Clarification of RECA’s Education Policy

Miscommunication of Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) policies by other industry associations continues to be a source of frustration for the Council.

At its August 2008 meeting, Council approved a three-year business plan. With respect to education, Council decided to make e-learning the primary source of delivery for courses that are part of the Re-licensing Education Program (REP). This decision was not taken lightly, and was only decided upon after careful consideration of the benefits of e-learning opportunities.

There appears to be confusion regarding e-learning as a primary deliverymethod versus exclusive delivery method. By policy, RECA has chosen e-learning as the primary instructional delivery method for its educational offerings. However, RECA has never indicated that e-learning would be the exclusive delivery method.

Benefits of online course delivery

RECA takes the position that accessibility to instruction is paramount, and online learning can make courses more accessible to a greater number of people. Education programs must be provided to potential industry members and current industry members throughout the province on a fair and equitable basis. This means providing options for students that choose an on-line learning experience over a classroom experience because of their location or learning style preference.

Other advantages to online course delivery (“e-learning”) include that it provides consistent messaging to learners. Online course delivery removes differences between delivery methods or between instructor preferences. Each learner will be provided with the same information and interpretation for application in his or her practice.

Additionally, online courseware can be changed quickly to accommodate inevitable updates. Changes can occur simultaneously throughout the province and can be applied immediately. Inconsistent delivery and outdated information have been troublesome in classroom delivery courses and e-learning has the ability to mitigate these issues.

RECA’s core education values are consistent with the provision of learner-centric instructional design and the delivery and support for anytime, anyplace access to industry education. These criteria support current trends in adult education in meeting the needs of today’s adult learners. Although the primary delivery method is online, the option still exists for classroom support and/or delivery.

Online and Classroom REP

RECA is pleased to announce that the Re-licensing Education Program (REP) for real estate and mortgage industry members in the 2009-2010 licensing year will be available online and in classroom, beginning in October 2009.

RECA is committed to providing education courses in an online format. However, if there is demand in the future for a course to be offered in a classroom setting, RECA will facilitate such an offering through its education partners.

RECA takes the position that learners should be the primary focus and recognizes its obligation to provide learning in ways that are most accessible and meaningful to them – be it online or in a classroom setting.

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