(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.
(v) A student who attends
less than two-thirds of the originally scheduled qualifying course
is not eligible to complete a makeup session. The student shall automatically
be dropped from the course with no credit and the provider shall report
the student's status to the Commission.
(2) Distance Education
Delivery. The provider must ensure that:
(A) the student taking
all topics of the course and completing all quizzes and exercises
is the student receiving credit for the course through a validation
process that meets guidelines approved by the Commission;
(B) an approved instructor
is available to answer students' questions or provide assistance as
necessary in a timely manner;
(C) a student has completed
all instructional modules and attended any hours of live instruction
required for a given course; and
(D) an approved instructor
is responsible for providing answers and rationale for the grading
of the written course work.
(3) A provider is not
required to present topics and units in the order outlined for a course
on the corresponding course approval form.
(4) The periods of time
prescribed to each unit of a topic for a qualifying course as outlined
on the corresponding course approval form are recommendations and
may be altered to allow instructors flexibility to meet the particular
needs of their students.
(h) Course examinations.
(1) The final examination
given at the end of each course must be given in a form and with questions
that were submitted to the Commission with the course approval form.
(2) Final examination
questions must be kept confidential and be significantly different
from any quizzes and exercises used in the course.
(3) A provider shall
not permit a student to view or take a final examination before the
completion of regular course work and any makeup sessions required
by this section.
(4) A provider must rotate
all versions of the examination required by §535.62(b)(7) throughout
the approval period for a course in a manner acceptable to the Commission
and examinations must:
(A) require an unweighted
passing score of 70%; and
(B) be proctored by a
member of the provider faculty or staff, or third party proctor acceptable
to the Commission, who:
(i) is present at the
test site or able to monitor the student through the use of technology
acceptable to the Commission; and
(ii) has positively identified
that the student taking the examination is the student registered
for and who took the course.
(5) The following are
acceptable third party proctors:
(A) employees at official
testing or learning/tutoring centers;
(B) librarians at a school,
university, or public library;
(C) college or university
administrators, faculty, or academic advisors;
(D) clergy who are affiliated
with a specific temple, synagogue, mosque, or church; and
(E) educational officers
of a military installation or correctional facility.
(6) A provider may not
give credit to a student who fails a final examination and a subsequent
final examination as provided for in subsection (i) of this section.
(i) Subsequent final course examination.
(1) If a student fails
a final course examination, a provider may permit the student to take
a subsequent final examination only after the student has:
(A) waited at least three
calendar days; and
(B) completed any additional
course work prescribed by the provider.
(2) A student shall complete
the subsequent final examination no later than the 90th day after
the date the original class concludes. The subsequent final examination
must be a different version of the original final examination given
to the student and must comply with §535.62(b)(1)(G) and subsection
(h) of this section.
(3) If a student fails
to timely complete the subsequent final examination as required by
this subsection, the student shall be automatically dropped from the
course with no credit.
(4) A student who fails
the final course examination a second time is required to retake the
course and the final course examination.
(j) Course completion certificate.
(1) Upon successful completion
of a core course, a provider shall issue a course completion certificate
that a student can submit to the Commission. The course completion
certificate shall show:
(A) the provider's name
and approval number;
(B) the instructor's
name and instructor license number assigned by the Commission;
(C) the course title;
(D) course numbers;
(E) the number of classroom
credit hours;
(F) the dates the student
began and completed the course; and
(G) printed name and
signature of an official of the provider on record with the Commission.
(2) A provider may withhold
any official completion documentation required by this subsection
from a student until the student has fulfilled all financial obligations
to the provider.
(3) A provider shall
maintain adequate security against forgery for official completion
documentation required by this subsection.
(k) Instructor and course evaluations.
(1) A provider shall
provide each student enrolled in a course with an instructor and course
evaluation form and provide a link to an online version of the form
that a student can complete and submit any time after course completion.
(2) An instructor may
not be present when a student is completing the evaluation form and
may not be involved in any manner with the evaluation process.
(3) When evaluating an
instructor or course, a provider shall use all of the questions from
the evaluation form approved by the Commission, in the same order
as listed on that form. A provider may also add additional questions
to the end of the Commission evaluation questions or request the students
to also complete the provider's evaluation form.
(4) A provider shall
maintain any comments made by the provider's management relevant to
instructor or course evaluations with the provider's records.
(5) At the Commission's
request, a provider shall produce instructor and course evaluation
forms for inspection by Commission staff.
(l) Maintenance of records for
a provider of qualifying courses.
(1) A provider shall
maintain records of each student enrolled in a course for a minimum
of four years following completion of the course, including course
and instructor evaluations and student enrollment agreements.
(2) A provider shall
maintain financial records sufficient to reflect at any time the financial
condition of the school.
(3) A school's financial
statement and balance sheets must be available for audit by Commission
staff, and the Commission may require presentation of financial statements
or other financial records.
(4) All records may be
maintained electronically but must be in a common format that is legibly
and easily printed or viewed without additional manipulation or special
software.
(m) Changes in Ownership or Operation
of an approved provider of qualifying courses.
(1) An approved provider
shall obtain the approval of the Commission at least 30 days in advance
of any material change in the operation of the provider, including
but not limited to changes in:
(A) ownership;
(B) management; and
(C) the location of main
office and any other locations where courses are offered.
(2) An approved provider,
upon transfer to the new owner, must meet the financial review standards
imposed by §535.61 of this subchapter.
(3) An approved provider
requesting approval of a change in ownership shall provide all of
the following information or documents to the Commission:
(A) a new bond of $20,000
for the proposed new owner, a statement from the bonding company indicating
that the former bond will transfer to the proposed new owner, or other
security acceptable to the Commission under §1101.302 of the
Act;
(B) an Education Provider
Application reflecting all required information for each proposed
new owner;
(C) a Principal Information
Form for each proposed new owner who would hold at least a 10% interest
in the school; and
(D) pay the fee required
by §535.101 or §535.210 of this title.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §535.65 adopted to be effective January 1, 2015, 39 TexReg 9669; amended to be effective January 1, 2016, 40 TexReg 8226; amended to be effective December 7, 2016, 41 TexReg 9522; amended to be effective May 24, 2017, 42 TexReg 2725 |