Another record crowd of real estate instructors, school officials and publisher representatives attended the Commission-sponsored annual Real Estate Educators Conference held in Raleigh on March 12-13, 2007.
The 218 participants continues the relatively new trend of near standing-room only attendance that the conference has experienced in recent years.
Prelicense Education and Continuing Education “update” sessions were the focal points of the first morning’s program.
Director of Education and Licensing Larry Outlaw discussed possible reasons for the recent decline in examination performance and the related issue of greater instructor accountability, as well as new instructor training and preparation.
Additionally, Mr. Outlaw announced and discussed proposed rule changes which would impact the prelicense education program.
Pamela Rorie, Continuing Education Officer, discussed information of particular interest to continuing education sponsors and instructors and asked for suggestions regarding the topics for the 2007-2008 Update course.
During the first day’s luncheon, the North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association (NCREEA) held its spring meeting and traditional awards presentation capably led by President Lois Branning of Rowan-Cabarrus Community College.
The Association presented its “Program of the Year” award to instructor Sheila Lowery of Cleveland Community College and the New Horizon Real Estate School for her workbook, Real Estate Math: A Study Guide for North Carolina Real Estate Broker Pre-Licensing Students.
The “Educator of the Year” award was presented to instructor Saundra Martin of Central Piedmont Community College, who was cited for the outstanding success of her students on the real estate license examination.
Also during the luncheon, Commission Vice-Chairperson Melvin “Skip” Alston presented the Commission’s Billie J. Mercer Excellence in Education Award to NCREEA’s Educator of the Year, Saundra Martin.
This award is presented annually in memory of former Commission member and chairperson, Billie Mercer, who was especially dedicated to the cause of real estate education. The name of each year’s award winner is engraved on the Mercer Award cup that is displayed in the Commission’s lobby.
Commission members Sang Hamilton, Marsha Jordan, Wanda Proffitt, and S. R. “Buddy” Rudd, Jr. were also in attendance for the presentation.
Following the luncheon, participants were treated to a presentation by instructors Vicki Ferneyhough and Bill Gallagher who provided an informative and entertaining portrayal of various instructional techniques. The first day’s program concluded with three “break-out” sessions, one for community college representatives, one for private real estate school owners/directors, and one for instructors generally.
On the second day, instructor Deborah Carpenter of the J. Y. Monk Real Estate Training Center headed a panel of fellow instructors who provided suggestions for teaching the new postlicensing curriculum. Presenters included VinceBankoski of Wake Technical Community Collete, Curt Hardee of the J. Y. Monk Real Estate Training Center, Kathryn Rand of Rand Associates and Dana Rhodes of the Mingle Institute of Real Estate.
The conference concluded with the “Legal Update,” featuring the Commission Director of Legal Services Tom Miller’s discussion of “Shopping Offers” and Legal Education Officer Patricia Moylan’s review of proposed rule changes and recent legal cases.
The Commission thanks North Carolina’s real estate educators for their continued dedication and support, and congratulates Saundra Martin and Sheila Lowery for their achievements.
This article came from the June 2007-Vol38-1 edition of the bulletin.