, the statutory subject areas as found in the Act, §7(a). All statutory subject areas must be specifically listed in each core course submitted for approval. An applicant shall submit Form SCH 3-0 the first time approval is sought to offer a course. Once a course has been approved, no further approval is required for another approved provider to offer the same course. Prior to advertising or offering the course, however, the subsequent provider shall complete Form SCH 3A-0, file the form with the commission and receive written or oral acknowledgment from the commission that all necessary documentation
has been filed. Providers shall submit an instructor's manual for each proposed course. The commission may require a copy of the previously approved instructor's manual to be submitted for each previously approved course the provider intends to offer. Subsequent providers shall offer the course as originally approved or as revised with the approval of the commission and shall use all materials required in the original or revised course. The commission adopts by reference "Guidelines for Developing an Instructor's Manual for a Proprietary School Course" approved by the commission in 1995; this form is published by and available from the Texas Real Estate Commission, P.O. Box 12188, Austin, Texas 78711-2188. Each manual must contain the following: (1) course description; (2) learning objectives; (3) evaluation techniques; (4) outline of the subject matter; (5) instructional
strategies in addition to lecture (at least three for each course); Cont'd... |
