Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10, § 2188.2 - Course Approval

(a) Every provider desiring to obtain approval of a course shall submit to the Commissioner, on Form LIC 446-3 (Prelicensing/Continuing Education Program Course Approval Application), as set forth in Section 2188.50, or electronic submission when such services become available, along with the applicable filing fee specified in Section 1751.1 of the California Insurance Code. The course approval application form shall request the information including, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) The title of the course;

(2) A detailed statement of how each specific course is relevant to insurance topics or insurance products;

(3) A detailed outline of approximately one (1) page per hour of instruction for a contact course, including the time each topic is being presented, or a copy of all materials presented to each student and the time each topic is being presented;

(4) The number of credit hours requested for the course and how the number was determined;

(5) The applicable course category type of the intended audience;

(6) For a contact course: an agenda showing the beginning and ending times, breaks, and time allotted for examinations, if given;

(7) For a non-contact continuing education course: the final examination proposed to be used for the course; the examination questions shall not be in section/chapter order and shall include the answers along with a page and paragraph or for online continuing education, the section/chapter and screen reference for each answer to the source material; and a statement on how the provider will maintain the integrity of the examination; the length of time students have to complete a course; a copy of the examination instruction sheet that goes to the students; an explanation of how a course's completion date is determined, who maintains control of the answer key, what constitutes a passing grade and the provider's procedures in the event that a student fails an examination;

(8) When using another vendor's source material as the basis for the course, a current letter of authorization from the author or publisher; and

(9) Whether the course is open to the public.

(b) Every provider desiring to offer an approved contact course shall advise the Commissioner of the course's proposed location, including street address, city, state and zip code, and dates and times of the course. Such information shall be received by the Commissioner at least ten (10) days before the course offering is scheduled to begin. The provider shall provide this information on Form LIC 446-12 (Class Presentation Schedule), as set forth in Section 2188.50, or by electronic means provided by the Commissioner.

(c) Any requests for course approval shall be received by the Commissioner not less than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the course offering. The Commissioner shall inform all providers and provider applicants submitting such requests in writing by way of a letter or an email within seven (7) days from the Commissioner's receipt of an application that it is accepted for filing.

(1) Incomplete course applications shall remain active for one (1) year unless withdrawn by the applicant. After one (1) year, a new application is required, along with the applicable filing fee specified in Section 1751.1 of the California Insurance Code.

(2) Notification that an application is accepted by the Commissioner does not necessarily mean the Commissioner considers all information contained therein to be sufficient, and submission of insufficient information may be a basis for denial of course approval.

(3) The Commissioner shall decide whether to approve or reject a course within thirty (30) days of its receipt of a request, unless the provider has been notified of deficiencies; however the thirty-day (30) time period shall be tolled during any time that a provider or provider-applicant comes under formal investigation by the Commissioner.

(d) All advertisements for approved courses shall include the name of the provider, course title as approved by the Commissioner, license type for which the course is approved and the credit hour(s) assigned. No course shall be advertised as approved for credit until approved in writing by the Commissioner.

(e) A course may be advertised as submitted for approval if a complete filing, pursuant to Section 2188.2(a), has been submitted within the time specified by Section 2188.2(c), and if such advertisement includes an advisement, in at least the same size type as any language regarding the course having been submitted for approval, that the course is pending approval.

(f) A minor change is a change that only slightly changes the content of a course without introducing new subject matter. Minor changes to courses shall be reported in letter form to the Commissioner not less than thirty (30) days prior to implementation of the change. Changes that correct only spelling and/or grammar are not considered a change for the purposes of this subsection and do not need to be reported to the Commissioner.

(g) Major changes that affect presentation time or introduce new subject matter to the course content shall be filed as a new course. The course application shall be received by the Commissioner not less than thirty (30) days prior to the date of the first course offering using the new material. Use of a different source book is considered a major change.

(h) Any changes regarding the location or date of any previously approved course, or notification of any additional date or location offering of a previously approved course shall be submitted on Form LIC 446-12 (Class Presentation Schedule), as set forth in Section 2188.50, or by electronic means provided by the Commissioner. Such notification must be received by the Commissioner at least ten (10) days prior to the course offering. Late submission of a class presentation schedule must be accompanied by a letter of explanation signed by the provider director, in order for the Commissioner to consider the class presentation schedule for approval. Continued non-compliance with the notification requirements of this subsection, including any failure to submit a letter of explanation, shall be considered grounds for the rescission of a provider's certification.

(i) Credit hours for contact courses, such as seminars, workshops or conferences, are determined using a fifty (50) minute hour. A contact course student shall not receive more than 480 minutes per day of instruction. Credit hours for non-contact courses and the non-contact portion of a combination course shall be determined using a sixty (60) minute hour. Fractional hours or credit of less than one (1) hour shall not be granted.

(j) For a non-contact continuing education course, a provider must assure the Commissioner that adequate measures are employed to ensure that the student enrolled in the course is the same student that is completing the course examination by securing the student's signature on the course enrollment form. The student's signature may be secured utilizing an electronic method (e.g. Internet login or a completed enrollment form that is scanned and emailed) or written method (e.g. a completed enrollment form is faxed or sent by U.S. mail or other delivery services to the provider).

