(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 salespersons, brokers or inspectors
during course presentation; and
(I)ensuring staff is reasonably available for public
inquiry and assistance.[;]
[(J)ensuring that its classroom facilities
are adequate for class size and pose no threat to the health or safety
of students;]
[(K)ensuring that each student is
present for the course for the hours of time for which credit is awarded.]
(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; [or]
(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 or course provider is the Texas Real Estate Commission,
including use of the acronym "TREC", in all or part of the course
or 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) - (e)(No change.)
(f)Course materials.
(1)Before the course starts, a provider shall give
each student copies of or 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)[offered in a location] 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.
[(B)The course must be scheduled
for the full clock hours of time for which credit is awarded;]
(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.
(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.
[(C)Course presentation per day cannot
exceed 10 hours;]
[(D)A 10 minute break per hour must
be given at least every two hours.]
(2)Distance Education [Alternative]
Delivery [and Correspondence:]
[(A)]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) [(i)] an approved instructor
[that a qualified person] is available to answer
students' questions or provide assistance as necessary in a timely
manner; [and]
(C)[(ii)] [that]
a student has completed all instructional modules and attended any
hours of live instruction required for a given course; [and]
(D)[(B)] an approved instructor
is [or the provider's coordinator or director must be]
responsible for providing answers and rationale for the grading
of the written course work; and
(E) a course completion certificate
is not issued to the student until at least twice the number of hours
for which course credit is given has elapsed since the student registered
for the course.
(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)Makeup Session.]
[(1)A provider may permit a student who attends at
least two-thirds of a originally scheduled qualifying course to complete
a makeup session to satisfy attendance requirements.]
[(2)A member of the provider's staff must approve
the makeup procedure to be followed. Acceptable makeup procedures
are:]
[(A)attendance in corresponding class sessions in
a subsequent offering of the same course; or]
[(B)the supervised presentation by audio or video
recording of the class sessions actually missed.]
[(3)A student shall complete all class makeup sessions
no later than the 90th day after the date of the completion of the
original course.]
[(4)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.]
[(5)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 be automatically dropped from
the course with no credit and the provider shall report the student's
status to the Commission.]
(h)[(i)] Course examinations.
(1)The final examination given at the end of each
course must be given in a form and with questions [the
examination] that were [was] submitted
to the Commission with the course approval form.
[(2)Each topic required by the Act
or Rules for a qualifying course must be covered in the final examination
for that course.]
[(3)Unless otherwise provided for
in this section, a provider shall use final course examinations consisting
of at least 60 questions with an unweighted passing score of 70%.]
[(4)Real estate math qualifying course
examinations may consist of a minimum of 20 questions with an unweighted
passing score of 70%.]
(2)[(5)] Final examination questions
must be kept confidential and be significantly different from any quizzes
and exercises [questions] used [for diagnostic
assessment of units] in the course.
(3)[(6)] 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)[(7)] Examinations must [be:
]
(A)comply with the requirements of §535.62(b)(7);
(B)require an unweighted passing
score of 70%; and
(C)[(A)] be proctored
by a member of the provider faculty or staff, or third party
proctor acceptable to the Commission, who is present at the
test site or able to observe the student through the use of technology,
and has positively identified that the student [students
] taking the examination is [are] the student
[students] registered for and who took
the course.[; or]
[(B)administered using a computer
under conditions that satisfy the Commission that the student taking
the examination is the student who took the course.]
[(8)A provider shall revise final
course examinations for all active qualifying courses at least annually.]
(5)The following are acceptable third
party proctors:
(A)employees at official testing or learning/tutoring
centers;
(B)certified librarians at a school, university, or
public library;
(C)college or university administrators, instructors,
or academic advisors;
(D)clergy who can be identified with a specific temple,
synagogue, mosque, or church; and
(E)educational officers of a corporation, military
installation, or correctional facility.
(6)[(9)] A provider may not
give credit to a student who fails a final examination and makeup
final examination.
(i)[(j)] Makeup final course
examination.
(1)If a student fails a final course examination,
a provider may permit the student to retake the final examination
only once and only after the student has:
(A)waited at least three [seven]
calendar days; and
(B)completed any additional course work prescribed
by the provider.
(2)A student shall complete a makeup final examination
no later than the 90th day after the date the original class concludes
and the second examination must be significantly different from the
first examination.
(3)If a student fails to timely complete the makeup
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 prior to retaking 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 [
approval] number assigned by the Commission;
(C)the course title;
(D)course numbers[, including any Commission
pre-approval number received];
(E)the number of classroom credit hours;
(F)the dates the student registered for, 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.
Cont'd...
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