Instructor Qualifications

Important

Note: When completing a current course application, providers should pay particular attention to the Instructor Qualifications and Contact page. Instructors must be qualified by education, training, and/or experience (practical experience) in the subject area(s) being taught. When submitting the detailed information and documents with the instructor page, be sure to include in the responses, any current or past approval as a license education provider, coordinator, and/or instructor, all current and past professional or occupational licenses, certifications, or registrations, regardless of the state it was issued in. Our office uses all of the submitted data to research and verify each instructor applicant’s individual qualifications and experience in order to determine approval.

Instructor Qualifications Submitted with Initial Course Application

Each initial course application must include all required information and documentation to verify the qualifications claimed by the instructor for the subject area being taught.

45.32 INSTRUCTORS.§

Subdivision 1.Requirement.

Each course of study, except self-study courses, must have an instructor who is qualified by education, training, or experience to ensure competent instruction. In the case of a self-study course, this requirement applies to the author of the course material. Failure to have only qualified instructors teach at an approved course offering will result in loss of course approval. A person applying for approval as an instructor must make available upon request such records and data required by the commissioner to administer the provisions and further the purposes of this chapter.

CE Instructors
Pre-License Instructors
Responsibilities
Prohibited

Continuing Education Instructors

45.32 Subd. 2.Qualification for continuing education instructors.

Qualified continuing education instructors must have one of the following qualifications:

(1) a four-year degree in any area plus two years practical experience in the subject area being taught;

(2) five years of practical experience in the subject area being taught; or

(3) a college or graduate degree in the subject area being taught.

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45.32 Subd. 2a.Continuing education; qualifications for instructors of the Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course.

In addition to qualifying under subdivision 2, an instructor of the Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course offered as continuing education must:

(1) be licensed in good standing as either a certified residential real property appraiser or a certified general real property appraiser, and must have been so licensed for the three-year period immediately preceding the individual's application to become an instructor of the Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course; and

(2) not have been the subject of any license or certificate suspension or revocation, or been prohibited from supervising activities in this state or any other state within the three years immediately preceding the individual's application to become an instructor of the Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course.
Pre-License Education Instructors

45.32 Subd. 3.Qualifications for prelicensing instructors.

Qualified prelicense instructors must have one of the following qualifications:

(1) a four-year degree in the industry for which the course is being taught;

(2) a four-year degree with three years full-time experience in the industry for which the course is being taught;

(3) a four-year degree with three years full-time experience in the business or profession relating to the subject being taught;

(4) a postgraduate degree and completion of 45 hours of continuing education in the industry for which the course is being taught;

(5) a two-year degree in the industry for which the education is being given and completion of 45 hours of continuing education in the industry for which the course is being taught;

(6) a two-year degree or certificate with five years full-time experience in the industry for which the course is being taught;

(7) a degree or certificate with five years full-time experience in the business or profession relating to the subject being taught; or

(8) eight years of experience in the subject area being taught, gained in the eight years immediately preceding the first course offering taught.

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45.32 Subd. 3a.Prelicense education; qualifications for instructors of the Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course.

In addition to qualifying under subdivision 3, an instructor of the Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course offered as prelicense education must:

(1) be licensed in good standing as either a certified residential real property appraiser or a certified general real property appraiser, and must have been so licensed for the three-year period immediately preceding the individual's application to become an instructor of the Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course; and

(2) not have been the subject of any license or certificate suspension or revocation, or been prohibited from supervising activities in this state or any other state within the three years immediately preceding the individual's application to become an instructor of the Minnesota Supervisor/Trainee Appraiser Course.
Instructor Responsibilities

45.32 Subd. 4.Responsibilities.

Approved instructors are responsible for:

(1) compliance with all laws and rules relating to industry education;

(2) providing students with current and accurate information;

(3) maintaining an atmosphere conducive to learning in the classroom;

(4) in conjunction with the coordinator, assuring and certifying attendance of students enrolled in courses;

(5) providing assistance to students and responding to questions relating to course materials; and

(6) attending the workshops or instructional programs that are required by the commissioner.
Prohibited Practices for Instructors

45.33 Prohibited Practices for Coordinators and Instructors.

Minnesota Statute 45.33.Subd.1

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Subdivision 1.Prohibitions.

