Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
(1)
Timetable for Approval. The
Commission shall approve, disapprove, or request additional data on any
application for a school approval within sixty days of the receipt of a
complete application meeting the requirements of Rule
520-1-.04(4) and
containing the data required by this Rule. The Commission shall deem an
application abandoned if the applicant fails to respond to a request for
additional or revised data within one hundred twenty days after the Commission
has sent such a request to the address of the applicant listed on the
application. In the event an application is abandoned, a new application and
fee will be required to reinstate the application. The Commission, in its
discretion, may elect not to process an incomplete application as defined by
Rule 520-1-.04(4) unless
and until all the requirements of that paragraph are met.
(2)
Application Requirements for
Approval. Applicants for school approval must file with the Commission
an application and a fee as provided by Rule
520-1-.04. The application must set
forth in terms acceptable to the Commission the following:
(a) Identification. The name and address of
the school, the name of the school director and the school coordinator as well
as any other identifying criteria that the Commission may require. The school
director and/or coordinator shall be responsible for certifying student
completion of all courses covered under this Chapter.
(b) Records Management. A detailed proposal
of records management for retaining for at least five years records of student
attendance, the scores earned by all students on all graded exercises and
examinations, and any student certifications required by this
Chapter;
(c) Nonpublic
Postsecondary Education Certificate. If the applicant is subject to the
Nonpublic Postsecondary Educational Institutions Act of 1990, O.C.G.A. §
20-3-250.1et. seq., a copy of the
current certificate issued by the Nonpublic Postsecondary Education
Commission;
(d) School Directors
and Owners. The name and address of the owner if the school is a sole
proprietorship, the names and addresses of the partners if the school is a
partnership, the names and addresses of the members if the school is a limited
liability company (if a member is a corporation, the names and addresses of the
officers of the corporation member), and the names and addresses of each
officer if the school is a corporation.
(e) Attendance Make-up Policy. Any make-up
policy regarding attendance that the school has adopted;
(f) Entrance Qualifications. A list of any
entrance qualifications for students;
(g) Media Equipment. A statement that the
school can make available to its students materials the Commission may require
for use in a particular course or courses and that it has video or audio
equipment available to present Commission required material;
(h) Learning Environment. A statement that
the school will conduct in-class courses in environments that are appropriate
for learning;
(i) Electronic
Registration and Transmission Capability. A statement that the school has the
capability to follow Commission authorized procedures for (1) electronically
registering its students for qualifying examinations with the Commission's
approved vendor, (2) to communicate electronically any required student course
completion information to that vendor, and (3) to communicate electronically
any required student course completion information to the Commission.
(j) Compliance with the Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA). A statement that the school will comply with all
relevant provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
(k) Nondiscrimination. A statement that the
school will not discriminate in its fees, enrollment, or completion policies on
the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status, or
handicap;
(l) Course Outlines. A
detailed outline(s) of course(s) to be offered with hours to be spent on each
subject area to be covered in the course(s) and a description of all planned
in-class and homework exercises;
(m) Bibliography. A bibliography of all texts
and reference materials for use in the course(s);
(n) Student Evaluations. A comprehensive
description of the measures and standards the school will employ to evaluate
student performance in order to determine whether a student successfully
completes a course.
(o) Learning
Objectives. A description of the learning objectives for each instructional
hour of the course(s). A learning objective is part of the overall goal of the
course. An objective states, in measurable terms, what the student should be
able to do, explain, or demonstrate upon mastery of the content of each hour of
instruction;
(p) Instructors. A
list of all proposed instructors;
(q) Course Schedule. A list of the course(s)
for which the school seeks approval; and
(r) Notice to Students. A copy of the Notice
to Students required by this Rule.
(3)
Renewal of Approval. In
order to renew any school approval, the Commission must receive an application
from the school requesting renewal prior to the expiration of the current
approval. The application requesting renewal must be on a form authorized by
the Commission and accompanied by the required renewal fee established in Rule
520-1-.04(1).
(4)
Minimum Standards for Students.
Approved schools must adopt and enforce standards for students that at
least meet the minimums described in this Rule.
(a) Attendance. In order for a school to
certify a student as passing a course, the student must attend all of the
required number of hours of in-class instruction for which the school offers
the course.
(b) Required Exercises
and Examinations. In order for a school to certify a student as passing a
course, the student must complete and pass all graded exercises and/or
examinations required by the school.
