Q. Are there refunds
A. No, and it is not a matter of wanting to keep your hard earned money, but rather a matter of practicality. In the past, students have signed, paid and then not attended and wanted a refund. This has cost me time and a fee and usually can cost them a fee. Then people complain that I did not refund the full amount.
Q. If there are no refunds and I cannot make the class what happens.
A. You get to reschedule for the same or similar class that is the same length. If you still cannot attend, we can work out where another student can replace you and pay you separately.
Q. Are all your classes approved for continuing education (CE) or post license education (PLE)?
A. No, but the vast majority are if you are a Virginia licensees. Some CE classes do not have commensurate PLE credit and vice versa. There are a few classes that are informational and do not have any CE or PLE credit attached.
Q. So what about CE or other licensing required credit for non-Virginia licensees?
A. Granite Street Training is not licensed in any state other than Virginia and only Virginia CE or PLE is granted. If there can be an arrangement with licensing agencies or schools in other states I would be happy to explore that.
Q. How do you vett the instructors?
A. I especially like to answer this question as it is important to both you and my school. The instructors that GST uses are each vetted by me and may also be checked upon and referred by some other professional instructors I use and/or respect. However, the final decision and ultimate responsibility falls upon my shoulders. If you have a problem I want to hear about it.
Q. So how do we tell you what we think of a class?
A. Within 5 business days you will receive a survey. There is also our Facebook page for you to let everyone know of your experience. Additionally, you will get my email address and I welcome feedback. Now to be clear, I welcome constructive comments, but because you may have felt you had a bad experience does not mean I am not using that instructor again.
Q. What is important to you in selecting other instructors for GST?
A. They must be professional and have industry experience. I must have been in their class or at a minimum, have an instructor I respect recommend them. Finally, they have to be engaging, interesting and relate to the students. There is nothing more boring and demotivating to me than sitting in a class while the instructor drones on and stands rigid behind a podium; I promise you won’t get that from GST instuctors!
Q. Where do you and your instructors get your class material?
A. Much of it is generated by the instructor, but we also have state guidance as to what some classes must include. Additionally, the REALTOR® Code of Ethics and Fair Housing classes meet both the Virginia and National Association of REALTORs® (NAR) mandates on what must be taught.
Q. What about NAR certifications and designations?
A. For the NAR certifications and designations the material is created by NAR. Now there are supplemental documents that we also provide, but the class slides are from NAR and cannot be shared. Also, all certifications and designations receive some CE and some PLE.
Q. How do you determine what we are charged for CE/PLE? Many associations give this for free.
A. Yep, there are associations that do it for free and it is part of your dues. However, because so many people sign up and then don’t attend, associations are also charging a reservation fee that is returned if you attend and is not returned if you don’t show up. We run into the same thing. The difference is that with the GST instructors if students don’t show then our time is wasted; we either instruct a much smaller class or cancel and disappoint; we want to do neither. Additionally, our instructors get paid whether they instruct or not as their time, experience and knowledge has value.
Q. How about NAR classes?
A. Same as above, but there is an annual fee GST pays NAR to be licensed to instruct NAR classes. Additionally, GST pays a royalty fee to NAR for each student in a certification or designation class. I try to make the costs as competitive as possible, but again, our instructors have time, experience and knowledge invested.