In addition, the provider shall secure the student's signature on the completed examination utilizing an electronic or the written method noted above. These signatures are to be retained by the provider as stated in Section 2188.4(b) and as proof that the student enrolled in the course was the individual who completed the examination. To determine credit hours for non-contact continuing education courses, a provider shall ensure that, at a minimum, the following measures are employed:

(1) Self-directed continuing education courses presented in hardcopy or portable document format (pdf) textbook or other format which are intended to be read by the student must contain a minimum of 4,600 words for each hour of credit. Credit hours for self-directed courses presented in audio and/or video format, which are not intended to be read by the student, will be based on the run-time of the course; or,

(2) Online continuing education courses presented in an Internet-based course content format intended to be read by the student must include a minimum of 4,600 words for each hour of credit. For courses that are not intended to be read by the student (i.e. audio and/or video files) the credit hours will be based on the run-time of the course. In addition, the provider must submit the Internet address to be used for the online continuing education course and provide online access, including log-on and password, to the Commissioner for review of course material; and,

(3) Time included for the course examination shall not be more than 15 percent of the course total credit hours; and,

(4) A final examination at the end of the course must contain a minimum of three (3) questions for each credit hour.

(k) An online continuing education course, as defined in section 2186.1(e)(2)(C), in addition to meeting the course approval requirements of Sections 2188.2 (a), (d), (e), (f), (g), (i), (j), (l), (m), (n),(o), and (p) shall include the following in the course:

(1) Demonstrate that reasonable measures have been taken to prevent student access to the online course examination before review of the online course materials;

(2) Demonstrate that reasonable measures have been taken to prevent student from alternately accessing the online course materials and online course examinations.

(3) Demonstrate that reasonable measures have been taken to prevent student downloading of any online course examination;

(4) Provide review questions at the end of each section/chapter for courses approved for two (2) or more continuing education credit hours and prevent student access to the final examination until each set of questions are answered at a 70 percent pass rate; and,

(5) Provide final online course examination questions that do not duplicate section/chapter questions.

(l) Subjects qualifying for continuing education course approval shall include, but not be limited to, insurance contract analysis, risk management techniques, and rating and classification sessions. The overriding consideration in determining whether a specific program or course qualifies for continuing education credit is that it be a structured learning program which contributes directly to the professional or technical competence of the individual licensed. Courses on nontraditional insurance products or programs may be acceptable if the course contributes to the professional or technical competence of the individual person in the capacity for which they are licensed.

(m) Continuing education course subjects that do not qualify for continuing education course approval shall include, but not be limited to sales training, motivational training, meetings offered by insurers to launch new products or programs, and self-improvement programs.

(n) Combination courses having identical content in both the non-contact and contact continuing education portions of the course may not be approved or may be subject to a reduction in requested credit hours.

(o) Courses may fail to qualify for continuing education credit if the subject matter is deemed to be too basic, or is not at least as comprehensive as any applicable portion of the prelicensing curriculum. Courses which have, as a majority of their allocated time, general subject matter such as economics, demographics, or taxation and law will be decided on a case-by-case basis. Courses on retirement planning, financial planning and estate planning may not qualify if the course curriculum does not reflect a substantial allocation of course time to training the agent to provide product-specific information to insurance consumers.

(p) No course approved for prelicensing or continuing education credit shall be construed to be endorsed by the Commissioner.

(q) Only a provider can offer and schedule an approved contact or non-contact course.

(r) When scheduled courses are cancelled, providers must take reasonable efforts to notify all students and maintain documentation of those efforts.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 10, § 2188.2

1. New section filed 4-15-93; operative 5-17-93 (Register 93, No. 16).
2. Repealer and new section filed 8-23-96; operative 9-22-96 (Register 96, No. 34).
3. Amendment of subsections (a), (a)(3), (b), (c) and (f)-(i), repealer and new subsection (l), new subsection (m), subsection relettering and new NOTE filed 5-25-2006; operative 6-24-2006 (Register 2006, No. 21).
4. Amendment of subsections (a), (b) and (f)-(i), repealer and new subsection (j), new subsections (j)(1)-(3) and amendment of subsection (p) and NOTE filed 2-23-2010; operative 3-25-2010 (Register 2010, No. 9).
5. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 10-22-2014; operative 2-19-2015 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(2) (Register 2014, No. 43).

Note: Authority cited: Section 1749.7, Insurance Code. Reference: Sections 1749, 1749.1, 1749.2, 1749.3, 1749.31, 1749.32, 1749.33, 1749.4, 1749.5, 1749.6, 1749.8, 1749.85, 10113.2(b)(1)(A) and 10234.93(a)(4), Insurance Code.

1. New section filed 4-15-93; operative 5-17-93 (Register 93, No. 16).
2. Repealer and new section filed 8-23-96; operative 9-22-96 (Register 96, No. 34).
3. Amendment of subsections (a), (a)(3), (b), (c) and (f)-(i), repealer and new subsection (l), new subsection (m), subsection relettering and new Note filed 5-25-2006; operative 6-24-2006 (Register 2006, No. 21).
4. Amendment of subsections (a), (b) and (f)-(i), repealer and new subsection (j), new subsections (j)(1)-(3) and amendment of subsection (p) and Note filed 2-23-2010; operative 3-25-2010 (Register 2010, No. 9).
5. Amendment of section and Note filed 10-22-2014; operative 2/19/2015 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(2) (Register 2014, No. 43)