(c) Makeup Policy. A school director may
establish a makeup policy for students who are unable to attend all the
scheduled hours of instruction required for a course. Such makeup may allow a
student who misses one or more sessions of a course to makeup those sessions by
attending similar sessions of the same course. A student who enrolls in a
school which offers the seventy-five hour salesperson's prelicense qualifying
course, the sixty hour broker's prelicense qualifying course, or the
twenty-five hour community association manager prelicense qualifying course in
a series of courses each of whose total number of hours is fewer than the
required seventy-five, sixty, or twenty-five hours may not transfer credit for
a course or courses completed in that series to another school unless the new
school offers the identical series of courses
Schools shall utilize no more than thirty minutes of audio or
video material toward meeting any required or make-up hours of in-class
instruction unless the Commission grants written authorization for such
material prior to its use.
(d) Certification Requirements. In order for
a school to certify a student as passing a course, the student must meet any
minimum grading and conduct standards established by this Chapter and the
school. On graded exercises and examinations for which this Chapter sets
specific requirements, the school's policy must at least equal those
requirements. [See
520-2-.04(11)] Other
grading standards must be in accordance with generally accepted educational
standards. Schools must publish these standards and give them to the students
in a written form at the beginning of the course.
(5)
Notice to Students. Upon a
student's enrollment or prior to the beginning of instruction in any course,
the school shall provide that student a written Notice to Students containing
the following information about the course.
(a) Approval Details. The Notice must state
that the Commission has approved the school and disclose the following:
1. its end of renewal date;
2. the number of hours of education credit of
the course;
3. whether the course
is an in-class course or a computer-based course or other type of distance
education course;
4. whether the
course meets prelicense, postlicense, or continuing education credit;
and
5. if the course is a
prerequisite for licensure as a community association manager salesperson or
broker, whether it satisfies all or part of the hours required for that
license, and if only a part of those hours, how many hours it meets and what
other course(s) the student must complete to fulfill all of the
requirements.
(b)
Instructors. The Notice must list the instructors who will teach the
course(s).
(c) Grading and
Certification Policy. The Notice must describe the school's grading policies
for exercises, homework, examinations, and any other work on which the school
will base a student's grade.
(d)
Attendance. The Notice must describe the school's attendance requirements,
including notice that the student must be on time and present for all in-class
hours in order to receive credit for the course, and a statement indicating how
students will makeup absences if the school has established a makeup
policy.
(e) Prohibition of
Recruitment Notice. The Notice must include the prohibition of recruitment
statement required by Rule
520-2-.02(10) and
outline the manner in which students must report any efforts of
recruitment;
(f) Computer-based
Courses. If the course is a computer-based course, the Notice to Students must
also include:
1. the name and address of the
approved school;
2. the order in
which the student must submit homework assignments;
3. a statement that the student must
personally complete all instructional modules required to demonstrate mastery
of the material and sign the certification statements required by this
Rule;
4. a statement that the
student must successfully complete all assignments before receiving credit for
the course or before attending any required in-class instruction; and
5. an explanation of when and where to
complete any required in-class instruction; and
(g) Preliminary Decisions. For Prelicense
Courses, the Notice must include a description of the Commission's Preliminary
Decision option for persons with criminal convictions. [See Substantive
Regulation
520-1-.04(11).]
(h) Continuing Education Credit. The Notice
must include a statement that the student may not receive credit for any
continuing education course that he or she has taken within the previous
calendar year.
(i) Any other
information that the Commission may require.
(6)
Reporting. All approved
schools must report the following information to the Commission or its
designee.
(a) Changes. Schools must
immediately report to the Commission in writing changes in its
director/coordinator, its name, its phone number, or its location or mailing
address. The school must notify the Commission immediately if it terminates its
relationship with an instructor because of the instructor's violation of any
provision of this Chapter.
(b)
Prelicense Student Registrations and Completions. Schools must electronically
register students for qualifying examinations with the Commission's approved
vendor and promptly communicate electronically to that vendor any required
student course completion information.
(c) Student Completions in Post License and
CE Courses. Schools must communicate electronically to the Commission all
student completion information in postlicense and continuing education courses
as directed by the Commission.
(7)
Evaluation of Instructors.
The school coordinator/director shall be responsible for consistent and
regular evaluation of the school's instructors. The coordinator/director must
provide each student with an opportunity to make unsigned, written evaluations
of instructors. Upon receipt of a sworn written request for an investigation or
at its own discretion, the Commission may request, and the coordinator/director
shall supply additional student and coordinator/director evaluations on
specific individual instructors in question. The Commission may use these
evaluations to determine what action to take to improve the quality of
instruction.
(8)
Maintenance
of Records. All approved schools must maintain for at least five years
and upon reasonable request must make available to any authorized
representative of the Commission the following documents.
(a) Examinations. Schools must retain copies
of all examinations given and the answer keys for those examinations.
(b) Texts and materials. Schools must
maintain copies of all texts or other instructional materials used in
courses.
(c) Attendance. Each
school must maintain records that reflect the attendance (or for computer-based
courses the completion of each module of instruction) and scores earned by each
student on all graded, written exercises and examinations used to determine
whether the student passed a course.
