Policy revised:  January 12, 2016

ADMISSION POLICY

It is the policy of a la mode that anyone can sign up and attend our courses. Students need not be paying customers of a la mode technologies, llc., nor users of our products. For joint events with other associations, students need not be members of such associations to sign up and take our courses.

ADA COMPLIANCE POLICY

a la mode shall offer our courses in a place and manner accessible to all persons, or offer alternative but equal arrangements. a la mode shall comply with all related provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and will not discriminate in fees, enrollment, or completion policies on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, familial status, or disability.

ATTENDANCE POLICY AND MONITORING

Classroom:
To receive Continuing Education credit for a course, you must sign in electronically at our registration table in person. No one else may sign you in. You will be given a badge, which you must wear at all times during the course. Unless stated otherwise, you must use this badge to sign in at the beginning of class, out before any lunch, in when returning from lunch, and out at the end of the course. While a la mode will endeavor to remind students to do this, the responsibility to “badge in” is yours as the student. Failure to “badge in” at each required time could result in being denied any credit hours for the course. If your state requires students to sign in at different times than listed above, you must sign in according to the requirements of the state where the event is being held, or the requirements of your state, as appropriate.

Unless your state requirements specify otherwise, you must attend 90% or more of the classroom instruction in order to receive credit hours. You must remain in the classroom except for designated breaks, or short personal restroom breaks. If you are late to class, either at the beginning or after any of the designated breaks, take excessive or lengthy restroom breaks, or leave early for any reason, our log will show this, and we may not be able to grant any hours for the course. a la mode will not provide the ability to “make up” any time missed from the class.

This policy will be enforced according to the standards set by the state where the event is being held, or at the discretion of a la mode, as appropriate.

Webinars:
To receive Continuing Education credit for a webinar class, you are required to comply with an attendance monitoring policy. We accomplish this with polls and surveys, administered through GoToTraining™, in which you click on your chosen response to participate. To meet the policy requirements you must participate in all interactive poll and survey activities. The policy is designed to restrict your ability to engage in multi-tasking such as reading a book, texting your friends, or running an errand, for example. If you are having trouble with a poll or survey question, please contact the instructor through the chat window.

AUDIT POLICY

a la mode shall permit the administrator of a CE-governing board, or their designated representative, to audit the course and course materials at no cost to the auditor, in order to evaluate the instruction. This includes, but is not limited to, class materials, books, class records, and attendance information.

FACILITY POLICY

All classroom courses will be taught in a classroom-style facility.

COURSE COMPLETION CERTIFICATE POLICY

Classroom:
Every reasonable effort shall be made to provide students with a printed certificate of completion immediately after the course as they leave the classroom. If a student leaves without their certificate or one cannot be made physically available to them at that time, we will send a PDF copy via email or a hard copy to the student’s address of record upon request and according to our attendance records.

Certificates shall have at least: the course name, instructor name and signature, date(s) of instruction, student name and license information (where applicable), course location, number of course hours, AQB course approval and hours (if applicable), and state approval and hours (if applicable).

If the name under which you registered is not the name that should appear on your certificate, we will modify your certificate upon your request.

For states requiring electronic submission, a la mode will submit your credit hours according to the requirements of each state. Credit hours will be issued in the state of residence on-file with a la mode. If you are licensed in more than one state or jurisdiction, a la mode will upload to the appropriate board of your choice upon your request.

All requests for changes or updates to certificates and electronic submissions must be submitted via email to our training team within ten (10) business days following the event, or prior to your state’s reporting policy period if less.

Webinars:
Completion certificates and letters will be presented to students via email or regular mail that have satisfactorily completed a course within ten (10) business days of the end date of the webinar.

Certificates shall have at least: the course name, instructor name and signature, date(s) of instruction, student name and license information (where applicable), course location, number of course hours, AQB course approval and hours (if applicable), and state approval and hours (if applicable).

COURSE SCHEDULING POLICY

Our courses will be scheduled so students spend no more than 7 hours in the classroom on any given day. For webinars, students will receive a 10 minute break approximately every hour, and will have at least a 30 minute break between sections (phases) of a course. For classroom instruction, students will have a minimum of one hour for lunch, as well as time for appropriate breaks throughout the day.

COURSE PROVIDER CANCELLATION POLICY

a la mode shall make every effort to conduct classes in host cities on their respective scheduled dates and times. If a la mode must cancel a class for reasons out of their control, such as, but not limited to: weather, acts of God, terrorism, etc., a la mode shall either reschedule the course for a later time or provide a refund of the registration fee to students – or offer them the choice, at the discretion of a la mode.

REFUND POLICY

If you cancel your registration at least fourteen (14) calendar days in advance, a la mode will refund your registration fee in full at your request.

INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATIONS POLICY

a la mode uses only internal employees to teach Continuing Education courses; instructors are not contracted. Our instructors must meet, at a minimum, one of the following AQB requirements:

1. A baccalaureate degree (or equivalent) in any field and three (3) years of experience directly related to the subject matter to be taught;
2. A Master’s degree in any field (or equivalent) and one (1) year of experience directly related to the subject matter to be taught;
3. A Master’s or higher degree in a field that is directly related to the subject matter to be taught;
4. Five (5) years of real estate appraisal teaching experience directly related to the subject matter to be taught; or
5. Seven (7) years of real estate appraisal experience directly related to the subject matter to be taught.

RECORD RETENTION POLICY

We maintain records and registration in our internal database, with redundancy and backup policies in effect. Course records are retained for a minimum of five (5) years, and will contain the following information if collected: student name, address, telephone, email, appraisal license number and issuing state or agency, course date, grades from any assessments, registration fee, and a record of satisfactory completion.

USPAP CONSIDERATIONS

Course instructors are not USPAP instructors and any interpretation of USPAP is not an official stance of a la mode. However, portions of this course are affected by the following sections of the current edition of USPAP:

• Ethics rule – Discussed in the context of signing reports electronically.
• Record keeping rule – Discussed in the context of the Digital Workfile in TOTAL.

USPAP is available online at http://www.USPAP.org

BOARD VIDEO POLICY (GEORGIA REQUIREMENT)

If the Board requires the playing of an audio or video file before, during, or after class, a la mode will play and show that video on-screen and over the sound system per the Board’s instructions.