Education Program Strategic Review. Phase 1 Continuing Education June 2014

Transcription

1 2014 Education Program Strategic Review Phase 1 Continuing Education June 2014

2 Introduction Early in 2012, the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) initiated a comprehensive review of its education program. The review covered registration education for individuals aspiring to enter the real estate industry, as well as ongoing continuing education for those registered to trade in real estate across Ontario. This is a multifaceted initiative, starting with initial research and analysis of workplace readiness learning and leading practices, followed by dedicated focus on recommended requirements for industry-specific learning programs. The goal of the initiative is to implement a new education program that balances RECO s mandate of consumer protection with sound adult learning methodology. The outcome will be a comprehensive program that ensures registrants have the skills, knowledge and abilities they require to trade in real estate in Ontario. The program will also address when in the registration cycle skills, knowledge and abilities are required and how they are best acquired by learners. The Approach Given the size of the program, it was decided a two-phased approach should be used to complete the review. The first phase would cover continuing education, while the second would address registration education pre-registration and articling. It was also imperative that the review involve external experts to undertake the necessary independent research and stakeholder outreach and identify leading practices in all aspects of education. Phase One Continuing Education The Experts Following a competitive selection process, RECO selected Benchmark Performance Inc. (Benchmark), an award winning performance consulting and training design firm, to lead the initial phases of this initiative. Benchmark has over 20 years of experience in providing performance consulting and innovative training design to organizations across all sectors. The Analysis Benchmark conducted a front-end analysis of the existing programs, adult and workplace learning leading practices and comparable education programs in other Canadian real estate jurisdictions. The scope of the initial analysis included both registration and continuing education programs. An executive summary of Benchmark s efforts and findings is attached. With the analysis, Benchmark then worked with RECO to define and structure the new Mandatory Continuing Education program that launched on August 1, This report highlights specifics about the new program, the background in determining the program structure to best meet the learning needs and objectives, and the success of the program thus far. 1 of 7

3 While we will continue to add to the continuing education program course offerings and enhance the learner experience, efforts are now focusing on next steps with regards to the registration education program. Phase Two Registration Education In the second phase of the project, RECO, with the assistance of external experts, will review the registration education program encompassing pre-registration, articling and broker. Deloitte Inc. has been engaged to assist with analysis of options for constructing, administering and managing a leading practices registration education program, based on the feedback, input and recommendations tabled in the initial front-end analysis conducted by Benchmark. Following the review and analysis, RECO will outline a proposed direction for the program. RECO will publish the findings of the research along with the proposed direction and allow for a period for public comment. RECO believes there is an appetite for changes to the program, but any changes must be well founded based on clearly articulated objectives. 2 of 7

4 A New Direction for Continuing Education In an effort to enhance professional standards and increase consumer confidence, RECO s Board of Directors approved the implementation of a Mandatory Continuing Education Program effective January 1, The program has served the profession well, but it was clear there was an appetite for change. Since the original continuing education model was established in 2000, new technology and learning methodologies created many opportunities to enhance our approach to continuous professional development. RECO chose to reassess the program and determine opportunities to leverage the latest workplace learning leading practices in order to better serve the wide range of needs of those in the sector. We recognized the importance of having a mandatory continuing education program focused on regulatory issues, based on topics relevant and applicable to registrants everyday trading activities that is consistent in delivery for all registrants. While we acknowledge that there are many skills and abilities required to be successful in real estate, many of these do not fall within the realm of our mandate as a regulator. The new approach enables registrants to complete the mandatory program while allowing them to tailor their personal and professional development to target individual learning needs in areas like: Non-regulatory topics Regional/niche market specifics Individual learning needs such as sales skills, marketing, etc. The new Mandatory Continuing Education Program The new program requires completion of one Mandatory Update Course and two Elective Courses per registration cycle. Registrants are able to go beyond the minimum requirements and complete any of the courses available. In addition, registrants will continue to look to third-party education providers for high-quality education that is beyond the scope of the new mandatory continuing education program, much as they did before RECO implemented continuing education in of 7