(d) Instructor Resumes. Schools must maintain
resumes or other biographical information documenting such knowledge and
experience for all postlicense and continuing education instructors who have
not qualified as approved instructors under the standards of Chapter
520-2.
(e) Computer-based Courses.
For all computer-based courses, each school must maintain for at least five
years, in a form that the Commission authorizes, records that reflect the
following:
1. the student's name, the course
title, the number of hours authorized for the course, and the particular
software version of the course;
2.
a Commission authorized system of verification of the completion of each module
of instruction within the computer-based course and the date of completion of
the course; and
3. the scores for
each student for all final examinations for those courses requiring such
examinations;
(9)
Advertising. This Rule
regulates advertising whether done by an approved school, an approved
instructor, or the provider of approved courses or through any media. The term
"media" includes, but is not limited to, print, photographic, broadcast, and
computer media including, but not limited to, such examples as newspapers,
magazines, flyers, posters, radio, television, signs, newsletters, and internet
web sites.
(a) Use of Commission Name. If a
school, after approval, wishes to use the name of the Georgia Real Estate
Commission in its advertising, it must indicate that the Georgia Real Estate
Commission has approved the school as meeting the requirements of Georgia laws.
Such advertising may not indicate in any fashion that the Georgia Real Estate
Commission has any interest in the school other than insuring that it complies
with the standards imposed by Georgia law. In no event can the phrase "Georgia
Real Estate Commission" appear anywhere in the advertisement in larger type
than the words and phrases preceding or following the phrase "Georgia Real
Estate Commission."
(b) Use of the
Name of a Licensed Firm. Whenever an approved school advertises that it is
offering any prelicense, postlicense or continuing education at the location of
a real estate firm or other organization that is not an approved school, the
school must include in the advertisement the school's name and school approval
number as registered with the Commission and the name of the school and the
approval number must appear in equal or greater size, prominence, and frequency
than the name of the firm or organization. Personnel of the approved school
must:
1. give students and prospective
students information concerning course offerings, except that the school may
allow other persons to distribute written information prepared by the school's
director/coordinator. Such printed information shall include no telephone
number other than the school's number and the following statement:
"This information provided by (name of school). Direct any
questions concerning this information to (name of school)."
2. administer the registration and enrollment
of students, except that the school may allow other persons to register and
enroll students under the direction of the school's
director/coordinator.
3. certify
the students' completion of the course; and
4. maintain all records required by the
Commission.
(c)
Disclosure of Type of Course. Any advertising of a course must state within the
body of the advertisement that the course is an in-class course or a
computer-based course whichever is applicable.
(d) Use of School's Passing Percentage
Statistics. An approved school may not advertise that successful completion of
its courses will assist an individual in passing either of the Commission's
licensing examinations unless it includes its passing percentage in the
advertisement in type as large as the reference to passing the examination. In
calculating and advertising its passing percentage, an approved school must
include the following information:
1. the
passing rate of its students:
(i) on the
examination(s) to which the advertisement refers,
(ii) expressed as a specific percentage
(language such as "more than 80% passing" is not acceptable),
(iii) based on only first-time examinees and
so state in the advertisement, and
(iv) for the calendar year prior to the
advertisement (the school must identify the year in the
advertisement);
2.
whether the passing rate is for the salesperson's examination or the broker's
examination (salesperson and broker passing rates may not be
combined);
3. the actual number of
its students taking the examination in the calendar year cited; and
4. the actual number of its students passing
the examination during the calendar year cited.
An approved school that advertises courses that do not qualify
an individual to sit for an examination but that the school holds out to the
public as assisting an individual to pass the examination must comply with the
requirements of this paragraph in advertising those courses.
(10)
Prohibition
of Recruiting.
No school coordinator/director shall allow anyone to use the
school's premises or classroom to recruit new affiliates for any company one
hour before, one hour after, or during an instruction period. The school
coordinator/director shall cause the following statement to be distributed in
written materials to all students at the beginning of the course:
"No recruiting for employment opportunities for any real estate
brokerage firm is allowed in this class or on the school premises. Report
promptly any effort to recruit on behalf of a brokerage firm by anyone
including a fellow student to (name of school
coordinator/director) at (phone number and/or office
location) or the Georgia Real Estate Commission." Instructors and
school coordinators/directors must promptly report to the Commission any
efforts to recruit students in violation of this paragraph.
(11)
Exceptions. Schools may
request exceptions, modifications, or exemptions to the requirement of this
Chapter whenever sound educational reasons exist for such a request. Schools
must submit such requests in writing with supporting rationales and may
implement them only after receiving written authorization from the
Commission.
Authority O.C.G.A. Secs.
43-40-2,
43-40-8,
43-40-25.
