Section 61J1-4.008 - Continuing Education for School Instructors(1) All persons holding "school instructor" permits shall re-certify their competency during each renewal period as defined in Rule 61J1-2.002, F.A.C., by satisfactorily completing a minimum of 21 hours of instruction in real estate appraisal subjects and instructional techniques as prescribed by the Board. A school instructor is not required to complete the 21 hours of re-certification education as a condition for initial permit renewal if the time between the effective date on the initial permit as an instructor and the beginning of the initial renewal permit is less than 12 months. Of the required 21 hours, up to 17 hours may be applied toward the continuing education requirement for registration, licensure, or certification pursuant to Rule 61J1-4.003, F.A.C. The 4 hour Instructional Techniques course does not apply toward the continuing education requirement for registration, licensure, or certification pursuant to Rule 61J1-4.003, F.A.C.(2) All Board prescribed 21 hours of instruction shall consist of 3 hours Florida Laws and Rules; 4 hours of Instructional Techniques; 7 hours of real estate appraisal subjects and a minimum of 7 hours of Board approved instruction consisting of an update of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) as defined in Section 475.611(1)(q), F.S. The 21 hours of instruction may be offered by accredited universities, colleges, and community colleges in the state, by real estate schools registered pursuant to Section 475.451, F.S., and entities approved by the Board. Requests for approval to offer the 14 hours of instruction in real estate appraisal subjects, Florida Laws and Rules: Instructional Techniques; and the 7 hours of instruction in USPAP shall be made to the Board at least 90 days prior to offering the course. The requests shall include a detailed course description and the criteria for satisfactory course completion. The Board will issue a status report to the course provider at least 60 days after submission of the course. Approval must be granted before the course may be offered. The criteria for approval shall be as set in subsection (4), below.(3)(a) Satisfactory completion of instruction is demonstrated by completing the Board approved course(s) in accordance with the standards established by the Board in Rule 61J1-4.003, F.A.C.(b) An instructor who teaches Florida Laws and Rules: Instructional Techniques shall not receive four (4) hours credit toward the individual requirement of four (4) hours Instructional Techniques, and shall be required to complete a separate course to fulfill the requirement for instructor license renewal.(4) The institution, school or approved entity offering the Board approved courses outlined in this section shall 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. The enforcement thereof shall be the responsibility of the Board and the DBPR and their decision on any such matters shall be final. The institution, school or approved entity will be responsible for issuing a grade report. The information required in the grade report can be located in Rule 61J1-4.005, F.A.C. (a) The Board shall approve any course, seminar, or conference in the real estate appraisal practice area provided by a national or state recognized appraisal organization, accredited university, college, community college, area technical center, state or federal agency or commission, or proprietary real estate school for appraisal continuing education credit for school instructors. The standards for Board approval of appraisal continuing education courses for school instructors shall be that the course or courses cover real estate appraisal related topics, be designed to be training oriented to teach school instructors how to present the courses, and to provide updates on statutes and rules relevant to the appraisal industry. The course will be approved for 24 months. A course may not be offered after the expiration date except for a course that is begun before the expiration date may be completed even if the completion date is after the expiration date.(b) Satisfactory completion of the Board prescribed or approved continuing education course or courses is demonstrated by successfully meeting standards established for each Board prescribed course.(c) A copy of the 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 outline, and learning objectives. The Board will issue a status report to the course provider within 60 days after submission of the course. Approval must be granted before the course and examinations, if required, may be offered. It is the responsibility of the institution, school, or entity offering the Board-approved courses to keep the course materials 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 national or state recognized appraisal organization, accredited university, college, community college, area technical center, state or federal agency or commission, or proprietary real estate school offering these Board prescribed or approved courses shall fully inform each student of the standards and requirements at the commencement of each course by providing each student a course syllabus that clearly states the course objective(s) and explains the desired learning outcomes. At least 70% of the desired learning outcomes shall be at the application level or higher. No more than 10% of the desired learning objectives shall be at the knowledge level. Notice of course completion shall be made as prescribed by the Board in Rule 61J1-4.005, F.A.C.(5)(a) The continuing education courses required in this rule may be taught 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 substantially the same 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 a final exam. The institution, school, or entity offering synchronous distance education 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.(b) A copy of the distance education course materials, a detailed course timeline, learning objectives, 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 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.(c) The continuing 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. Hybrid courses must include in the course timed outline what sections are being offered by synchronous, asynchronous and classroom. The asynchronous portion of the course requires a course examination. 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.(d) Satisfactory completion of the Board prescribed continuing education course(s) through distance and hybird education is demonstrated by achieving a grade of 80% or higher on the Board approved examination. Students failing the Board prescribed course examination must repeat the Board prescribed distance and hybird education course of study prior to being eligible to again take the course examination, which must be a different examination from the one the student previously failed.(e) The objective of the distance and hybird education course examination is to test fairly and reliably whether students have learned essential facts and concepts from the course. This examination shall consist of a minimum of 3 questions per instructional hour. All question shall be multiple choice with 4 answer choices each. 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 that 10% of the questions on each form of the test shall be at the knowledge level.(f) In all Board approved continuing education courses by distance or hybird 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.(g) Continuing education courses by distance and hybird education 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. Students must be notified of the course expiration date upon receipt of the course materials.Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 61J1-4.008
Rulemaking Authority 475.614 FS. Law Implemented 475.618 FS.
New 10-1-95, Amended 9-6-98, 11-15-99, 3-31-02, 2-16-04, 12-4-06, Amended by Florida Register Volume 43, Number 243, December 19, 2017 effective 1/3/2018, Amended by Florida Register Volume 46, Number 180, September 15, 2020 effective 9/30/2020, Amended by Florida Register Volume 47, Number 245, December 21, 2021 effective 1/4/2022.New 10-1-95, Amended 9-6-98, 11-15-99, 3-31-02, 2-16-04, 12-4-06, 1-3-18, 9-30-20, 1-4-22.