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Higher learning; Appraisal Institute's new and redesigned programs raise the bar on professional development.

Article Excerpt
The Appraisal Institute has substantially revamped one of its major required educational offerings, developed a new 15-hour course overview, and started developing more specialized certificate programs to ensure its members stay on top of their game and ahead of the field. The forthcoming Appraisal Curriculum Overview (ACO) and the revised Business Practices and Ethics course (Course 420) are both required for internal continuing education, and additional certificate programs that are in the works should appeal to all appraisers nationwide.

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Appraisal Curriculum Overview

The new two-day educational program Appraisal Curriculum Overview is scheduled for release in early 2009. It furthers the Appraisal Institute's objective of improving the quality of the appraisal profession through quality education and a designation program with rigorous requirements. The Appraisal Curriculum Overview is designed to 1) familiarize appraisers with the rigorous content covered in the new qualifying education courses required by the Appraiser Qualifications Board; 2) show appraisers recent developments of residential and general applications in the appraisal profession; 3) provide appraisers with practice in applying market analysis and highest and best use concepts and procedures; 4) provide appraisers with the opportunity to evaluate appraisal strengths as well as determine skill areas in which to seek further knowledge; and 5) provide appraisers with recommended sources to refer to in order to improve skills and advance knowledge base.

Anne Calek, Appraisal Institute's senior manager of classroom education, said the course--proposed in 2006 as a course similar to its current Business Practices and Ethics--grew beyond its original premise of "educat[ing] our members, keeping them up to par with our current requirements and exposed to the newest curriculum."

Originally, the thought was to use content from the Level II courses (500 courses: Advanced Income Capitalization, Highest and Best Use and Market Analysis, Advanced Sales Comparison and Cost Approaches, Report Writing and Valuation Analysis and Advanced Applications), additional material from the new advanced general appraiser curriculum, and content from the new residential appraiser qualifying education courses, Calek explained. Then development began in earnest in 2007, after the 15 new qualifying education curriculum courses had been premiered. Although the title of the course changed (from Advanced Curriculum Overview), the original rationale is, for the most part, the same. In part, the ACO:

* provides exposure to rigorous content covered in new required qualifying education courses. The course will point out the changes in requirements that the AQB has...

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