5 The Research Process In order to gather a broad range of perspectives in our review of the continuing education program, Benchmark consulted with stakeholders including registrants, education providers, and real estate associations, and collected input from other industry associations and regulatory bodies. Over 5,300 registrants were asked to provide input via surveys, and over 2,400 were invited to participate in focus groups. All real estate boards and approved education providers were invited to participate in focus groups as well. 4 of 7

6 Research Based Conclusions The research findings showed a desire for a continuing education program that is practical, applicable to registrants day-to-day work, flexible and convenient. Registrants also expressed that RECO s focus on any mandatory program should be solely on topics that support RECO s mandate of consumer protection, professionalism and ethics, and business needs that support regulatory matters. The feedback gathered by the surveys and focus groups identified areas where our approach to continuing education could be enhanced in order to better meet registrants needs. Most importantly, over 60% of respondents identified online learning as an optimal learning delivery channel. Making the courses flexible, practical, and focused on regulatory compliance became the key objectives in the development of the new program. To meet these objectives, RECO launched the new mandatory continuing education program on August 1, A $44 fee per registration cycle allows access to all available course content for the duration of the registration cycle. The program was designed using leading technology to provide a user-friendly experience. The content itself is rich and varied, includes interactive activities with both text and audio, to suit a variety of learning styles. Performance support tools and guides are introduced within many courses and made available for registrants to access after courses are completed for use in their day-today activities. To support registrants in migrating to the new program we structured the renewal process to offer the choice of renewing their registrations under either the original or the new program, or a hybrid of both, for their first registration renewal after the new program was introduced. 5 of 7

7 Program Success We have achieved the goal of creating a flexible, relevant and convenient program that meets the learning needs of registrants and delivers essential information consistently across the province. We are already realizing many of the benefits of the new program design, which are set out below: It allows us to react quickly to changing needs and post revised content very quickly. We are able to ensure delivery of important RECO-specific content and target course content to both residential and commercial sectors, salespersons and management roles, plus individual courses in areas of high impact common to everyone. It provides efficiencies in record keeping for both registrants and RECO; both can see where an individual is in the training and registrants will not have to submit any additional paperwork as part of their registration renewal. The program is user friendly, in terms of availability and accessibility. In addition to being visually appealing and easy to use, it also meets or exceeds Ontario legislative accessibility requirements. The program provides a consistent learning experience for all. Between launch of the program and RECO s fiscal year end (August 2013 to March 2014), over 16,300 registrants signed up for the new program, and over 32,000 courses were completed. The following chart indicates that registrants are migrating to completion of the new program to satisfy their CE requirements for renewal. 6 of 7

8 Registration renewals August 1 - March 31 Hybrid/Comb o of new & old programs (19%) Original program (41%) New program (40%) The new program allows registrants to complete a survey at the end of each course in order to provide feedback on the content and ease of use. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. 93% -Content was interesting and easy to follow 96% - Content is relevant to my real estate practice 95% - Course activities gave opportunity to apply learning 94% - Enjoyed flexibility and self-pace of elearning Registrants are pleased with the support tools and checklists that are provided to assist with learning objectives and the fact that they are able to work on courses at their own pace, wherever and whenever is convenient for them, and that they can easily track their completion online through MyWeb. Registrants comments that the inclusion of topics such as advertising through social media and business planning, coupled with realistic case studies and scenarios, demonstrate that the new program is current, practical and relevant. The courses use real estate specific examples to illustrate key concepts and make them easier to understand and apply. Registrants also appreciate the fact that courses can be accessed 24/7, around their business activities. Since the program was launched, we ve taken into account registrant survey feedback about navigation and subject matter in order to further tailor the program to suit registrants. We ve also set out a plan for future elective courses based on the topics suggested by registrants. Thanks to the input from all who participated in the surveys and focus groups, and to the additional input from registrants who have tried the new online system, RECO has succeeded in strengthening the Mandatory Continuing Education program and making it an important program that benefits registrants as well as the consumers who seek their guidance and advice. 7 of 7