Florida Administrative Code › 61 - DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION › 61J1 - Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board › Chapter 61J1-4 - MINIMUM EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS › Section 61J1-4.001 - Qualifying Education

Current through Reg. 50, No. 138; July 16, 2024
(1) Board prescribed
				or approved courses and end-of-course examinations shall be offered by a
				nationally or state recognized appraisal organization, accredited universities,
				colleges, community colleges, area vocational-technical centers, state or
				federal agencies or commissions, or proprietary real estate schools registered
				pursuant to Section 475.451, F.S. A copy of the
				course application shall be submitted to the board for evaluation at least 90
				days prior to use. The provider must submit a complete copy of the course
				materials, a detailed course timeline, learning objectives and end-of-course
				examinations. The Board will notify the entity within 60 days whether the
				course and exams meet the criteria set out in subsection (2), below, and Rules
				61J1-10.001,
				61J1-10.002,
				61J1-10.003,
				61J1-10.004, F.A.C. Approval
				must be granted before the course is conducted. Institutions, entities and
				schools offering Board prescribed or approved appraisal educational courses are
				responsible for keeping the course subject matter current and
				accurate.
(2) The Board shall also
				approve past appraisal courses which cover substantially the same subject
				matter, classroom hours of attendance, and completion standards as the board
				approved courses offered by the entities as set out in subsections (1) and (3),
				and Rules 61J1-10.001,
				61J1-10.002,
				61J1-10.003,
				61J1-10.004, F.A.C. If the
				requested information is found lacking to show course equivalency the Board may
				request supportive documentation to determine course equivalency.
(3) Satisfactory course completion is
				demonstrated by achieving a grade of 75% or higher on a Board approved
				end-of-course examination. The provider shall develop at least two forms of the
				end-of-course examinations and submit them for approval with a detailed course
				syllabus, detailed timeline and two copies of the course material. The answer
				key must be unique for each form of the examination and reference the page
				numbers containing the information on which each question and correct answer is
				based. At least 70% of the questions on each examination form shall be
				application oriented. Application level means the ability to use the learned
				material in a completely new and concrete situation. It usually involves the
				application of rules, policies, methods, computations, laws, theories, or any
				other relevant and available information. No more than 10% of the questions on
				each form of the test shall be at the knowledge level. Knowledge level means
				the recall of specific fact, patterns, methods, terms, rules, dates, formulas,
				names or other information that should be committed to memory. A provider
				offering prescribed courses must maintain a sufficient bank of questions to
				assure examination validity. The examination bank must contain at least 25
				items for each 15-hour segment of course time. All questions shall be multiple
				choice with 4 answer choices each. The order of the examination questions may
				not follow the sequence of the course content. No examination shall contain
				more than 20% duplication of questions. The examination shall comply with the
				Item Writing Guidelines as of January 29, 2004, incorporated herein by
				reference. The examination must be proctored.
(4) The institution, school, or entity
				offering these Board prescribed or approved courses shall fully inform each
				student of the standards and requirements at the commencement of each course.
				Each student shall receive a copy of the most current course approval letter,
				issued by the Board, at the commencement of each course. Notice of course
				completion shall be made on the form prescribed by the Board in Rule
				61J1-4.005, F.A.C.
(5) Where any national or state recognized
				appraisal organization, accredited university, college, community college, area
				vocational-technical center, state or federal agency or commission, or
				proprietary real estate school allows the Board approved end-of-course
				examination to be retaken, students failing the Board approved end-of-course
				examination must wait at least 30 days from the date of the original
				examination to take the alternate end-of-course examination. Within one year of
				the original end-of-course examination, a student may retake the prescribed
				end-of-course exam a maximum of one time. Otherwise, students failing the
				appraisal education course examination must repeat the Board prescribed or
				approved course prior to being eligible to again take the end-of-course
				examinations. Makeup classes to enable the student to take the end-of-course
				examination and makeup examination, which are due to student or family illness,
				may not extend more than 30 days beyond the class scheduled examination without
				approval from the Board.
(6)
(a) The qualifying education courses required
				in this rule may be satisfied by a Board approved equivalent distance education
				course. Distance education is education that takes place when the learner is
				separated from the source of instruction by time and/or distance. Such distance
				education course subject matter, assignment work, scholastic standards and
				other related requirements shall be evaluated in the same manner as the course
				offered by classroom instruction, having due regard however, to the different
				method of presentation. Components of distance education include synchronous
				and asynchronous courses. Synchronous courses require the instructor and
				students to interact simultaneously online via live webinar or web-based
				meeting. Synchronous courses do not require proof of certification of the
				delivery method by the AQB or an independent certified organization approved by
				the AQB. The institution, school or entity offering synchronous courses must
				provide the delivery platform. Asynchronous courses allow the students to
				progress at their own pace and follow a structure course content and quiz/exam
				schedule. The institution, school, or entity offering distance asynchronous
				education courses must provide proof of certification of the delivery method by
				the AQB or an independent certified organization approved by the AQB.
