R162-2g-307c. Pre-licensing Course Certification

(1) To certify a pre-licensing course, an applicant shall, at least 30 days before the course is taught, submit a completed application as required by the division, including: (a) a course outline, including: (i) a description of the course; (ii) the length of time to be spent on each subject area, broken into segments of no more than 30 minutes each; and (iii) three to five learning objectives for every three hours; (b) a description of any method of instruction that will be used, including: (i) traditional classroom education; (ii) virtual-live education, also designated as synchronous education by the AQB; or (iii) distance education; (c) copies of at least three final examinations administered in the course and the answer keys that will be used to determine if a student passes the course; (d) the school procedure for maintaining the security of the final exams and answer keys; (e) the titles, authors, and publishers of required textbooks; (f)(i) the instructor who will teach each class; and (ii) evidence that each instructor is: (A) certified by the division; (B) qualified to serve as a guest lecturer; or (C) a college or university faculty member who has academic training or appraisal experience satisfactory to the division and the board; (g) a nonrefundable applicable fee; and (h) a signed statement agreeing that the course provider will, within ten business days of completing the class, upload to the division the following information: (i) course name; (ii) course certificate number assigned by the division; (iii) date the course was taught; (iv) number of credit hours; and (v) name and license number of each student receiving education credit. (2) A traditional classroom course shall: (a) meet the minimum standards set forth in the state-approved course outline governing the course, including minimum hourly requirements; (b) be approved through the AQB course approval program; (c) allow a maximum of 10% of the required class time for testing, including review test and final examination; and (d) use texts, workbooks, supplement pamphlets, and other materials that are appropriate and current in their application to the required course outline. (3) A virtual-live course using a synchronous delivery method shall: (a) comply with Subsection (2); (b) provide verbal or written interaction between the student and instructor; (c) include a written examination personally proctored by an official approved by the presenting entity, or, with the prior approval of the division, remote proctoring, including bio-metric proctoring, pursuant to Subsection (5); and (d) meet the course delivery requirements established by the AQB; (4)(a) A distance education course shall: (i) comply with Subsection (2); (ii) provide interaction between the student and instructor in a reciprocal environment where the student has verbal or written communication with the instructor; (iii) include a written examination: (A) personally proctored by an official approved by the presenting entity; or (B) with the prior approval of the division, proctored remotely, including bio-metric proctoring, pursuant to Subsection (5); and (iv) offer at least 15 credit hours, except that a distance education course may offer the AQB-approved eight-hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations Course, in which case, the minimum credit hours is eight. (b) A distance education course shall obtain content approval from: (i) the AQB; (ii) the division; or (iii) for an academic credit college course, content approval from an accredited college, community college, or university that offers a distance education program and is approved or accredited by the Commission on Colleges, a regional or national accreditation association, or by an accrediting agency that is recognized by the US Secretary of Education. (c) Content for a non-academic credit college course provided by a college shall be approved by the AQB and a state appraiser regulatory jurisdiction. (d) A distance education course shall obtain course delivery mechanism approval from one of the following sources: (i) an AQB-approved organization that provides approval of course design and delivery; (ii) a college or university that qualifies for content approval in Subsection (b) and awards academic credit for the distance education course; or (iii) a qualifying college or university that qualifies for content approval in Subsection (b) and that has a distance education delivery program that approves the course design and delivery that incorporate interactivity. (5) Subject to division approval, either a synchronous course or an asynchronous course may use remote proctoring, including bio-metric proctoring. (6) Within ten business days after the occurrence of any material change in a course that could affect approval, the school shall give the division written notice of the change. (7) A course certification is valid for no more than 24 months. (8)(a) Division certification is not required for a pre-licensing course that is offered by a school, as defined in Subsection R162-2g-102(21) as long as: (i) the course content: (A) meets the minimum standards set forth in the Utah state-approved course outline; and (B) is approved by the AQB course approval program; (ii) the course provides at least 15 credit hours, including examinations, except that the course may provide eight credit hours if the course is the AQB-approved eight-hour Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations Course; (iii) a closed-book, closed-note final examination is administered at the end of each course; (iv) students are not allowed to earn credit from the course provider by challenge examination without first attending the course; (v) credit is not awarded for duplicate or highly comparable classes; (vi) where multiple classes are offered, they represent a progression in a student's knowledge; and (vii) to receive credit, a student shall: (A) attend 100% of the scheduled class hours; (B) complete required exercises and assignments; and (C) pass the course final examination. (b) Hourly credit for a course taken from a professional appraisal organization shall be granted according to the division-approved list. (c) An applicant who wishes to be awarded credit for non-certified pre-licensing education shall: (i) provide to the division the name of the course taken, including: (A) the course title; (B) the name of the sponsoring organization; (C) the number of classroom hours completed; (D) the date of course completion; and (E) evidence that the course meets the requirements of: (I) the AQB; and (II) if distance education, the International Distance Education Certification Center; (ii) request review of the course by the division and board; (iii) establish that the criteria outlined in Subsection (8)(a) are met; (iv) attest on a notarized affidavit that the course has been completed as documented; and (v) if requested by the division, provide proof of completion of the course in the form of a certificate, transcript, report card, letter of verification, or similar proof.