ARELLO IDECC Distance Education Certification Program News Bulletin May State

							ARELLO-IDECC Distance Education Certification Program
News Bulletin
May 2002

State Appraisal Regulatory Agencies Recognize IDECC
Certification
Georgia, New York, Oklahoma, and Vermont appraisal regulatory agencies recently
announced they would recognize IDECC Certification in accordance with the new
distance education interpretation set forth by the Appraisal Qualifications Board back in
November. This new interpretation initiated a new standard that allows the state agency
to approve course content and ultimately the course itself if the provider obtains IDECC
Certification for quality design and delivery for each course. For more information about
the Appraiser Qualifications Board’s distance education interpretation, visit
www.idecc.org.


Arkansas Course Providers Get Reimbursement for
ARELLO Certification Fees
During the May 2002 meeting of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission, the
Commissioners authorized the reimbursement for 50% of the application fees paid to the
Association of License Law Officials (ARELLO) for distance education courses that are
certified by ARELLO and subsequently approved by the State Board of Private Career
Education (SBPCE) as meeting educational requirements for real estate licensees in
Arkansas. The maximum amount of reimbursement to any one school will be $1,000.00.
Proprietary schools physically located inside the state of Arkansas and licensed by
SBPCE are eligible to apply for the reimbursement. Arkansas Real Estate Commission
Deputy Director, Gary Isom said, “we hope this will encourage our course providers to
complete the ARELLO Certification process for distance education courses they want to
offer for professional credit. We believe this will help providers offset the expenses
related to certification and promote quality distance education in our jurisdiction.”


Florida Passes Distance Education Law
Effective as of July 1, 2002, Florida House Bill 499, signed into law by Governor Jeb
Bush in March, will allow Florida real estate licensees to complete professional education
via distance learning. Licensees could previously meet professional education
requirements exclusively through classroom courses. The Florida Real Estate
Commission is now undergoing the process of forging regulations that will pertain to the
new law.
Fee Adjustment
Effective May 1 for new providers and July 1, 2002 for providers currently having
certified courses, ARELLO and its subsidiary IDECC will adjust certification application
fees for primary providers submitting subsequent courses of the same delivery method.
The current application fee of $300 will increase to $400 per subsequent course. Other
fees associated with certification including those for secondary providers, will remain the
same. The new pricing structure is as follows:
           PRIMARY PROVIDER OR COURSE DEVELOPER
           • $750.00 for the first course offered via different delivery methods
           • $400.00 for the second and subsequent courses offered via the same delivery method
           • $270.00 recertification for each course at the end of the initial 3-year certification.

           SECONDARY PROVIDER OR BRANCH SCHOOL
           • $275.00 for the first course offered via different delivery methods
           • $225.00 for the second and subsequent courses offered via the same delivery method
           • $195.00 recertification for each course at the end of the initial 3-year certification.

During the April 12, 2002 meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, the Distance Education Council
took into consideration many factors that impact the program’s income and expenses. At
that meeting, the Council decided the fee increase was necessary to maintain and improve
the level of service given to licensing jurisdictions and course providers before, during
and after the certification process.


New Application Forms
To ensure expediency in the review process, all course providers planning on certifying
courses in the future should obtain the latest certification application forms from
ARELLO.NET or IDECC.ORG. (Note: the most recent application forms have been
available since January so there is no need to currently update unless your forms were
obtained prior to January 1, 2002.) In addition, application forms completed and
submitted electronically are generally reviewed faster than if submitted hard copy. Keep
in mind, any material submitted hard copy must be submitted in triplicate.


New Expanded FAQ
Providers may now access an expanded Frequently Asked Questions at ARELLO.NET.
This valuable new portion of the ARELLO.NET web site contains many of the questions
providers ask during the review process. In addition, course providers considering
applying for certification may obtain valuable insight to details of the certification
process. Visit ARELLO.NET and choose FAQ’s from the navigation bar on the left side
of the web page.
The ARELLO-IDECC Distance Education Program was founded to help ensure the
quality and integrity of professional education taught via the Internet, CD-ROM,
videotape, audiotape, satellite broadcast and other modes of distance education delivery.
If you have questions pertaining to this bulletin, please contact Joe McClary, Distance
Education Certification Coordinator, at information@arello.net or call 334/260-2902.