The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) Education Committee will use the following criteria to determine those courses that qualify for Professional Development Program (PDP) credits.
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The course is beyond the profession’s “entry” level (i.e., beyond the current post-licensing level).
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The course serves an appropriate purpose. Specifically, the educational offering is designed to either:
- Enable the REALTOR® to serve the objectives of the consumer in a real estate transaction;
- Maintain, develop and improve a REALTOR®’s competency and professionalism in a changing marketplace; and/or
- Protect the general public in its real estate transactions.
Some examples of acceptable course topics that would meet the above-mentioned criteria include risk management, legal update, agency, contract of purchase and sale, business practices and ethics, and appraisal.
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Courses will not be recognized if they are:
- Not directly related to real estate practices;
- Promotional, orientation or marketing sessions;
- On office skills or personal development topics such as computer technology, personal motivation, time management, or sales psychology;
- Sales meetings or other meetings held in conjunction with general real estate practices; or
- Meetings that are a normal part of in-house training.
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The course is to be delivered by an instructor who possesses expertise in his/her field along with previous teaching experience. It is desirable for instructors to have prior completion of BCREA’s Train-the-Trainer program, or equivalent formal training from another source.
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The course has clearly identified learning objectives that reflect a student-centred and competency-based emphasis. These objectives are expressed as brief, clear, and specific statements of what successful learners should be able to do at the conclusion of instructional activities.
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The curriculum package for the course includes a course outline that defines the educational offering’ s scope and content, reflects its overall purpose, and provides specific and measurable learning objectives.
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The curriculum package for the course includes materials that are high quality, comprehensive, and will serve as a useful reference after course completion. Materials may include a workbook, a text, a package or binder, handouts, and/or exercises and assignments to be used in conjunction with the course.
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The course is accompanied by a lesson plan that will enable the effective organization and presentation of material. The lesson plan indicates: the lesson’s objective; the set of topics to be covered along with the amount of time allotted to each; the type, variety and sequence of activities; as well as any required materials.
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The education provider is committed to monitoring the success of the course being offered, as evidenced by inclusion of a course evaluation form.
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The course is a minimum of three hours in length, which would allow for a total of two and one-half hours of direct instruction, one fifteen-minute coffee break, and a total of fifteen minutes to cover administration. Note that no more than six hours of instruction will be accepted for credit in one day.
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That portion of any offering devoted to the consumption of meals or refreshments will not be recognized as instructional hours.
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That portion of any course that is devoted to transporting participants to and from sites to be viewed and/or inspected will not be recognized as instructional hours.
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A Certificate of Completion will be issued by the education provider to participating real estate practitioners within ten days of course completion.
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The course meets any other conditions that may be specified by the BCREA Education Committee.