Educators meet in Raleigh

The continuing success of the annual Real Estate Educators Conference is testimony to the dedication of the Real Estate Commission and the state's real estate educators to excellence in prelicensing and continuing education programs.

Real estate educators from across the state gathered in Raleigh on May 14 and 15 for the seventeenth annual Real Estate Educators Conference. Participating in the conference were prelicensing and continuing education instructors, school directors, course sponsors and representatives of major publishers of real estate education materials - a total of 145 attendees. The conference was co-sponsored by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission and the North Carolina Real Estate Educators Association (NCREEA). The first day of the conference featured the1996-97 Continuing Education Update Course Instructor Seminar led by Larry A. Outlaw, the Commission's Director of Education and Licensing, and Special Deputy Attorney General Thomas R. Miller, the Commission's Legal Counsel. Prior to reviewing and discussing the proposed subject matter and materials for the new 1996-97 Update course, instructors reported their experiences in teaching the 1995-96 course.

Dr Joseph Lowman inspires and entertains participants... ...Director of Education and Licensing Larry Outlaw talks about the Update Course ...Education and Examination Officer Anita Burt addresses conference... ....and attendees take notes.

Input offered at the conference by experienced instructors will be reflected in the final course plan for the Commission's new Update course.

A presentation by Joseph Lowman, Professor of Psychology at UNC-Chapel Hill, was a highlight of the second day. Dr. Lowman discussed the attributes of outstanding teachers.

As part of the conference program, NCREEA held its annual meeting, installation of officers and awards ceremony to recognize outstanding contributions to real estate education during the past year.

NCREEA honored Fonville Morisey Center for Real Estate Studies for sponsoring the "Program of the Year" while "Educator of the Year" awards were shared by Cindy Chandler and Vickie Ferneyhough, both holders of the Distinguished Real Estate Instructor (DREI) designation. Outgoing chapter president Ann Bowman was honored for her service to NCREEA, and Peggy Bivins was installed as the new president.

Anita Burt, the Commission's Education and Examination Officer, and Mr. Outlaw reported on the status of the Commission's prelicensing and continuing education programs. They also reviewed proposed rule changes, highlighted areas of consistently poor performance on the licensing examinations, and held an open discussion of teaching difficult prelicensing topics. The educators responded favorably to the introduction at the conference of a new Commissionsponsored service designed to match owners of approved CE courses with prospective course sponsors. Participants were advised of the Commission's recently intensified CE course monitoring activities, conducted by Licensing Officer Pamela Milligan.

Also in attendance and assisting at the conference were the Commission's Applications Specialist Gloria Williams, Education and Examination Clerk Susan Tysor, and Continuing Education Clerk Faye Dunn. Continuing Education Officer Evelyn Johnston and Education Secretary Penny Childress helped with conference arrangements.