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(a)Course completion roster. A provider offering each MCE course shall file an MCE Course Completion Roster, MCE Form 8-4 with the commission within 10 days following completion of the course for licensees who have attended the entire course registered with the commission. Course completion rosters may be transmitted for filing by facsimile machine. An authorized representative of the provider who was in attendance and for whom an authorized signature exemplar is on file with the commission shall sign MCE Form 8-4. Providers are responsible for the security of the course completion rosters. The commission may not accept signature stamps, unsigned forms or forms signed by persons for whom an authorized signature exemplar has not been previously filed with the commission. Providers must make every reasonable effort to ensure that no student is certified for full MCE credit who has not attended all class sessions. (b)Partial credit. For elective credit courses only, providers may grant partial credit to students who attend less than the complete course registered with the commission only if the segments of the course for which partial credit may be granted are not less than one hour in length. Partial credit may be granted at the discretion of the provider; however partial credit shall not be awarded for any hour in which the student was not present in the classroom for at least 50 minutes of actual class time in a 50-minute class session. Partial credit may not be granted for any legal course segment of a combined legal and elective course. Requests for partial credit shall be filed on MCE Partial Credit Request Form 14-0 and the student and provider must verify that the student has attended the course for the number of hours for which credit is requested. (c)Attendance. While a provider 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. Providers shall make every reasonable effort to ensure that no student is given course credit if the student persists in disrupting the orderly conduct of a class after being cautioned by the provider or the instructor to cease disruptive behavior. Providers may not use students for administration or monitoring duties during the course if the use prevents the student's participation in a significant portion of the course. (d)Proof of distance learning course completion. In a distance learning course, the provider shall award the student credit for the course upon completion of the course requirements for credit and shall report the awarding of credit to the commission. Course credit must be reported either by the provider filing a completed MCE Form 9-7, signed by the student, or submitting the information contained in MCE Form 9-7 by electronic means acceptable to the commission. If the provider chooses to use an electronic reporting process, the process must ensure that only students who complete the course are reported to the commission as receiving course credit and that the process does not compromise the security of commission records. (e)Pre-course announcements. A provider shall, prior to commencement of a course, announce that the provider will not certify a student for full MCE credit unless the student attends all sessions of the course, that no makeups or written work will be allowed for MCE credit, that students may evaluate the course and instructor by downloading an evaluation form from the TREC web site and submitting the form electronically or by mail, and that the student must determine if the course is timely and appropriate for the student's MCE requirement. If the provider accepts partial credit for partial attendance at an elective credit course, the provider shall explain the procedure for granting partial credit. If the provider has not advertised or otherwise made students aware of the provider's refund policy, the pre-course announcement must also contain the refund policy. The provider may allow a ten-minute break for every 50 minutes of session time, but a break must be given at least every two hours, using all accumulated break time, and the daily course presentation may not exceed ten hours. (f)Facilities. Facilities used by providers for classroom presentations must be adequate to accommodate students. Providers shall ensure each student has seating, a writing surface and writing materials. Rigid tablets or clipboards may be provided as a writing surface. (g)Course materials. 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. (h)Open enrollment. All MCE courses must be open to enrollment by the general public. Providers may give preference in enrollment to persons who need MCE credit to obtain, renew or activate a license and may enroll all others on a space available basis. For a classroom course, the provider must offer the course in a location conducive to instruction that is separate and apart from the work area, such as a classroom, training room, conference room, or assembly hall. (i)Advertising. Advertising of MCE shall be subject to the following conditions. (1)A provider applicant may not advertise a specific MCE course or represent in advertising that the applicant is a provider until the applicant has received written approval from the commission for the providership and registered at least one course. A provider applicant may advertise an intention to offer MCE courses if no specific course is described and the advertisement clearly indicates the applicant has not been approved as a provider. (2)A provider may not offer a course until the provider has received written acknowledgment of registration of the course. (3)Any advertisement or promotional material used by a provider must indicate the MCE provider's name or assumed business name as reflected in the commission's records and the MCE provider number assigned by the commission. The advertisement or promotional material also must include either the specific MCE course numbers and course titles or a statement that MCE course numbers and titles are available from the provider. When a provider offers a course that is hosted by another person or organization, the advertisement or promotional material must show clearly that the approved MCE provider is offering the course. (4)A provider may not publish advertisements which are misleading or which are likely to deceive the public. (5)Any name a provider uses in advertising must not be deceptively similar to the name of any other approved MCE provider or school accredited by the commission, or falsely imply a governmental relationship. (6)Any written advertisement which contains a fee charged by the provider shall display all fees for the course in the same place in the advertisement and with the same degree of prominence. If a provider requires students to purchase course materials which are not included in the tuition, any such fees must appear in the advertisement of the course. (j)Record retention. Providers shall retain student attendance records for a period of three years following the completion of a course and shall make copies of the records available to former students. A provider may charge a reasonable fee to defray the cost of copying student records. A provider's records must be kept at the location designated in the MCE Provider Application. Providers must obtain prior approval from the commission to change the location at which the provider's records are kept. (k)Course administration. Providers of MCE courses are responsible to the commission for the conduct and administration of each course presentation, the punctuality of classroom sessions, verification of student attendance, and instructor performance. Providers shall ensure that the required legal courses are administered by instructors in substantially the same manner as disseminated and updated by the commission. During the presentation of a course, providers may not promote the sale of goods or services. (l)Updates. If the commission determines that it is in the public interest to update the required legal courses about changes in the law, the commission may require the provider to furnish each student with a copy of the information. The commission also may require the provider to ensure that the provider's instructors include the material in the presentation of the course. The commission shall furnish the provider with a copy of the information and notify the provider that the commission requires compliance with this subsection in a required legal course or any elective course combined with a legal course offered after the provider's receipt of the notice. Failure to comply with this subsection constitutes grounds for disciplinary action against the provider and instructor under §535.73 of this chapter (relating to Compliance and Enforcement) or for disapproval of an application for approval as a provider under §535.71 of this chapter (relating to Mandatory Continuing Education: Approval of Providers, Courses and Instructors). (m)Change in ownership. In the event of a change of ownership, the provider must obtain approval from the commission prior to the change, and proposed new owners shall submit an MCE Form 2-2, Principal Information Form. Providers shall report a change in business name, street or mailing address, person responsible for records or day-to-day operations, or persons authorized to sign MCE forms at least 15 days prior to the desired date of change. Providers shall report any change in refund policy, attorney-in-fact, address of attorney-in-fact or business telephone number as the change occurs. (n)MCE credit for instructors. Providers may request MCE credit be given to instructors of MCE courses subject to the following guidelines. (1)The instructors may receive credit for only those portions of the course that they teach by filing a completed MCE Form 11-4, Instructor Credit Request. (2)The instructors may receive full course credit by attending all of the remainder of the course and signing the course completion roster. (o)Written policies. Each provider shall establish written policies governing refunds and contingency plans in the event of course cancellation. If the provider cancels a course, the provider shall fully refund all fees collected from students, or at the student's option, the provider may credit the student for another course of equal or greater credit hours.
This agency hereby certifies that the proposal has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be within the agency's legal authority to adopt.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on June 9, 2004
TRD-200403789 Loretta DeHay
General Counsel
Texas Real Estate Commission
Earliest possible date of adoption: July 25, 2004
For further information, please call: (512) 465-3900
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