
WELCOME TO THE GATEWAY SCHOOL OF REAL ESTATE
Thank you for trusting us with the very important part of your quest to earn your Washington State Real Estate Brokers License. Many people have had the dream of working in the real estate industry. Unfortunately, most never get past the dreaming part. You have just done what most will not do. You have taken the all-important first step to making that dream a reality by enrolling in the Gateway School of Real Estate.
We are excited and honored that you chose us to get you through this very important part of your journey. We take this responsibility very seriously and will use all of our experience and knowledge to make this a success for you. Our goal is not just to provide the state-required 90 clock hours of pre-license education but to prepare you to pass the difficult brokers exam so you can get your license.
The following information will describe to you details about what you can expect from your class and what our expectations are from you to successfully complete the course.
REFUND/CANCELLATION POLICY
If for some reason you are unable to attend the course you registered for, you will receive a 100% refund of the tuition when you notify us prior to the course start date. There is no refund available once the course has started, but if something comes up during the course where you can no longer attend, we will work with you to help you possibly join another one of our courses at a later date, provided that you notify us right away. *At the discretion of the Instructor on a case-by-case basis.
TEXTBOOKS
Textbooks are not included in the cost of tuition. It is the responsibility of the student to order their books, so they arrive in time for the student to be prepared for the first class session. Books can be ordered directly from the publisher by calling Pam at Rockwell Publishing. Her phone number is 949-600-5039. Just let her know you are with the Gateway School of Real Estate. Or you can text your order to Pam at 949-296-4581.
You will need two textbooks, Rockwell Publishing Washington State Fundamentals 21st edition and Rockwell Publishing Washington State Practices 11th edition. Once you complete your order the publisher will ship your books directly to you. Any questions about textbooks will need to be directed to the publisher, Rockwell Publishing at 425-747-7272 or books@rockwellpublishing.com.
CLASS TIMES AND DATES
Classes are held on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. The starting time is 6:00 PM sharp. The student is expected to be signed into the class prior to the starting time. Every effort will be made to have the classes start and end at the designated times. However, due to how fluidity of the classroom setting we may run over a few minutes if the situation is necessary. It does not happen very often. Many times, the instructor will be available before and after class for specific questions that were not able to be addressed during class.
COURSE PROGRESSION
This is how you can expect the course to progress on a class-by-class progression. You should have both of your textbooks by the date of the first class. You will also have handout practice exams e-mailed to you that the class will be using that week. The student will be expected to have read the chapters that will be covered in the next upcoming class and completed the corresponding handout exam for that chapter(s).
On the first evening of class about ½ of the time will be used for orientation. During this time, we will do instructor introductions and explain the overall strategy for how a student will advance through the course to obtain their real estate broker’s license. The expectations outlined in this message will also be reviewed so the students can ask questions on points they do not fully
understand.
The second ½ of the first class is designated for chapter #1 in the Fundamentals textbook. The instructor will go over the chapter, in detail, page by page explaining the important points that the student will need to know to absorb the information from the chapter. Student questions are encouraged during this stage of the class. The student’s understanding of the material is our paramount concern. When the instructor has completed the chapter, they will go into the end-of-chapter quiz from the textbook. They will ask students (in no particular order) to read aloud the question from the book and then give the answer. Then another student will do the same for the next question and so on until the quiz has been completed.
When this has been completed, the instructor will have the students do the same process on the handout chapter quiz that was e-mailed to the students previously. Students are expected to complete both quizzes prior to class and be ready to participate when called upon. When this has been completed the instructor will usually ask if there are any additional questions. This will typically be the end of the class session time.
This is how the class sessions will continue through the entire textbook. Read the chapter, review the chapter in class with the instructor, go over the end-of-chapter book quiz together, go over the chapter handout quiz together then on to the next chapter. In some class sessions, we will be able to complete 2 chapters. Other chapters are longer and will be only one chapter per class session. The class will end on time even if the chapter has not been completed. The next class session will pick up where the last one left off.
MISSED CLASSES
The state department of licensing is fanatical about making sure that all students are in attendance for the entire 90 hours of class time. Since our course is set up to have 30 class sessions there may be a time when a student cannot make a session. Fortunately, since our classes are via Webex, we record most class sessions. If a student misses a session, they can request a recording of the missed session to make up for the absence. To obtain the class recording you must e-mail us and request the recording. When we send it to you, you must acknowledge that you have received it and another message stating that you did indeed watch the recording. With this documentation, we will be able to give you credit for the missed class. We typically try to keep class recordings for 10 days to 2 weeks after the class has been completed. A missed class that has not been recorded (typically the last 2-3 weeks of the course) must be made up by the student to get credit for the class session. This is done by the student writing a single-spaced, full-page summary of TWO chapters of their choice. Missed class makeup work is expected to be completed by the last day of classes. Any student who misses a total of 7 class sessions without making up for the missed class will be deemed to have dropped out of the course. They will not be available to join the remainder of classes for this session.
One more note on the state attendance requirements. According to the state DOL, you MUST have your camera ON AT ALL TIMES during the class. The state can invalidate your attendance if this is not done. Webex keeps a record for all attendees and shows when you log in, log out, and if you watch the recording for a missed class. This record is used to verify each student fulfills the state’s 90-hour requirement.
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
To ensure your experience in our live streaming class runs smoothly, you’ll need to make sure your computer, tablet, or phone is powerful enough to run Webex and to ensure your internet connection (router) and speed (modem/internet speed) are adequate. You may need to contact your internet provider to ensure your internet plan and hardware are fast enough if you are not sure. A computer with a minimum of 4 GB of RAM that has either a built-in or external camera as well as a microphone should suffice. A good practice is to clear all other tabs and programs running on your computer and to restart it before each class.
You don’t need to download anything if you use your computer for Webex, but we recommend downloading their app for your laptop/desktop for the best experience. Your phone or tablet can also work but will need to download the Webex app. You can find their apps for both your computer and tablets/phones on their website here https://www.webex.com/downloads.html or you can go to the Google or Apple app store on your device. You can find a tutorial on setting up and using Webex on their website using this link https://help.webex.com/en-us/n62wi3c/Get-Started-with-Cisco-Webex-Meetings-for-Attendees. If you have trouble with the link, go to webex.com to their “Help” section.
We will have at least one “practice” session per week prior to the course starting so that everyone can test out their system, so we are all ready to go for the first class.
You will receive an invitation email for each class at least 15 minutes before each class starts. Each email will contain a green “Join Meeting” button that once clicked will bring you to that night’s meeting room. It will also contain a hyperlink that you can click or copy and paste into your internet browser if the green button does not work. The instructors will typically be in the classroom at this time so that students can log in early to ask questions or ensure their equipment is working. If you download the applicable Webex application (mentioned above), it will also show you when your next meeting is and give you the option of joining the meeting directly from there.
PSI/AMP REGISTRATION
When you have successfully completed the course, you will be eligible to take the state broker’s exam. This is administered by an outside company called PSI/AMP, which is contracted by the Washington State Department of Licensing to administer our licensing exams. We will register you with PSI at the end of our course and they will email you with information on how to schedule your exam.