| (a) Responsibility of Providers.
(1) A provider is responsible for:
(A) the administration of each course, including, but
not limited to, compliance with any prescribed period of time for
any required course topics required by the Act, Chapter 1102, and
Commission rules;
(B) maintaining student attendance records;
(C) verifying instructor qualification, performance
and attendance;
(D) proper examination administration;
(E) validation of student identity acceptable to the
Commission;
(F) maintaining student course completion records;
(G) ensuring all advertising complies with subsection
(c);
(H) ensuring that instructors or other persons do not
recruit or solicit prospective sales agents, brokers or inspectors
during course presentation; and
(I) ensuring staff is reasonably available for public
inquiry and assistance.
(2) A provider may not promote the sale of goods or
services during the presentation of a course.
(3) A provider may remove a student and not award credit
if a student does not participate in class, or disrupts the orderly
conduct of a class, after being warned by the provider or the instructor.
(4) If a provider approved by the Commission does not
maintain a fixed office in Texas for the duration of the provider's
approval to offer courses, the provider 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 provider is required
to maintain by this section. A power-of-attorney designating the resident
must be filed with the Commission in a form acceptable to the Commission.
(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 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) Pre-enrollment agreements for approved providers.
(1) Prior to a student enrolling in a course, a provider
approved by the Commission shall provide the student with a pre-enrollment
agreement that includes all of the following information:
(A) the tuition for the course;
(B) an itemized list of any fees charged by the provider
for supplies, materials, or books needed in course work;
(C) the provider's policy regarding the refund of tuition
and other fees, including a statement addressing refund policy when
a student is dismissed or withdraws voluntarily;
(D) the attendance requirements;
(E) the acceptable makeup procedures, including any
applicable time limits and any fees that may be charged for makeup
sessions; and
(F) the procedure and fees for taking any permitted
makeup final examination or any permitted re-examination, including
any applicable time limits.
(2) A pre-enrollment agreement must be signed by a
representative of the provider.
(e) Refund of fees by approved provider.
(1) A provider shall establish written policies governing
refunds and contingency plans in the event of course cancellation.
(2) If a provider approved by the Commission cancels
a course, the provider shall:
(A) fully refund all fees collected from students within
a reasonable time; or
(B) at the student's option, credit the student for
another course.
(3) The provider 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.
(f) Course materials.
(1) Before the course starts, a provider shall give
each student copies of or, if a student has online access, provide
online access to any materials to be used for the course.
(2) A provider shall update course materials to ensure
that current and accurate information is provided to students as provided
for under §535.62 of this subchapter.
(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) 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.
Cont'd... |
