Section 193F.11.5. Standards for provider and program approval.

Providers and programs must satisfy the following minimum standards in order to be preapproved in accordance with the procedures established in rule 193F—11.4(272C,543D) and in order to maintain approved status.

         11.5(1) The program must be taught or developed by individuals who have the education, training and experience to be considered experts in the subject matter of the program and competent in the use of teaching methods appropriate to the program.

         11.5(2) Live instruction programs must be taught by instructors who have successfully completed an instructor development workshop within 24 months preceding board approval of the program. Certified USPAP instructors shall be considered to have met this requirement.

         11.5(3) In determining whether an instructor is qualified to teach a particular program, the board will consider whether the instructor has an ability to teach and an in-depth knowledge of the subject matter.

         11.5(4) An instructor may demonstrate the ability to teach by meeting one or more of the following criteria:

            a.               Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher in education from an accredited college (attach a copy of transcripts);

            b.               Hold a current teaching credential or certificate in any real estate or real estate-related fields (attach copy);

            c.               Hold a certificate of completion in the area of instruction from an instructor institute, workshop or school that is sponsored by a member of the Appraisal Foundation (detail specific teaching experiences);

            d.               Hold a full-time current appointment to the faculty of an accredited college;

            e.               Other, as the board may determine.

         11.5(5) An instructor may demonstrate in-depth knowledge of the program’s subject matter by meeting one or more of the following criteria:

            a.               Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college with a major in a field of study directly related to the subject matter of the course the instructor proposes to teach, such as business, economics, accounting, real estate or finance (attach copy of transcript);

            b.               Hold a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college and have five years of appraisal experience related to the subject matter of the course the instructor proposes to teach (attach copy of transcript and document how the instructor’s experience is related to the subject matter the instructor proposes to teach);

            c.               Hold a generally recognized professional real property appraisal designation or be a sponsor member of the Appraisal Foundation;

            d.               Other, as the board may determine.

         11.5(6) Only AQB-certified USPAP instructors, listed on the Web site of the Appraisal Foundation may teach the national USPAP courses including the 15-hour tested course and the 7-hour continuing education course.

         11.5(7) Course content and materials must be accurate, consistent with currently accepted standards relating to the program’s subject matter and updated no later than 30 days after the effective date of a change in standards, laws or rules.

         11.5(8) Programs must have an appropriate means of written evaluation by participants. Evaluations shall include the relevance of the materials, effectiveness of presentation, content, facilities, and such additional features as are appropriate to the nature of the program.

         11.5(9) No part of any course shall be used to solicit memberships in organizations, recruit appraisers for affiliation with any organization or advertise the merits of any organization or sell any product or service.

         11.5(10) Providers must clearly inform prospective participants of the number of credit hours preapproved by the board for each program and all applicable policies concerning registration, payment, refunds, attendance requirements and examination grading.

         11.5(11) Procedures must be in place to monitor whether the person receiving credit hours is the person who attended or completed the program.

         11.5(12) Providers must be accessible to students during normal business hours to answer questions and provide assistance as necessary.

         11.5(13) Providers must comply with or demonstrate exemption from the provisions of Iowa Code sections 714.14 to 714.25.

         11.5(14) Providers must designate a coordinator in charge of each program who will act as the board’s contact on all compliance issues.

         11.5(15) Programs shall not offer more than eight credit hours in a single day.

         11.5(16) Providers shall not provide any information to the board, the public or prospective students which is misleading in nature. For example, providers may not refer to themselves as a “college” or “university” unless qualified as such under Iowa law.

         11.5(17) Providers must establish and maintain for a period of five years complete and detailed records on the programs successfully attended by each Iowa participant.

         11.5(18) Providers must issue an individual certificate of attendance to each participant upon successful completion of the program. The certificate must be no larger than 8½″ × 11″ and must include the provider name and number, program name and number, name of attendee, date program was completed, number of approved credit hours, and the signature of the coordinator or other person authorized by the board.

         11.5(19) Program providers and instructors are solely responsible for the accuracy of all program materials, instruction and examinations. Board approval of a provider or program is not an assurance or warranty of accuracy and shall not be explicitly or implicitly marketed or advertised as such.

         11.5(20) Providers must apply for approval using forms prescribed by the board.

[ARC 1732C, IAB 11/12/14, effective 12/17/14]