SECTION 153.40. Approval of Continuing Education Providers and Courses

(a) Definitions. The following words and terms shall have the following meanings in this section, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Applicant--A person seeking accreditation or approval to be an appraiser continuing education (ACE) provider.

(2) ACE course--Any education course for which continuing education credit may be granted by the Board to a license holder.

(3) ACE provider--Any person approved by the Board; or specifically exempt by the Act, Chapter 1103, Texas Occupation Code, or Board rule; that offers a course for which continuing education credit may be granted by the Board to a license holder.

(4) Distance education course--A course offered in accordance with AQB criteria in which the instructor and students are geographically separated as defined by the AQB. Distance education includes synchronous delivery, when the instructor and student interact simultaneously online; asynchronous delivery, when the instructor and student interaction is non-simultaneous; and hybrid or blended course delivery that allows for both in-person and online interaction, either synchronous or asynchronous.

(5) Severe weather--weather conditions, including but not limited to severe thunderstorms, tornados, hurricanes, snow and ice, that pose risks to life or property and require intervention by government authorities and office or school closures.

(b) Approval of ACE Providers.

(1) A person seeking to offer ACE courses must:

(A) file an application on the appropriate form approved by the Board, with all required documentation;

(B) pay the required fees under §153.5 of this title; and

(C) maintain a fixed office in the state of Texas or designate a resident of this state as attorney-in-fact to accept service of process and act as custodian of any records in Texas which the continuing education provider is required to maintain by this subchapter.

(2) The Board may:

(A) request additional information be provided to the Board relating to an application; and

(B) terminate an application without further notice if the applicant fails to provide the additional information within 60 days from the Board's request.

(3) Exempt Providers. A unit of federal, state or local government may submit ACE course approvals without becoming an approved ACE provider.

(4) Standards for approval. To be approved by the Board to offer ACE courses, an applicant must satisfy the Board as to the applicant's ability to administer courses with competency, honesty trustworthiness and integrity. If an applicant proposes to employ another person to manage the operation of the applicant, that person must meet this standard as if that person were the applicant.

(5) Approval notice. An applicant shall not act as or represent itself to be an approved ACE provider until the applicant has received written notice of the approval from the Board.

(6) Period of initial approval. The initial approval of a CE provider is valid for two years.

(7) Disapproval.

(A) If the Board determines that an applicant does not meet the standards for approval, the Board will provide written notice of disapproval to the applicant.

(B) The disapproval notice, applicant's request for a hearing on the disapproval, and any hearing are governed by the Administrative Procedure Act, Chapter 2001, Government Code, and Chapter 157 of this title. Venue for any hearing conducted under this section shall be in Travis County.

(8) Renewal.

(A) Not earlier than 90 days before the expiration of its current approval, an approved provider may apply for renewal for another two year period.

(B) Approval or disapproval of a renewal application shall be subject to the standards for initial applications for approval set out in this section.

(C) The Board may deny an application for renewal if the provider is in violation of a Board order.

(c) Application for approval of ACE courses. This subsection applies to appraiser education providers seeking to offer ACE courses.

(1) For each ACE course an applicant intends to offer, the applicant must:

(A) file an application on the appropriate form approved by the Board, with all required documentation; and

(B) pay the fees required by §153.5 of this title .

(2) An ACE provider may file a single application for an ACE course offered through multiple delivery methods.

(3) An ACE provider who seeks approval of a new delivery method for a currently approved ACE course must submit a new application and pay all required fees.

(4) The Board may:

(A) request additional information be provided to the Board relating to an application; and

(B) terminate an application without further notice if the applicant fails to provide the additional information within 60 days from the Board's request.

(5) Standards for ACE course approval.

(A) To be approved as an ACE course by the Board, the course must:

(i) cover subject matter appropriate for appraiser continuing education as defined by the AQB;

(ii) submit a statement describing the objective of the course and the acceptable AQB topics covered;

(iii) be current and accurate; and

(iv) be at least two hours long.

(B) The course must be presented in full hourly units.

(C) The course must be delivered by one of the following delivery methods:

(i) classroom delivery; or

(ii) distance education.

(D) The course design and delivery mechanism for asynchronous distance education courses, including the asynchronous portion of hybrid courses must be approved by an AQB approved organization.

(6) Approval notice.

(A) An ACE provider cannot offer an ACE course until the provider has received written notice of the approval from the Board.

(B) An ACE course expires two years from the date of approval. ACE providers must reapply and meet all current requirements of this section to offer the course for another two years.

(d) Approval of currently approved ACE course for a secondary provider.

(1) If an ACE provider wants to offer an ACE course currently approved for another provider, the secondary provider must:

(A) file an application on the appropriate form approved by the Board, with all required documentation;

(B) submit written authorization to the Board from the author or provider for whom the course was initially approved granting permission for the secondary provider to offer the course; and

(C) pay the fees required by §153.5 of this title .

(2) If approved to offer the currently approved course, the secondary provider must:

(A) offer the course as originally approved;

(B) assume the original expiration date;

(C) include any approved revisions;

(D) use all materials required for the course; and

(E) meet the requirements of subsection (j) of this section.

(e) Approval of ACE courses currently approved by the AQB or another state appraiser regulatory agency.

