| Distance education courses are programs whereby instruction does not take place in a traditional classroom setting but rather where teacher and student are apart and instruction takes place through other media. Distance education courses include but are not limited to those which are presented through interactive classrooms, computer conferencing, interactive computer and the Internet. Distance education courses may be offered by approved instructors of primary or secondary providers.
(1) A primary provider is defined as a course developer who has a proprietary interest in the course. Primary providers may have their own instructors deliver courses and/or may market the courses to secondary providers. If a primary provider offers distance education courses directly to Alabama licensees, the provider must be a school approved by the Commission. (2) A secondary provider is defined as a school which obtains a distance education course from a primary provider. The secondary provider must have approved instructors who are responsible for enrolling students, providing course orientation, monitoring student progress, answering student questions, administering and grading exams, verifying and reporting course completion and verifying student identity. Any school or instructor who provides any of these services, other than administering a final exam, is deemed to be a secondary provider. The secondary provider must be a school approved by the Commission. (3) Instructors of distance education courses must be approved by the Alabama Real Estate Commission. Instructors will not receive approval until they receive the Distance Education Instructor Certification from IDECC (International Distance Education Certification Center), which is a subsidiary of ARELLO (Association of Real Estate License Law Officials), and submit verification of the certification to the Commission. The effective date of this rule is October 1, 2007. All distance education instructors currently approved must submit verification of the certification to the Commission no later than October 1, 2008. If the certification requirement is not satisfied by the deadline, the instructor may not offer distance education courses until certification is obtained and submitted to the Commission. (4) Instructors of the prelicense course must provide students with licensing requirements and information on how to schedule to take the licensing examination. Instructors of the post license course must provide students with original salesperson license requirements and an application. (5) All distance education courses developed by approved primary providers must be approved by the Commission prior to being marketed to secondary providers who will offer the courses to Alabama licensees. Additionally, all distance education courses that will be offered to Alabama licensees by either primary or secondary providers must be approved by the Commission. Any course containing major content errors or which fails to meet curriculum requirements will be denied. The revised course may be submitted at a later date along with a new application and course review fee. (6) Approved instructors who submit any distance education course for approval must submit a copy of the Course Summary Certificate from ARELLO along with the course application and fee. For secondary providers, the Course Summary Certificate from ARELLO will be the documentation of certification received by the primary provider. (7) All distance education courses of primary providers must be certified by ARELLO before being submitted to the Commission for approval and must retain certification in order to retain Commission approval. This includes prelicense, post license and continuing education courses. (8) Instructors for secondary providers may only offer courses which primary providers have had certified by ARELLO. The instructor for a secondary provider does not have to obtain ARELLO certification for courses. (9) Instructors of approved distance education courses must submit to the Commission their procedures for enrolling students, monitoring their progress, answering student questions, administering and grading exams, verifying and reporting course completion and verifying student identity. (10) ARELLO certified distance education courses must follow curriculum requirements as specified by the Commission. Instructors who teach courses developed by another school or organization, must review the course for accuracy and applicability of content prior to submitting it to the Alabama Real Estate Commission for review and approval. (11) Instructors must give distance education students instructions on how they can electronically submit a course evaluation to the Commission. (12) Distance education courses of primary providers must continue to be ARELLO certified in order to continue their approval with the Alabama Real Estate Commission. If ARELLO certification is discontinued for any reason, approval by the Alabama Real Estate Commission will be simultaneously discontinued for all primary and secondary providers who offer the affected course. (13) The Commission may withdraw approval for any distance education course that is not offered in accordance with Commission requirements for distance education courses. (14) The Commission may withdraw approval or otherwise discipline instructors in accordance with Rule 790-X-1-.17 for any instructor who teaches distance education courses that do not comply with all applicable rules and statutes. (15) In order to successfully complete the prelicense or post license course, students must take and score a minimum of 70% on a proctored final examination administered in an educational facility by an approved real estate instructor or by a qualified person who is not in the real estate business.
Statutory Authority: Code of Ala. 1975, §§ 34-27-6; 34-27-8. |