| (l) A course must be devoted to one or more of the subjects specified under the course titles in the Act, §7(a)(2)-(4) and §7(a)(7)-(10), to real estate professionalism and ethics or to other subjects approved by the commission for MCE credit. MCE courses must be presentations of relevant issues and changes within the subject areas as they apply to the practice of real estate in the current market or topics which increase or support the licensee's development of skill and competence. Courses approved by the commission for core real estate course credit provided in the Act, §7(d)-(e), may be accepted for satisfying MCE requirements provided the student files a course completion certificate with the commission. MCE courses may be accepted by the commission as real estate related courses for satisfying the education requirements of §7(d)-(e) of the Act. Courses related to technology, such as the use of personal computers, must be primarily devoted to the application of technology to the practice of the licensee. (m) Providers must furnish students with copies, for students' permanent use, of any printed material which is the basis for a significant portion of the course. Ample space must be provided on handouts for note taking or completion of any written exercises. If a provider charges fees for supplies, materials, or books needed in course work, the fees must be itemized in a written statement provided to each student by the provider before the student registers for the course. (n) If a provider does not maintain a fixed office in this state 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 which the provider 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. (o) Unless withdrawn earlier for cause as provided by these sections, a provider's authority to offer courses for which MCE credit is given expires two years from the date the provider is approved by the commission. Authority to offer any MCE courses ends with the expiration of the provider's approval, and the provider must pay current fees and reapply for approval as a provider in order to offer MCE courses again. Except for a course approved as a single course offering, a course approved by the commission may be offered by the provider for a period of two years after the course is approved or until the provider's authority to act as a provider finally expires or is withdrawn for cause, whichever first occurs. If a course was originally approved for another provider, the approval period is measured from the date of approval for the original provider. A provider may apply for approval to be a provider for another two years no sooner than six months prior to the expiration of existing provider approval. An instructor's approval expires every five years as provided by §535.64 of this title (relating to Accreditation of Schools and Approval of Courses and Instructors. (p) Correspondence courses. The commission may approve a provider to offer an MCE course by correspondence subject to the following conditions: (1) the course must be offered by a college or university accredited by a regional accrediting association, such as the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, or its equivalent, which offers correspondence courses, whether credit or noncredit, in other disciplines; (2) the content of the course must satisfy the requirements of the Act, §7A, and these sections; (3) students receiving MCE credit for the course must pass either: (A) a proctored final examination administered under controlled conditions to positively identified students, at a location and by an official approved by the commission and graded by the instructor or, if the examination is being graded mechanically or by use of a computer, by the provider, using answer keys approved by the instructor or provider; or (B) an examination by use of a computer under conditions that satisfy the commission that the examinee is the same person who seeks MCE credit; and (4) written course work required of students must be graded by an approved instructor or the provider's coordinator or director, who is available to answer students' questions or provide assistance as necessary, using answer keys approved by the instructor or provider. (q) An applicant must submit an MCE Form 3A-1, MCE Course Application, the first time approval is sought to offer a MCE correspondence 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 must complete MCE Form 3B-2, file the form together with the appropriate fee with the commission and receive written acknowledgment from the commission that all necessary documentation has been filed. Each correspondence course must contain the following: (1) course description; (2) learning objectives; (3) evaluation techniques; (4) lessons; (5) learning activities; (6) final examination; (7) bibliography or source of updated subject matter; and (8) instructor grading guidelines, including acceptable answers for lessons, assessments and examinations. (r) The commission may accept courses offered by alternative delivery methods subject to the following conditions. (1) Every course accepted under this subsection shall teach to mastery. Teaching to mastery means that the course must, at a minimum: (A) divide the material into major units as approved by the commission; (B) divide each of the major units of content into modules of instruction for delivery on a computer or other approved interactive audio or audiovisual programs; (C) specify the learning objectives for each module of instruction. The learning objectives must be comprehensive enough to ensure that if all the objectives are met, the entire content of the course will be mastered; (D) specify an objective, quantitative criterion for mastery used for each learning objective; (E) implement a structured learning method by which each student is able to attain each learning objective; (F) provide a means of diagnostic assessment of each student's performance on an ongoing basis during each module of instruction, measuring what each student has learned and not learned at regular intervals throughout each module of instruction, and specifically assessing the mastery of each concept covered in the content material; (G) provide a means of tailoring the instruction to the needs of each student as identified in Subparagraph (E) of this subsection. The process of tailoring the instruction shall ensure that each student receives adequate remediation for specific deficiencies identified by the diagnostic assessment; (H) continue the appropriate remediation on an individualized basis until the student demonstrates achievement of each mastery criterion; and (I) require that the student demonstrate mastery of all material covered by the learning objectives for the module before the module is completed. (2) The commission must approve the method by which each of the above elements of mastery in subparagraphs (A)-(I) of this subsection is accomplished. (3) The rationale for the education processes implemented in the course must be based on sound instructional strategies which have been systematically designed and proven effective through educational research and development. The basis and rationale for any proposed instructional approach must be specified in the application for approval. The following types of programs will not be approved: (A) those which consist primarily of text material; (B) those which primarily consist of questions similar to those on the state licensing examination; or (C) those which consist primarily of combinations of the elements in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph. (4) An approved instructor or the provider's coordinator/director shall grade the written course work. (5) Every provider offering an approved course under this subsection shall: (A) ensure that a qualified person is available to answer students' questions or provide assistance as necessary; (B) satisfy the commission that procedures are in place to ensure that the student who completes the work is the student who is enrolled in the course; and (C) certify students as successfully completing the course only if the student; (i) has completed all instructional modules required to demonstrate mastery of the material; (ii) has attended any hours of live instruction and/or testing required for a given course; and (iii) has passed either: Cont'd... |
