The following provisions apply to schools accredited by the
commission to offer core education programs.
(1) Responsibility of schools. A school is responsible
to the commission for the conduct and administration of each course
presentation, punctuality of classroom sessions, student attendance
records, instructor performance and attendance, examination administration,
proper student certification, and certification of records. A school
shall establish business hours during which school staff are available
for public inquiry and assistance. A school shall ensure that instructors
or other persons do not recruit or solicit prospective salespersons
or brokers in a classroom during class time.
(2) School facilities.
(A) A school shall ensure that its classroom facilities
are adequate for the needs of the school and pose no threat to the
health or safety of students.
(B) Except as provided by this section, every school
shall be open to the public, and shall advertise all courses publicly
so as to encourage reasonably an open enrollment. A school may obtain
approval from the commission, however, to hold classes in facilities
to which access has been limited by a governmental unit.
(C) If a school maintains an office in the State of
Texas, the office must be large enough for maintenance of all records,
office equipment, files, telephone equipment, and office space for
customer service.
(D) If a school does not maintain a fixed office in
this state for the duration of the school's approval to offer courses,
the school shall designate a resident of this state as attorney-in-fact
to accept service of process and act as custodian of any records in
Texas that the school is required to maintain by these sections. A
power-of-attorney designating the resident must be filed with the
commission in a form acceptable to the commission.
(3) Instructors.
(A) A school 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, a school may not utilize
an instructor unless the instructor has been approved by the commission.
A school shall require specialized training or work experience for
instructors for specialized subjects such as law, appraisal, investments,
or taxation. A school may use as a guest speaker a person who has
not been approved as an instructor, provided that no more than a total
of three hours of instruction in a 30-hour course are taught by persons
who are not approved instructors.
(B) 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.
(C) A school shall ensure that at the beginning of
each examination preparation course, the instructor reads aloud to
all students the provisions of §535.61(a) of this title (relating
to Examinations).
(D) Schools may request MCE credit be given to instructors
of real estate core courses subject to the following guidelines.
(i) The instructors may receive credit for only those
portions of the course which they teach by filing a completed Instructor
Credit Request.
(ii) The instructors may receive full course credit
by attending all of the remainder of the course.
(4) Advertising. The following practices are prohibited:
(A) using any advertising which does not contain the
school's name;
(B) representing that the school's program is the only
vehicle by which a person may satisfy educational requirement for
licensing;
(C) conveying a false impression of the school's size,
importance, location, equipment or facilities;
(D) making unsubstantiated claims that the school's
programs are superior to any other course of instruction, except that
a school may use objective information published by the commission
regarding pass rates;
(E) promoting the school directly or indirectly as
a job placement agency, unless the school 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; or
(F) making any statement which is misleading, likely
to deceive the public, or which in any manner tends to create a misleading
impression.
(5) Pre-enrollment agreements, tuition and fees.
(A) Prior to the start of a course, a school shall
provide each student with a pre-enrollment agreement signed by a representative
of the school and the student. The agreement must include all of the
following information:
(i) the tuition for the course;
(ii) any fees charged by the school for supplies, materials,
or books needed in course work, shown in an itemized fashion;
(iii) the school's policy regarding the refund of tuition
and other fees, including a statement addressing refund policy when
a student is dismissed or withdraws voluntarily;
(iv) attendance requirements;
(v) acceptable makeup procedures, including any applicable
time limits and any fees that may be charged for makeup sessions;
and
(vi) the procedure and fees for taking any permitted
makeup final examination or any permitted re-examination, including
any applicable time limits.
(B) If the school cancels a course, the school shall
fully refund all fees collected from students or, at the student's
option, the school may credit the student for another course. The
school shall inform the commission when a student requests a refund
because of a withdrawal due to the student's dissatisfaction with
the quality of the course.
(C) Any written advertisement by the school that includes
a fee charged by the school must display all fees for the course in
the same place in the advertisement and with the same degree of prominence.
(6) Course materials.
(A) A school shall update course materials to ensure
that current and accurate information is provided to students. The
school shall file updated course materials and revisions of the course
outline with the commission prior to implementation, and the commission
may direct a school to revise the materials further or cease use of
materials. The commission may direct that the school withdraw texts.
(B) A school shall provide each student with copies
for the student's permanent use of any printed material which is the
basis for a significant portion of the course. The school shall provide
ample space on handouts for notetaking or completion of any written
exercises.
(7) Presentation of courses.
(A) A school shall present core real estate courses
prescribed by §1101.003 of the Act and real estate related courses
accepted by the commission in no less than 30 classroom hours of instruction.
The school shall advertise and schedule a course for the full clock
hours of time for which credit is awarded.
(B) A school may give one hour of credit for a minimum
of 50 clock minutes of actual classroom session time. A school shall
provide a break of at least 20 minutes to be given at least every
two hours. While a school is expected to ensure that each student
is present in the classroom for the hours of time for which credit
is awarded, this section is not intended to penalize students who
must leave the classroom for brief periods of time for personal reasons.
(C) To the extent the commission has divided a core
course into subtopics and has assigned time periods for each topic
or subtopic, a school must ensure that each topic or subtopic is devoted
the appropriate amount of time and that all of the units of the topic
or subtopic are covered. In the forms adopted by the commission, suggested
time periods assigned to each unit of a topic or subtopic are provided
merely for guidance to the schools and instructors. Course subtopics
and/or units need not be offered in the order listed on the form.
(8) Course examinations.
(A) A school shall administer an examination approved
by the commission in each course as a component of determining successful
completion of a course of study. A school may not permit a student
to take a final examination prior to the completion of any makeup
required by this section. In the event of failure of a course final
examination, a school may permit a student to retake a final examination
once after at least a seven day waiting period and completion of additional
course work prescribed by the school. A school shall require a student
who fails the examination a second time to retake the course. A school
shall require makeup final examinations to be completed within 90
days of the termination of the original class or report the students
who do not timely complete the examination requirement as dropped
from the class with no credit.
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