How E-Class GRI Courses Work
Welcome to the Next Generation of Distance Learning!
Coaching and Education Come Together in E-Class Courses
E-Class courses are NOT "online" courses in the traditional sense. Most online courses simply mean pointing-and-clicking your way through pages of information on the Internet, answering multiple-choice questions along the way. Most of those courses rarely, if ever, include interaction - even by email - with fellow students or with an Instructor.
E-Class courses represent a very different type of distance learning for real estate. E-Class GRI courses give TAR members the ability to pursue their GRI designation in a non-traditional way that still preserves, even enhances, interaction with other students and with a knowledgeable Instructor-Coach!
Students can even "mix and match" courses - taking some GRI courses in E-Class format and others in the classroom! And every E-Class GRI course is accredited for 16 hours of CE, just like classroom GRI courses.
You can access the current schedule of E-Class AND Classroom GRI Courses HERE!
TAR knows the demands of today's busy schedules. Any course can take away vital time from business and personal obligations. E-Class courses, however, involve no travel whatsoever, and therefore no travel expense! E-Class GRI courses involve work-related reading and written interaction with an Instructor-Coach and fellow classmates. They offer a lot of flexibility to busy REALTORS!
"I just completed my first E-Class GRI course, but my fourth GRI course overall. I found the E-Class GRI course to be very challenging, in a good way," remarked one student. "The online class allows you to read the assignment and respond at your pace and schedule. I felt I took more away, and reading other students' responses was also helpful."
Each course lasts five weeks, and each class consists of no more than 20 students. Students in a course begin and end together, as a class. An experienced Instructor-Coach facilitates the class and gives individual feedback to each E-Class student, usually weekly. The Instructor-Coach can also be contacted throughout the course for questions about the lessons or additional educational resources.
"I took all my GRI courses through distance learning from the comfort of my home. In a business such as ours, where the car is the office, it was good to sit in front of my computer and interact with a class," said another student. "I cannot say enough about the E-Class and what a great foundation it has been for me. When I learned a new technique by interacting with other real estate professionals, I was so excited to go out and try it immediately."
E-Class GRI courses require direct involvement in the course through participation in the weekly Student Challenges - questions that give you problem-solving experience and practical ideas for your business. You'll also contribute to discussions of the Instructor-Coach's two weekly topics. There is an online forum, accessible by only the Instructor-Coach and students, where responses to discussion topics are posted and can be read by all of the class members.
E-Class Course "weeks" begin on Thursdays and end on Wednesdays, and each course involves fixed weekly deadlines for assignments. All assignments, however, can be completed and posted at your convenience anytime prior to those deadlines. Students never have to be online at the same time. Through efficient work, a student typically needs to invest approximately four hours of reading and writing per week to keep up with coursework and successfully complete the course. Each course earns 16 hours of CE credit in Tennessee.
E-Class GRI courses are designed for REALTORS who welcome a challenge, don't mind sharing their ideas with others, and really want to equip themselves for long-term success. The skills these courses reinforce - using the Internet more comfortably, communicating with others in written form, and finding answers to real questions and solutions to real problems - are all essential in today's wired economy.
WHEN YOU ENROLL
On or before the first day of the course, you will receive (by e-mail) an ID and password to access the E-Class Course area for the course in which you're enrolled, on the TAR Learning Center. There you'll find a link to download your Student Handbook [in PDF format] for the entire 5-week course. The Student Handbook contains the readings for the course and/or Internet links to the readings and resources you'll need, your weekly assignments, and other course information. Only you and the students enrolled in this class (and the Instructor-Coach) can access the private E-Class Course area.
On or before the first day of the course, you will post a photo of yourself and a brief Personal Profile, introducing yourself to the rest of the class (and to your Instructor-Coach).
You can access your Instructor-Coach by e-mail throughout the course for any questions about the lessons, or about other resources you might want to access for help or ideas.
GRADING
In order to pass the course, you must:
- Complete all five written Student Challenges, one per week;
- Post responses to the assigned Discussions for the week, each 75 words or more; and
- Verify that you have read all five lessons in your Student Handbooks and companion materials.
Doing the above, on time, guarantees a grade of 80. For each week that an individual's work is considered exceptional, the Instructor-Coach may award extra credit. Points, on the other hand, will be deducted for any work that is late. No grade will be given until your final written assignment has been submitted. No credit will be given for partial completion of the course. A passing grade for the course is 70. [One week after the course's official ending date, all grades are finalized. Students whose work is still incomplete receive a failing grade at this time.]
THE BOTTOM LINE
As we've said, E-Class Courses are not traditional "online" courses and they are probably not for everybody... they are designed for those REALTORS who don't mind sharing their ideas with others, and really want to equip themselves for long-term success in a changing industry.
The skills that our E-Class offerings require - to use e-mail effectively, to communicate in writing, and to find real answers to questions and real solutions to problems - are skills that all true professionals need in MUCH greater measure today, to excel as a REALTOR!
For more information about the TAR E-Class GRI courses, contact the TAR Education Department.
You can download a PDF copy of the above information by clicking HERE.