OAR 161-020-0110: Qualifying Education Course Content Guidelines

(1) General Guidelines: (a) With exception to AQB-approved courses on Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations, a Qualifying Education Course must be a real estate appraisal course that involves a minimum of fifteen classroom hours of instruction (including examination time) on acceptable topics; (b) The course must generally be broad in scope and must cover various principles, concepts, standards, practices and/or methods that are applicable generally to the performance of a wide range of appraisal assignments that will commonly be encountered by licensed or certified appraisers. The course must be intended to provide the student with a broad-based foundation of knowledge and skills in real estate appraising; (c) Coverage in a course of additional specific topics not listed as typical specific topics under the categories of acceptable courses will not exclude that course from consideration provided that: (A) The principal focus of the course is not on such additional topics; (B) The additional topics covered are appropriate (consistent with course learning objectives); and (C) The course contains not less than fifteen classroom hours of instruction on acceptable topics. However, the course must still be consistent with the parameters described in these rules. (d) The section titled “Unacceptable Courses” describes specifically the categories of courses that are not acceptable as qualifying education under these rules; (e) Courses will be evaluated based on their content without regard to the course title; (f) The following factors shall be used to convert university, college, junior college and community college course credits into classroom hours: (A) One (1) semester credit hour is equivalent to 1.5 quarter credit hours. (B) One (1) quarter hour credit is equivalent to .67 semester credit hours. (2) Qualifying Education Requirements for Licensure and/or Certification: (a) Only courses approved by the AQB “Required Core Curriculum” will be credited toward the education requirements. Approved courses have been assigned to curricula as follows: (A) Basic Appraisal Principles; (B) Basic Appraisal Procedures; (C) Residential Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use; (D) Residential Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach; (E) Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches; (F) Residential Report Writing and Case Studies; (G) Statistics, Modeling and Finance; (H) Advanced Residential Applications and Case Studies; (I) General Appraiser Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use; (J) General Appraiser Sales Comparison Approach; (K) General Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach; (L) General Appraiser Income Approach; (M) General Appraiser Report Writing and Case Studies; (N) The Appraisal Foundation's 15-Hour National USPAP Course or its equivalent; (O) Appraisal Subject Matter Elective courses. (P) Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations (b) For state licensed appraisers, courses in the following categories and credit hours must be completed with the successful passage of an examination, as specified in the AQB Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria and these rules: (A) Course(s) on Basic Appraisal Principles (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (B) Course(s) on Basic Appraisal Procedures (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (C) Course(s) on Residential Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use (15 hours); (D) Course(s) on Residential Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (15 hours); (E) Course(s) on Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches (30 hours in no less than 15 hour increments); (F) Course(s) on Residential Report Writing and Case Studies (15 hours) (G) The Appraisal Foundation's 15-Hour National USPAP Course or its equivalent (15 hours) (H) Effective January 1, 2026, course(s) on Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations (8 hours). (c) For state certified residential appraisers, courses in the following categories and credit hours must be completed with the successful passage of an examination, as specified in the AQB Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria and these rules: (A) Course(s) on Basic Appraisal Principles (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (B) Course(s) on Basic Appraisal Procedures (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (C) Course(s) on Residential Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use (15 hours); (D) Course(s) on Residential Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (15 hours); (E) Course(s) on Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches (30 hours in no less than 15 hour increments); (F) Course(s) on Residential Report Writing and Case Studies (15 hours); (G) Course(s) on Statistics, Modeling and Finance (15 