The Board proposes the rule amendment to add new language to clarify the required qualifying education courses.

 

DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL REGULATION

Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board

RULE NO.:RULE TITLE:

61J1-4.001Education

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The Board proposes the rule amendment to add new language to clarify the required qualifying education courses.

SUMMARY: The rule is being repealed because it is not necessary.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS AND LEGISLATIVE RATIFICATION:

The Agency has determined that this will not have an adverse impact on small business or likely increase directly or indirectly regulatory costs in excess of $200,000 in the aggregate within one year after the implementation of the rule. A SERC has not been prepared by the Agency.

The Agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the statement of estimated regulatory costs or if no SERC is required, the information expressly relied upon and described herein: A SERC has not been prepared by the agency. The agency has determined that the proposed rule is not expected to require legislative ratification based on the information expressly relied upon and described herein: the Board determined that by allowing qualifying education to be done by distance education courses it would allow for a greater number of course offerings and allow more courses to be approved, which would allow for easier access to courses for students.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding a statement of estimated regulatory costs, or provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY: 475.614 FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 475.613, 475.615, 475.617 FS.

IF REQUESTED WITHIN 21 DAYS OF THE DATE OF THIS NOTICE, A HEARING WILL BE SCHEDULED AND ANNOUNCED IN THE FAR.

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Juana Watkins, Director, Division of Real Estate, 400 West Robinson Street, Hurston Building, North Tower, Suite N801, Orlando, Florida 32801

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

61J1-4.001 Education.

(1) through (5) No change.

(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. The institution offering distance education courses must provide proof of certification of the delivery method by 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 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 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) For distance 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.

(e) Satisfactory completion of the Board prescribed qualifying education course(s) through distance 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.

(f) The objective of the distance education course examination is to test fairly and reliably whether students have learned essential facts and concepts from the course. A course that is more than 30 hours shall contain at least 100 items. A course that is 30 hours or less shall contain a minimum of 50 items. 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 herein reference.

(g) 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.

(h) Qualifying education courses by distance education 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.

Rulemaking Authority 475.614 FS. Law Implemented 475.613, 475.615, 475.617 FS. History–New 10-15-91, Formerly 21VV-4.001, Amended 1-9-94, 3-10-98, 9-6-98, 10-10-99, 5-25-04, 5-15-05, 1-17-06, 2-6-07, 12-6-07, 3-24-09, 4-28-10, 8-1-10,________.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board

NAME OF AGENCY HEAD WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: February 10, 2014

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAR: April 14, 2014