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Historical Rule for the Texas Administrative Code

TITLE 22EXAMINING BOARDS
PART 23TEXAS REAL ESTATE COMMISSION
CHAPTER 535GENERAL PROVISIONS
SUBCHAPTER FPRE-LICENSE EDUCATION AND EXAMINATION
RULE §535.65Operation of Core Education Schools
Repealed Date:01/01/2015

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.

Cont'd...

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