hours); (H) Course(s) on Advanced Residential Applications and Case Studies (15 hours); (I) Appraisal Subject Matter Electives (12 hours); (J) The Appraisal Foundation's 15-Hour National USPAP Course or its equivalent (15 hours) (K) Effective January 1, 2026, course(s) on Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations (8 hours). (d) For state certified general appraisers, courses in the following categories and credit hours must be completed with the successful passage of an examination, as specified in the AQB Real Property Appraiser Qualification Criteria and these rules: (A) Course(s) on Basic Appraisal Principles (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (B) Course(s) on Basic Appraisal Procedures (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (C) Course(s) on General Appraiser Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (D) Course(s) on Statistics, Modeling and Finance (15 hours); (E) Course(s) on General Appraiser Sales Comparison Approach (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (F) Course(s) on General Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (G) Course(s) on General Appraiser Income Approach (60 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (H) Course(s) on General Appraiser Report Writing and Case Studies (30 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (I) Appraisal Subject Matter Electives (22 hours in not less than 15 hour increments); (J) The Appraisal Foundation's 15-Hour National USPAP Course or its equivalent (15 hours) (K) Effective January 1, 2026, course(s) on Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations (8 hours). (3) Acceptable Courses. Listed below are the categories of courses that are acceptable under these rules: (a) Courses on Basic Appraisal Principles (30 hours). A course(s) in this category must be broad in scope and focus on basic real estate appraisal concepts, principles, and methods that are applicable generally to the appraisal of most types of real estate. Basic Appraisal Principles courses would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Real Property Concepts and Characteristics: (i) Basic Real Property Concepts; (ii) Real Property Characteristics; (iii) Legal Description. (B) Legal Consideration: (i) Forms of Ownership; (ii) Public and Private Controls; (iii) Real Estate Contracts; (iv) Leases. (C) Influences on Real Estate Values: (i) Governmental; (ii) Economic; (iii) Social; (iv) Environmental, Geographic and Physical. (D) Types of Value: (i) Market Value; (ii) Other Value Types. (E) Economic Principles: (i) Classical Economic Principles; (ii) Application and Illustrations of the Economic Principles. (F) Overview of Real Estate Markets and Analysis: (i) Market Fundamentals, Characteristics, and Definitions; (ii) Supply Side Analysis; (iii) Demand Analysis; (iv) Use of Market Analysis; (G) Ethics and How They Apply in Appraisal Theory and Practice; (H) Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations. (b) Courses on Basic Appraisal Procedures (30 hours). A course(s) in this category must be broad in scope and focus on basic real estate appraisal procedures that are applicable generally to the appraisal of most types of real estate. Basic Appraisal Procedures courses would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Overview of Approaches to Value; (B) Valuation Procedures: (i) Defining the Problem; (ii) Collecting and Selecting Data; (iii) Analyzing; (iv) Reconciling and Final Value Opinion; (v) Communicating the Appraisal. (C) Property Description: (i) Geographic Characteristics of the Land/Site; (ii) Geologic Characteristics of the Land/Site; (iii) Location and Neighborhood Characteristics; (iv) Land/Site Considerations for Highest and Best Use; (v) Improvements Architectural Styles and Types of Construction; (vi) Special Energy Efficient Characteristics of the Improvements. (D) Residential Applications. (c) Courses on Residential Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use (15 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Residential Markets and Analysis: (i) Market Fundamentals, Characteristics and Definitions; (ii) Supply Side Analysis; (iii) Demand Analysis; (iv) Use of Market Analysis. (B) Highest and Best Use: (i) Test Constraints; (ii) Application of Highest and Best Use; (iii) Special Considerations; (iv) Market Analysis; (v) Case Studies. (d) Courses on Residential Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (15 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Site Valuation: (i) Methods; (ii) Case Studies. (B) Cost Approach: (i) Concepts and Definitions; (ii) Replacement/Reproduction Cost New; (iii) Accrued Depreciation; (iv) Methods of Estimating Accrued Depreciation; (v) Case Studies. (e) Courses on Residential Sales Comparison and Income Approaches (30 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Valuation Principles & Procedures - Sales Comparison Approach; (B) Valuation Principles & Procedures - Income Approach; (C) Finance and Cash Equivalency; (D) Financial Calculator Introduction; (E) Identification, Derivation and Measurement of Adjustments; (F) Gross Rent Multipliers; (G) Partial Interests; (H) Reconciliation; (I) Case Studies and Applications. (f) Courses on Residential Report Writing and Case Studies (15 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Writing and Reasoning Skills; (B) Common Writing Problems; (C) Form Reports; (D) Report Options and USPAP Compliance; (E) Case Studies. (g) Courses on Statistics, Modeling and Finance (15 hours) that would include the following specific topics: (A) Statistics; (B) Valuation Models (AVM’s and Mass Appraisal); (C) Real Estate Finance. (h) Courses on Advanced Residential Applications and Case Studies (15 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Complex Property, Ownership and Market Conditions; (B) Deriving and Supporting Adjustments; (C) Residential Market Analysis; (D) Advanced Case Studies. (i) Courses on General Appraiser Market Analysis and Highest and Best Use (30 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Real Estate Markets and Analysis: (i) Market Fundamentals, Characteristics and Definitions; (ii) Supply Side Analysis; (iii) Demand Analysis; (iv) Use of Market Analysis. (B) Highest and Best Use (i) Test Constraints; (ii) Application of Highest and Best Use; (iii) Special Considerations; (iv) Market Analysis; (v) Case Studies. (j) Courses on General Appraiser Sales Comparison Approach (30 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Value Principles; (B) Procedures; (C) Identification and Measurement of Adjustments; (D) Reconciliation; (E) Case Studies. (k) Courses on General Appraiser Site Valuation and Cost Approach (30 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Site Valuation: (i) Methods; (ii) Case Studies. (B) Cost Approach: (i) Concepts and Definitions; (ii) Replacement/Reproduction Cost New; (iii) Accrued Depreciation; (iv) Methods of Estimating Accrued Depreciation; (v) Case Studies. (l) Courses on General Appraiser Income Approach (60 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Overview; (B) Compound Interest; (C) Lease Analysis; (D) Income Analysis; (E) Vacancy and Collection Loss; (F) Estimating Operating Expenses and Reserves; (G) Reconstructed Income and Expense Statement; (H) Stabilized Net Operating Income Estimate; (I) Direct Capitalization; (J) Discounted Cash Flow; (K) Yield Capitalization; (L) Partial Interests; (M) Case Studies. (m) Courses on General Appraiser Report Writing and Case Studies (30 hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Writing and Reasoning Skills; (B) Common Writing Problems; (C) Report Options and USPAP Compliance; (D) Case Studies. (n) Courses on Valuation Bias and Fair Housing Laws and Regulations (8 Hours) that would substantially include the following specific topics: (A) Understanding Real Estate Bias: (i) Historical Context; (ii) Contemporary Context. (B) Federal Fair Housing and Antidiscrimination Laws and Regulations: (i) Laws and Regulations; (ii) Key Legal Concepts. (C) Valuation Bias: (i) Components of Valuation Bias; (ii) Recognizing and Avoiding Valuation Bias. (D) Case Studies: (i) Current Valuation Bias Topics; (ii) Best Practices for Avoiding Valuation Bias. (o) Courses eligible for approval as elective courses for Qualifying Education. These courses are considered more appropriate for Continuing Education than for Qualifying Education under these rules, but can qualify as electives if they are at least 15 hours in duration and an exam is required. Courses must focus primarily on advanced concepts/methods, a specialized aspect of real estate appraising, or appraising one specific type of property. Examples of course topics may include, but are not limited to the following: (A) Real Estate Investment Analysis; (B) Feasibility Analysis; (C) Condemnation Appraising/Right of Way Appraising; (D) Review Appraising; (E) Mass Appraisal; (F) Subdivision Analysis; (G) Litigation/Testifying as Expert Witness; (H) Appraising Condominiums; (I) Appraising Manufactured Housing; (J) Appraising Multi-Family Housing; (K) Appraising Office Buildings; (L) Appraising Farms; (M) Appraising Land; (N) Appraising Machinery and Equipment. (O) The Appraisal Foundation's 15-Hour National USPAP Course or its equivalent (4) Courses not eligible for approval as Qualifying Education. These types of courses are considered more appropriate for Continuing Education than for Qualifying Education under these rules. Such courses focus all or a vast majority of their instruction on only one comparatively narrow aspect of real estate appraising and examine that one aspect in depth. These types of courses focus on topics such as: (a) Estimating Building Costs; (b) Estimating Accrued Depreciation; (c) Cash Equivalency; (d) Ellwood Mortgage-Equity Analysis; (e) Use of Financial Calculators in Appraising; (f) Valuation of Partial Interests.