Pending Cases: The Commission entered into consent agreements to suspend 6 licenses, closed cases without action against 3 licensees, accepted the voluntary surrenders of 2 licensees, rejected a proposed consent agreement involving 1 licensee reprimanded 4 licensees, and ordered a hearing in a case involving 1 licensee.
License Applications Involving Character Issues: License applicants who have character issues such as prior criminal convictions or disciplinary action by another licensing board are separately considered by the Commission. Decisions are made based upon criminal background checks, information supplied by the applicant, and in-person interviews.
Total candidates considered: 14; total approved: 9.
License Examination Results: A summary of key data relating to persons taking the exam for the first time is provided below:
Individuals Tested for the First Time | ||||
Took prelicense course | Hold license from another state | |||
April 2022 | May 2021 through April 2022 | April 2022 | May 2021 through April 2022 | |
# Tested | 715 | 7370 | 39 | 295 |
% Pass both sections | 58% | 41% | N/A | N/A |
% Pass National section | 80% | 73% | N/A | N/A |
% Pass State section | 47% | 42% | 26% | 30% |
Legislative Report: The The Directory of the Regulatory Affairs Division reviewed with the Commission the Legislative Report, noting that the General Assembly has been out for primaries, and there are no bills to be monitored at this time. Sheexpects legislative activity to begin the week of May 23, 2022.
2022 NCREC Educators Conference: Staff reported that as of May 17, 2022, 20% of licensees had renewed their licenses, as opposed to 17% at the same time last year.
Distance Education Provider Audits: The Executive Director reminded the Commission that during COVID and by emergency rule, education providers were permitted to teach prelicensing and postlicensing courses in an asynchronous manner for the first time but at the last minute determined not to require ARELLO approval of the courses. It was then determined by the Commission to allow the courses to be taught without any approval by staff as there were no rules in place for staff approval. In 2021, the Commission allowed these courses to be renewed with only the certification of the education provider submitting the courses assuring the Commission that the courses were in compliance with the requirements that became effective July 1, 2021. Commission staff began auditing courses to ensure compliance with Commission rules. The results of the audits completed to date indicate that, three of the audited asynchronous/distance NC Broker Prelicensing courses were found not in compliance as required by Commission Rules, including Rules 58H .0205, .0401, and .0415. The Executive Director noted also that two of the three owners of these courses resell them to other education providers who then offer the course to students under their name, creating a total of approximately thirty providers offering courses to students that fail to meet minimal requirements. Following discussion, the Commission voted unanimously to withdraw approval for the three distance education NC Broker Prelicensing courses effective the date the notice is sent; further, that the Commission will not renew the courses until they are brought into compliance, at which time the education provider must reapply for approval, and further, that the education providers must not enter into new contracts with students but must honor contracts with existing students, including the 180 day period to complete the course as required by Commission rules.
Report on License Numbers: As of May 1, 2022, there are 126,675 brokers and firms licensed by the Commission, as follows:
Next Commission Meeting: The next Commission meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m., Wednesday June 22, 2022, and can be viewed via Zoom online video.