(b) The Board shall also approve past
				distance education appraisal courses taken after January 1, 2008 which cover
				substantially the same subject matter and completion standards as the board
				approved courses offered by the entities as set out in subsections (1) and (3),
				and Rules 61J1-10.001,
				61J1-10.002,
				61J1-10.003,
				61J1-10.004, F.A.C. If the
				requested information is found lacking to show course equivalency the Board may
				request supportive documentation to determine course equivalency.
(c) A copy of the distance education course
				materials and a copy of each form of the course examination that will be
				administered to students shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation and
				approval at least 90 days prior to use. A minimum of 2 course examinations for
				each course shall be submitted for approval. The Board will issue a status
				report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the course and
				examinations. Approval must be granted before the course and examinations may
				be offered. Thereafter, the course and examinations shall be maintained by each
				institution, school, or entity offering the distance education course(s) in
				accordance with the Board rules pursuant to Section
				475.615(2),
				F.S. It is the responsibility of the institution, school or entity offering the
				Board approved distance education courses to keep the course material current
				and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before implementing any
				significant changes to the course during its approval period.
(d) The qualifying education courses required
				in this rule may be taught by a Board approved equivalent hybrid education
				course. Hybrid courses can be composed of a combination of classroom,
				asynchronous and synchronous education. A copy of the complete course materials
				and a copy of each form of the course examination that will be administered to
				students shall be submitted to the Board for evaluation and approval at least
				90 days prior to use. A minimum of 2 course examinations for each course shall
				be submitted for approval. The examination may be administered at the end of
				the course or portions of the examination may be administered to students at
				appropriate intervals during the course. The Board will issue a status report
				to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the courses and
				examinations. Approval must be granted before the course and examination may be
				offered. Thereafter, the course and examinations shall be maintained by each
				institution, school, or entity offering the education course(s) in accordance
				with the Board approved standard as subsequently modified by changing times,
				standards, and laws. It is the responsibility of the institution, school, or
				entity offering the Board approved education courses to keep the course
				material current and accurate, and notify the Board at least 90 days before
				implementing any significant changes to the course during its approval period.
				The examination must be proctored in person or remotely. Bio-metric proctoring
				is acceptable. The institution, school, or entity offering hybrid education
				courses must provide proof of certification of the delivery method by the AQB
				or by an independent certified organization approved by the AQB for the
				asynchronous portion of the course. The institution, school, or entity offering
				synchronous education courses must provide the delivery platform.
(e) For distance and hybrid learning, class
				hours are defined as 60 minutes, of which 50 minutes are instruction attended
				by the student. Fifty minutes of each 60 minute class segment shall be
				timed.
(f) Satisfactory completion
				of the Board prescribed qualifying education course(s) through distance and
				hybrid education is demonstrated by achieving a grade of 75% or higher on the
				Board approved examination. Students failing the Board approved end-of-course
				examination must wait at least 30 days from the date of the original
				examination to take the alternate end-of-course examination. Within one year of
				the original end-of-course examination, a student may retake the prescribed
				end-of-course exam a maximum of one time. Otherwise, students failing the
				appraisal education course examination must repeat the Board prescribed or
				approved course prior to being eligible to again take the end-of-course
				examinations.
(g) The objective of
				the distance and hybrid education course examination is to test fairly and
				reliably whether students have learned essential facts and concepts from the
				course. The examination bank must contain at least 25 items for each 15-hour
				segment of course time. The order of the examination questions may not follow
				the sequence of the course content. The answer key must reference the page
				number(s) containing the information on which each question and correct answer
				is based. The answer key must be unique for each form of the examination. At
				least 70% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the application
				level or higher. No more than 10% of the questions on each form of the test
				shall be at the knowledge level. The examination shall comply with the Item
				Writing Guidelines as of January 29, 2004, incorporated by reference in
				subsection (3), above. The examination must be proctored in person or remotely.
				Bio-metric proctoring is acceptable.
(h) In all Board approved qualifying
				education courses by distance education, the institution, school or entity
				shall provide to students an address, telephone number, or e-mail address of a
				Board approved instructor to answer inquiries.
(i) Qualifying education courses by distance
				education, hybrid or classroom will be approved for 24 months at which point
				the course will expire unless submitted to the Board and approved for renewal.
				Courses may not be offered or distributed after the expiration date. Each
				student shall receive a copy of the most current course approval letter, issued
				by the Board, at the commencement of each course. Students must be notified of
				the course expiration date upon receipt of the course
				materials.