Educators' Informational Update

Attention Pre-License, BASS and Advanced Practices Course Providers: Approval for Currently Approved Real Estate Courses Expires on December 31, 2012

Educators wishing to offer pre-license, Brokerage Administration and Sales Supervision (BASS), Broker Advanced Practices (BAP) or Property Manager Advanced Practices (PMAP) courses after December 31, 2012 should be aware of the quickly approaching deadline for course submissions. All course material should be prepared and submitted to the Agency in accordance with the new requirements no later than November 1, 2012 to provide enough time for course review prior to January 1, 2013.

Courses must be approved by the Agency to be offered after December 31, 2012. Course submissions will continue to be accepted by the Agency after January 1, but course providers should allow 60 days for review of an initial course application. All education providers, including providers using a course created by a vendor, must apply for course approval prior to offering courses in 2013.

Educators affected by the changes were invited to attend an Educators’ Session on July 26, 2012 to learn about the new course requirements and application process. Representatives from PSI, the Agency's examination vendor, attended and spoke about the new examinations that will be given starting January 1, 2013.

Additionally, the Agency introduced the new Property Manager Advanced Practices (PMAP) at the session. The 27-hour PMAP course and the three-hour Law and Rule Required Course will be required for all new property managers renewing their active real estate license for the first time on or after January 1, 2013. Completion of the two courses will meet the countinuing education requirements for license renewal.
 
Certified continuing education providers offering continuing education courses other than BASS, BAP and PMAP are not affected by the changes.

New Examinations Effective January 1, 2013

The Agency and PSI recently developed new content for the required license examinations, which is based on extensive job analyses of real estate brokers, principal real estate brokers and property managers.  License exams with the new examination content will be given by PSI beginning January 1, 2013. The new examinations are:

• Real estate broker examination:  50 items on the state portion and 80 items on the national portion
• Property manager examination:  130 items
• Principal real estate broker examination:  50 items on the state portion and 80 items on the national portion

Beginning January 1, 2013, candidates for the broker and principal broker examination will take PSI’s version of the national examination.  PSI’s national examination is accredited by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) and has not been offered in Oregon before.

Preparing Students for the New Examinations 
Because the new courses are based in part on the new examination content and job analyses, education providers must work with each student to determine when the student wishes to take the examination. If the student will take the examination on or before December 31, 2012, then the student should take the existing course.  If the student will take the examination on or after January 1, 2013, then the student should take the new course based on the new course outline and topics. If a student taking an examination in December does not pass,  they will be allowed to take the new examination in January without being required to take the new education.  However, students will not be allowed to take prior versions of the examination.

Important Information for Certified Continuing Education Providers 

Question: What are eligible course topics and where can I find a list of them?
Answer: Each continuing education provider must ensure that every course offered for continuing education credit is within the scope of one or more eligible course topics.  The Agency will not determine which eligible course topic a course falls under. The list of eligible course topics can be found in OAR 863-020-0035. Providers should be aware that specific topics are NOT eligible for continuing education. They are listed out below:

• Real estate broker or property manager pre-licensing courses
• Examination preparation classes
• Sales meetings
• Motivational classes or seminars
• Time management classes or seminars
• Sales and marketing classes or seminars
• Psychology classes or seminars
• Trade association orientation courses
• Courses in standardized computer software programs not related to the eligible course topics listed in OAR 863-020-0035

Question: When the Agency does a continuing education record audit, what records will the Agency request from certified continuing education providers?
Answer:  A continuing education provider must keep all required records and the records must be made available upon request from the Agency. The following is a list of records the Agency may ask for during an audit:

• Eligible course topic for each course
• Name of each course
• Course identification number for each course
• Date and location of each course
• Length of time of each course
• Name of the instructor who taught each course
• Signed and completed instructor qualification form
• Licensee’s name and license number for every licensee attending each course
• Course learning objectives for each course 

Agency Is Available to Answer Questions

We are happy to answer any questions you or your students may have about the licensing process or education requirements.

view email in browser | unsubscribe | update your profile | forward to a friend