Certificate Program in Real Property Assessment

In its efforts to remain on the cutting edge of industry education, the Real Estate Division in cooperation with the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO) has developed a program for the professional assessor in Canada. The program covers the fundamental concepts of appraisal, assessment administration, and computer assisted mass appraisal.

• The program meets the educational course requirements for the IAAO’s designations: Certified Assessment Evaluator (CAE), Residential Evaluation Specialist (RES), and Mass Appraisal Specialist (MAS). The final course in the program includes the option of completing a case study examination, accepted by the IAAO as meeting one of the demonstration report requirements towards the RES, CAE, and MAS designations.
• The Institute of Municipal Assessors recognizes completion of the Certificate Program in Real Property Assessment as meeting the core educational requirements leading to the AIMA and the MIMA designations. In addition, the IMA recognizes the Comprehensive Case Study as being equivalent to the residential mass appraisal demonstration report.
• In addition, the program has been endorsed by the Trans-Canadian Assessment Training Program Steering Committee as meeting or exceeding all of its requirements for a core education course, and has been adopted by several jurisdictions as meeting their entry level employment requirements.

The Program is a sophisticated, technical and specialized program. It has been designed for practitioners already employed in the real estate industry who want to upgrade their education, and for highly-motivated people seeking to join the industry. The Program is designed for flexibility. Most courses are offered two or three times per year. Students can complete the program at a pace that best suits their busy schedules. By taking one course per term, the Program can be completed in just two years, although students can accelerate completion to one year by taking more than one course per semester.

Getting Started: Admissions and Program Planning

Students embarking on this Program will first need to be formally admitted to UBC – this application for admission must be made directly to the Real Estate Division (NOT to UBC's central admissions office). Please visit the Admissions webpage for more information. In general, applicants must have their grade 12 or equivalent standing and must submit their official high school transcript. Students who have not graduated from high school may be eligible for admittance as a mature student. For details on mature student admissions, please click here.

Students may apply for transfer credit on the basis of previous post-secondary education which is substantially  similar to courses in this program. Where exemptions have been granted, a student must complete at minimum 50% of the total program credits to be eligible for a UBC credential. Please reference Course Equivalencies and Transcript Reviews for more information.

Note: As the program is continually being updated, requirements for completion may change from year to year.
 

The Program is offered via distance learning. It requires 5 courses, each of which are approximately 13 weeks in length. Students begin with core courses on valuation and statistics and then the program advances to focus on specialized professional and applied topics.

The courses include a set of printed materials plus online resources. Students are assessed on a series of multiple choice assignments, written projects, examinations, and case studies. Most courses include webinars and instructional videos.

Core Courses

BUSI 121 Foundations of Real Estate Mathematics
BUSI 330 Foundations of Real Estate Appraisal (Recommend BUSI 121)
BUSI 344 Statistical and Computer Applications in Valuation (Recommend BUSI 121 & 330)
BUSI 443 Foundations of Real Property Assessment and Mass Appraisal (Recommend BUSI 330)

Specialization Courses

To complete the program, students have a choice to focus in either mass appraisal or advanced income appraisal. Please note that some employers and professional organizations may require BUSI 444 to be completed within the CPRPA program, so all students requiring the CPRPA for employment or designation purposes should confirm with their employer or professional association prior to enrolling in BUSI 331.

Select one of:
BUSI 331 Real Estate Investment Analysis and Advanced Income Appraisal (Prerequisite BUSI 121 & 330), or
BUSI 444 Advanced Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal (Prerequisite BUSI 121 & 344; Recommend BUSI 330 & 443) 

Students who enrolled in the program prior to September 1, 2007 may have modified requirements to complete the program. See the Assessment prior to September 2007 page.

Comprehensive Case Study

BUSI 444 ends with a take-home final examination. This is also recognized as meeting demonstration report requirements towards professional certification from the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), the Institute of Municipal Assessors (IMA), and the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC). Students who complete BUSI 444 with a partner institution (e.g., Lakeland College, Seneca College) will receive course credit for their final examination, but in order to receive demonstration report credit, students must submit their graded examination to the UBC Real Estate Division for review along with a $100 review fee. Should the Case Study Exam not pass the review, the student may revise and resubmit the exam, but this is subject to the standard exam resubmission fee of $250.  UBC also reserves the right to require the exam be completed based on current case study data.

