| (a) Changes in Ownership or Operation. A school shall obtain
the approval of the commission in advance of any material change in the operation
of the school, including but not limited to, ownership, location of main office
and any other locations where courses are offered, management, and course
formats. A request for approval of a change of ownership will be considered
as if each proposed new owner had applied for accreditation of the school,
and each new owner must meet the standards imposed by §535.64 of this
title (relating to Accreditation of Schools and Approval of Instructors).
A school requesting approval of a change in ownership shall provide all of
the following information or documents to the commission:
(1) the proportion of ownership of each proposed new owner;
(2) a professional resume of each proposed new owner who would
hold at least a 10% interest in the school;
(3) business financial statements of each proposed new owner
who would hold at least a 10% interest in the school, which shall include
the statement of financial condition and statement of net worth for the accounting
period in which the application is made, prepared in accordance with generally
accepted accounting principles;
(4) a statement of any proposed changes in the operation or
location of the school;
(5) a new bond in the amount of $10,000 for the proposed new
owner(s), a statement from the bonding company indicating that the former
bond will transfer to the proposed new owner(s), or other security acceptable
to the commission under the Act, §7(f).
(6) a completed Form ED 1-0, Education Provider Application,
reflecting all required information for the proposed new owner(s); and
(7) a completed Form ED 2-0, Principal Information Form, for
each proposed new owner who would hold at least a 10% interest in the school.
(b) School facilities.
(1) A school shall maintain a fixed 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.
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.
(2) 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) 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.
(d) Instructors.
(1) 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.
(2) 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.
(3) A school shall provide instructor evaluation forms for
completion by students in every class and establish procedures for instructional
review. The school shall file in the school records any comments by the school's
management relevant to instructor evaluation reports. On demand by the commission
the school shall produce student instructor evaluation forms for inspection.
(4) A school shall ensure that at the beginning of each examination
preparation course, the instructor reads aloud to all students the provisions
of subsection (a) of §535.61 of this title (relating to Examinations).
(5) Schools may request MCE credit be given to instructors
of real estate core courses subject to the following guidelines.
(A) The instructors may receive credit for only those portions
of the course which they teach.
(B) The instructors may receive full course credit by attending
all of the remainder of the course.
(e) Course examinations.
(1) 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.
(2) Except in the case of math courses which require a minimum
of 20 questions, a school shall use final examinations consisting of at least
60 questions with an unweighted passing score of 70%. A school shall revise
final course examinations for active courses at least annually and shall furnish
the commission copies of all revisions. Each of the subjects required by statute
or commission rule for a core course must be covered in the exam of that course.
A school shall ensure that an examination proctor who is either a member of
the school staff or faculty is present with the class during all regularly
scheduled final course examinations.
(f) Pre-enrollment agreements, tuition and fees.
(1) 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:
(A) the tuition for the course;
(B) any fees charged by the school for supplies, materials,
or books needed in course work, shown in an itemized fashion;
(C) 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;
(D) attendance requirements;
(E) 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) 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.
(3) Any written advertisement by the school which contains
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.
(g) Course materials.
(1) A school shall update course materials during the period
of time a course may be given 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.
(2) 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.
(h) Presentation of courses.
(1) A school shall present core real estate courses prescribed
by the Act, §7(a) 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.
(2) 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 such as taking medication or responding to the call of nature.
(i) Course credit and records.
(1) Within ten days following the completion of a course, a
school shall provide the commission with a class roster in a format approved
by the commission. The listing of students must be numbered and in alphabetical
order, with each student's last name shown first, and must show after each
student's name the final grade of either passed, failed, incomplete, or dropped,
in language or symbols that can be correlated with these categories. The school
shall explain any other grade concisely but clearly. The school shall list
all instructors used in the course on the roster.
(A) "Passed" must be limited to those students who attended
all of the scheduled classes or completed acceptable makeup and who successfully
passed the final course examination based on passing standards approved by
the commission.
(B) "Failed" must be limited to those students who had acceptable
classroom attendance but failed the final course examination. If, however,
the school permits the student to retake the examination in accordance with
subsection (e) of this section, the first failure must be reported as an incomplete
grade.
(C) "Incomplete" must be limited to those students who met
the attendance requirements, but did not take the final course examination;
those who attended at least two/thirds of the scheduled course hours but did
not complete acceptable makeup; or those who fail the final course examination
but will be permitted to take a second examination. If a student is reported
incomplete and later completes acceptable makeup and the final examination,
the school shall file a supplemental report with the commission giving the
student's name and final grade report and using the same format and course
data as the original class report. The school shall file a separate supplemental
report for each individual class but may include more than one student on
the report if all students were in the same original class.
(D) "Dropped" must be limited to those students who missed
more than one/third of the scheduled class in which they were originally enrolled;
those who voluntarily terminated their enrollment; or those whose enrollment
was terminated for cause by a school director.
(2) A school may permit a student who attends at least two-thirds
of a scheduled course to complete makeup work to satisfy attendance requirements.
Acceptable makeup procedures are the attendance in the corresponding class
sessions in a subsequent offering of the same course or the supervised presentation
by audio or video recording of the class sessions actually missed. A school
shall require all class makeup sessions to be completed within 90 days of
the completion of the original course, or the student must be considered dropped
with no credit for the course. A member of the school's staff must approve
the makeup procedure to be followed. A student attending less than two-thirds
of the originally scheduled course must automatically be dropped from the
course without credit and reported as dropped. Dropped status may not be changed
by makeup sessions, and any hours accumulated may not be transferred to any
other course.
(3) A school shall issue to the students successfully completing
a course of instruction an official certificate which reflects the school's
name, branch, course title, course numbers, and the number of classroom hours
(or other recognized educational unit) involved in the course. All core course
certificates must show the statutory core course title or other identification
as prescribed by the commission. Certificates also must show the date of issuance
and be signed by an official of the school, or if the certificate is computer
printed, the school logo may be substituted for the signature. Letters or
other official communications also may be provided to students for submission
to the commission as evidence of satisfactory completion of the course. Such
letters must fully reflect the school name, the course title and number, educational
units, and be dated and signed by an Cont'd... |
