Course Guidelines

(1) The following definitions are provided for the terms qualifying education, continuing education, distance education, and interaction. (a) “Qualifying education” means education that is creditable toward the education requirements for trainee registration or initial licensure or certification under one (1) or more of the three (3) real estate appraiser classifications (Licensed Real Estate Appraiser, Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, and Certified General Real Estate Appraiser). (b) “Continuing education” means education that is creditable toward the education requirements that must be satisfied to renew registration as a trainee or licensure or certification as a Licensed Real Estate Appraiser, Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser, and Certified General Real Estate Appraiser. (c) “Distance Education” means the educational process in which instruction does not take place in a traditional classroom setting but rather through other media or nonconventional methods in which teacher and student are separated by distance and sometimes by time and the course provides interaction. (d) “Interaction” means a reciprocal environment where the student has verbal or written communication with the instructor. (2) An applicant to be a course provider shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Commission that each traditional classroom based course submitted for approval shall: (a) Cover subjects which are reasonably related to the practice of real estate appraisal and suitably advanced to benefit and enrich the students enrolled; (b) Be conducted in a facility that meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act and contains adequate space, seating, and equipment; (c) Consist of no fewer than two (2) classroom hours for continuing education and fifteen (15) hours with an examination for licensure/certification requirements; and (d) Incorporate appropriate methods for determining whether a student has successfully completed such course. Such methods shall include, but not be limited to: 1. Provisions to make up for classes or hours missed by a student; and 2. For qualifying education and the fifteen (15) hour course in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, a minimum passing requirement of seventy percent (70%) and a comprehensive final examination (or equivalent measure of achievement). (3) Internet Education/Distance Education for Continuing Education. (a) Courses given for continuing education via internet or distance education may be acceptable to meet the requirements of continuing education if: 1. The course provides interaction. 2. Content approval is obtained from the AQB, a state licensing jurisdiction, or an accredited college, community college, or university that offers distance education programs and is approved or accredited by the Commission on EVALUATION OF APPRAISER EDUCATION CHAPTER 1255-02 Colleges, a regional or national accreditation association, or by an accrediting agency that is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. Non-academic credit college courses provided by a college shall be approved by the AQB or the state licensing jurisdiction. 3. Course delivery mechanism approval is obtained from one of the following sources: (i) AQB approved organizations providing approval of course design and delivery; (ii) A college that qualifies for content approval in part (2) above that awards academic credit for the distance education course; or (iii) Qualifying college for content approval with a distance education delivery program that approves the course design and delivery that incorporate interactivity. (4) Continuing educational requirements may be satisfied through the completion of Commission approved distance educational offerings. (a) Persons or entities seeking Commission approval for a distance educational offering shall submit an outline and description of the entire course and provide documentation which demonstrates the course complies with the following criteria: 1. The educational offering is either: (i) Presented by an approved or accredited college, community or junior college, or university that offers distance educational programs and credit in other disciplines; or (ii) The educational offering is presented by a proprietary school that has been approved by the Tennessee Real Estate Appraiser Commission and the course design and delivery mechanism has been approved by the International Distance Education Certification Center (IDECC) and the Appraisal Qualifications Board. 2. That the course teaches to the mastery of the subject and at a minimum meets the following criteria: (i) Divides the material into major units as approved by the board; (ii) Divides each of the major units of content into modules of instruction for delivery on a computer or other approved interactive audio or audio visual programs; (iii) Divides the learning objectives for each module of instruction; (iv) Specifies an objective, quantitative criterion for mastery used for each learning objective; (v) Provides a means of diagnostic assessment of each student’s performance on an ongoing basis during each module of instruction; (vi) Requires the student to demonstrate mastery of all material covered by the learning objectives for the module before the module is completed; EVALUATION OF APPRAISER EDUCATION CHAPTER 1255-02 (vii) That the course offering is designed in such a way that the material is presented under an approved instructor who shall be available to answer student questions or provide assistance on a timely basis as necessary; (viii) The instructor will provide reasonable oversight of a student’s work to ensure that the student who completes the work is the student who enrolled in the course; and (ix) The course provider must provide documentation of an acceptable method that ensures that the student achieves the classroom hourly equivalent as approved by the Commission. Any form of delivery that provides the student the opportunity to circumvent instructional design strategies that require them to read the material and spend the appropriate amount of time in the course will not be approved. (5) Approval by the Commission of any continuing or qualification education course shall be valid for a period of two (2) years. However, notwithstanding previous approval by the Commission, any course that has had a substantive change in course content shall be considered a new course and shall be approved by the Commission prior to presenting. (a) Approval of any continuing or qualifying education course may be extended by the Commission for an additional two years upon written request by the provider. (b) Failure to timely request an extension prior to the expiration of the Commission’s approval shall result in automatic termination of the educational offering’s approval status. (6) The Commission may, at any time, audit any offering that has been approved for qualifying or continuing education by the Commission to ensure compliance with all requirements of the laws and rules governing such education. Any provider of continuing or qualifying education shall provide any requested documentation regarding a continuing or qualifying education course within ten (10) days of a request by the Commission. (7) Each hour of course instruction shall consist of fifty (50) minutes of actual instruction for every sixty (60) minute segment. (8) The courses listed in rules 1255-02-.05 and 1255-02-.06 are additions to those outlined in other paragraphs and those lists of courses supplement those courses identified in other rules. (9) In addition to distance education requirements, distance education courses intended for use as qualifying education must provide a written, closed-book final examination (proctored by an official as approved by the college or university, or by the sponsoring organization). The term “written” refers to an examination that might be written on paper, or administered electronically, on a computer workstation or other device. Oral exams are not acceptable. The testing must be in compliance with AQB examination requirements for qualifying education.