IAAO Designations

• Degree Requirement: in order to attain use of CAE designation, candidates must hold a Bachelors or higher degree from an accredited university or college. Please refer to the IAAO webpage for more information.
• BUSI 444 Pre-requisites: IAAO students who wish to complete UBC’s BUSI 444 course must first satisfy the pre-requisites. IAAO’s courses 333 or 334 (or equivalent) provide the necessary statistical background for success in BUSI 444. 
• Appraisal Standards: IAAO designations require completion of a course on USPAP (for US residents) or an equivalent course covering appraisal standards within the student’s jurisdiction. For Canadian students, IAAO recognizes the AIC courses Introduction to Professional Practice (ITPP) and Professional Practice Seminar (PPS) for both designation and recertification purposes. Registering in either course requires an AIC membership number.

This is a sophisticated, technical and specialized program. It has been designed for practitioners already employed in the real estate industry who want to upgrade their education, and for highly-motivated people seeking to join the industry. Many of the courses in this program require familiarity with basic algebra. Students embarking on this program will first need to be formally admitted to UBC -- this application for admission must be made directly to the Real Estate Division (NOT to UBC's central admissions office). Please visit the Admissions webpage for more information. In general, applicants must have their grade 12 or equivalent standing and must submit their official high school transcript. Students who have not graduated from high school may be eligible for admittance as a mature student. For details on mature student admissions, please click here.

Students may apply for transfer credit on the basis of previous post-secondary education which is essentially similar to courses in this program. Where exemptions have been granted, a student must complete at minimum 50% of the total program credits to be eligible for a UBC credential. Please reference Course Equivalencies and Transcript Reviews for more information.

Students who complete the Certificate Program and subsequently choose to enter the Diploma Program will be exempted from five courses in the Diploma Program. In order to receive a diploma in a different option, students would have to complete the course requirements for the chosen option.

The Comprehensive Case Study is a take-home final examination for BUSI 444. It is also recognized as meeting demonstration report requirements towards professional certification from the International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), the Institute of Municipal Assessors (IMA), and the Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC). Please note: students who complete BUSI 444 with a partner institution (e.g., Lakeland College, Seneca College) will receive course credit for their final examination, but in order to receive demonstration report credit, students must submit their graded examination to the UBC Real Estate Division for review along with a $100 review fee.

In response to requests from the Canadian valuation community to expand the scope of the Certificate Program in Real Property Assessment (CPRPA) to include more income appraisal content, BUSI 331 Real Estate Investment Analysis and Advanced Income Appraisal, has been added as an option to the CPRPA program. Students may now earn the CPRPA by enrolling in BUSI 331 or BUSI 444. However, some employers and professional organizations may continue to require BUSI 444 to be completed within the CPRPA program, so all students requiring the CPRPA for employment or designation purposes should confirm with their employer or professional association prior to enrolling in BUSI 331.

Tutorial Assistance

Students can get help from Real Estate Division academic staff and industry specialists, by e-mail or telephone. There are also many other helpful resources available to students on the course website.

Workload

Students should expect to commit at least ten hours per week to their studies and assignments. The material is not easy. Diligence, organization, and self-discipline are essential. Each course has a set schedule for assignments, projects, and examinations -- please note there are fees imposed for late submissions of assignments and projects, as well as for deferral of examinations or transferring to subsequent terms.

Additional Course Requirements

• All students taking Real Estate Division courses must have high-speed access to the internet. Most course materials including videos and learning resources are available online, and all assignments and projects are also submitted online.  Access to a high-quality  printer is also beneficial as it is sometimes necessary to print certain materials from Real Estate Division website.
• The Hewlett Packard (HP) 10BII/10BII+ calculator will be used in the demonstration of analytical techniques in the program of studies; however, there are a variety of pre-programmed financial calculators on the market, some of which will perform more sophisticated calculations or have greater programming capacity. You may use any financial calculator for the course and examination, providing it is silent, cordless, handheld and not alphanumeric and programmable. Many stationary and department stores sell the HP 10BII/10BII+ and you are encouraged to "comparison" shop because discount or sales prices are often available. If you are unable to locate the calculator in your area, one can be purchased online at the Real Estate Division Bookstore.
• Students taking BUSI 344 and 444 require the use of a statistical software program. Please note that the cost of the software is not included in the course tuition.

Program Regulations 

View a copy of the full program regulations from the Real Estate Division Student Handbook: Credit Courses.

Examinations

Most Real Estate Division courses end with a final examination. For more information on exam scheduling, availability, and registration, go to Examinations.

Awards

A number of awards are available to students in the Real Estate Division’s credit programs.
 

Course Offerings
Course Equivalencies/Transcript Reviews
Course Descriptions
Important Dates
Tuition and Additional Fees
Real Property Assessment Program - Prior Students
Frequently Asked Questions
Admission and Registration
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