In connection with an approved course, coordinators and instructors must not:

(1) recommend or promote the services or practices of a particular business;

(2) encourage or recruit individuals to engage the services of, or become associated with, a particular business;

(3) use materials, clothing, or other evidences of affiliation with a particular entity;

(4) require students to participate in other programs or services offered by the instructor, coordinator, or education provider;

(5) attempt, either directly or indirectly, to discover questions or answers on an examination for a license;

(6) disseminate to any other person specific questions, problems, or information known or believed to be included in licensing examinations;

(7) misrepresent any information submitted to the commissioner;

(8) fail to cover, or ensure coverage of, all points, issues, and concepts contained in the course outline approved by the commissioner during the approved instruction; and

(9) issue inaccurate course completion certificates.

Extra Credit
Instructor Addition or Replacement

Instructor Extra Credit

Continuing Education class instructors are entitled to extra CE credits for their teaching work. The instruction must be for a course pre-approved by the Department of Commerce and does not apply to authors of Internet course material. A full explanation and an application form to claim the credit is available here.

Forms

Instructor Extra CE Credit Application (.pdf)

Explanation of Credits

Not allowed for an Internet course author.
- An instructor cannot claim credit for the same course again in the same license period.
- The course in question must have been pre-approved by the Minnesota Dept of Commerce (DOC) for the date taught and the instructor must have been pre-approved by DOC for the course.
- If an instructor speaks for part of a course and then leaves without completing the entire course, he or she receives no credit as no licensee can receive partial credit for any course.
- The Education Provider must upload the regular student roster (CE course credits) for that instructor/student into the Sircon or Pulse database for the regular number of hours the course was approved for.
- The Education Provider must submit a completed "Application Request for Instructor Extra CE Credit" (Page 1) to the DOC.
- The DOC will manually enter the extra instructor hours into the Sircon or Pulse database.
Example: If the applicant was the only instructor for a 4 hour course, the Education Provider will upload the 4 hours and Commerce will enter 8 hours for a total of 12 full hours of credit.

Example: If the applicant was one of multiple instructors for a course over 2 hours in length and attended the course in its entirety, (for the example use 4 hours for the course with 2 instructors, each teaching for 2 hours) they would receive the full amount of the course time (in this case 4 hours) as a student and then two times the amount of time the instructor taught 2Hrs X 2=4. In this case the instructor would receive a total of 8 hours of credit.

Example: If the applicant was one of multiple instructors for a course of 2 hours or less, and attended the course in its entirety, each instructor will receive credit for the full 2 hour course regardless of how long each instructor spoke. The Education Provider will upload the 2 hours and Commerce will enter 4 hours for a total of 6 full hours of credit.

No more than half of the continuing education hours required for renewal of a license may be earned as a qualified instructor.

45.30 Continuing Education. Subd. 4.Credit earned.

(a) Upon completion of approved courses, students must earn 1 hour of continuing education credit for each hour approved by the commissioner. Continuing education courses must be attended in their entirety in order to receive credit for the number of approved hours.

(b) Qualified instructors will earn 3 hours of continuing education credit for each classroom hour of approved instruction that they deliver (1) independently, or (2) as part of a team presentation in a course of 2 hours or less, if they attend the course in its entirety. No more than half of the continuing education hours required for renewal of a license may be earned as a qualified instructor at the rate of 3 hours of continuing education credit for each classroom hour of approved instruction. No credit will be earned if the licensee has previously obtained credit for the same course as either a student or instructor during the same licensing period.
Instructor Addition or Replacement Requirements, Instructions, and Application

To add or replace an instructor for a course already approved by the Commerce Department read section titled “Instructor Qualifications with Initial Course Application” and use the application below.

Forms

Instructor Add or Replace Application (.pdf)