(1) To obtain Board approval of an ACE course currently approved by the AQB or another state appraiser regulatory agency, an ACE provider must:

(A) be currently approved by the Board as an ACE provider;

(B) file an application on the appropriate form approved by the Board, with all required documentation; and

(C) pay the course approval fee required by §153.5 of this title.

(2) If approved to offer the ACE course, the ACE provider must offer the course as approved by the AQB or other state appraiser regulatory agency, using all materials required for the course.

(3) Any course approval issued under this subsection expires the earlier of two years from the date of Board approval or the remaining term of approval granted by the AQB or other state appraiser regulatory agency.

(f) Approval of ACE courses for a 2-hour in-person one-time offering.

(1) To obtain Board approval of a 2-hour ACE course for an in-person one-time offering, an ACE provider must:

(A) be currently approved by the Board as an ACE provider;

(B) file an application on the appropriate form approved by the Board, with all required documentation; and

(C) pay the one-time offering course approval fee required by §153.5 of this title.

(2) Any course approved under this subsection is limited to the scheduled presentation date stated on the written notice of course approval issued by the Board.

(3) If a course approved under this subsection must be rescheduled due to circumstances beyond the provider's control, including severe weather or instructor illness, the Board may approve the revised course date if the provider:

(A) submits a request for revised course date on a form acceptable to the Board; and

(B) offers the course on the revised date in the same manner as it was originally approved.

(g) Application for approval to offer a 7-Hour National USPAP Update course.

(1) To obtain approval to offer a 7-Hour National USPAP Update course, the provider must:

(A) be approved by the Board as an ACE provider;

(B) file an application on the appropriate form approved by the Board, with all required documentation;

(C) submit written documentation to the Board demonstrating that the course and instructor are currently approved by the AQB;

(D) pay the course approval fee required by §153.5 of this title;

(E) use the current version of the USPAP; and

(F) ensure each student has access to his or her own electronic or paper copy of the current version of USPAP.

(2) Approved ACE providers of the 7-Hour National USPAP Update course may include up to one additional classroom credit hour of supplemental Texas specific information. This may include topics such as the Act, Board rules, processes and procedures, enforcement issues or other topics deemed appropriate by the Board.

(h) Application for ACE course approval for a presentation by current Board members or staff. As authorized by law, current members of the Board and Board staff may teach or guest lecture as part of an approved ACE course. To obtain ACE course approval for a presentation by a Board member or staff, the provider must:

(1) file an application on the appropriate form approved by the Board, with all required documentation; and

(2) pay the fees required by §153.5 of this title.

(i) Responsibilities and Operations of ACE providers.

(1) ACE course examinations or course mechanism to demonstrate knowledge of the subject matter:

(A) are required for ACE distance education courses; and

(B) must comply with AQB requirements.

(2) Course evaluations. A provider shall provide each student enrolled in an ACE course a course evaluation form approved by the Board and a link to an online version of the evaluation form that a student may complete and submit to the provider after course completion.

(3) Course completion rosters.

(A) Classroom courses. Upon successful completion of an ACE classroom course, a provider shall submit to the Board a course completion roster in a format approved by the Board no later than the 10th day after the date a course is completed. The roster shall include:

(i) the provider's name and license number;

(ii) the instructor's name;

(iii) the course title;

(iv) the course approval number;

(v) the number of credit hours;

(vi) the date of issuance; and

(vii) the date the student started and completed the course.

(B) Distance education courses. A provider shall maintain a Distance Education Reporting Form and submit information contained in that form by electronic means acceptable to the Board for each student completing the course not earlier than the number of hours for course credit after a student starts the course and not later than the 10th day after the student completes the course.

(4) An ACE provider may withhold any official course completion documentation required by this subsection from a student until the student has fulfilled all financial obligations to the provider.

(5) Security and Maintenance of Records.

(A) An ACE provider shall maintain:

(i) adequate security against forgery for official completion documentation required by this subsection;

(ii) records of each student enrolled in a course for a minimum of four years following completion of the course, including course and instructor evaluations and student enrollment agreements; and

(iii) any comments made by the provider's management relevant to instructor or course evaluations with the provider's records.

(B) All records may be maintained electronically but must be in a common format that is legible and easily printed or viewed without additional manipulation or special software.

(C) Upon request, an ACE provider shall produce instructor and course evaluation forms for inspection by Board staff.

(6) Changes in Ownership or Operation of an approved ACE provider.

(A) An approved ACE provider shall obtain approval of the Board at least 30 days in advance of any material change in the operation of the provider, including but not limited to changes in:

(i) ownership;

(ii) management; and

(iii) the location of main office and any other locations where courses are offered.

(B) An approved provider requesting approval of a change in ownership shall provide a Principal Application Form for each proposed new owner who would hold at least a 10% interest in the provider to the Board.

(j) Non-compliance.

(1) If the Board determines that an ACE course or provider no longer complies with the requirements for approval, the Board may suspend or revoke approval for the ACE course or provider.

(2) Proceedings to suspend or revoke approval of an ACE course or provider shall be conducted in accordance with §153.41 of this title.

Source Note: The provisions of this §153.40 adopted to be effective December 16, 2018, 43 TexReg 8117; amended to be effective March 22, 2020, 45 TexReg 1854; amended to be effective September 8, 2022, 47 TexReg 5336