Certification and accreditation are status granted to an educational institution or provider that has been found to meet or exceed the stated standards of educational quality. This activity has long been accepted in the United States and Canada, but is less common in other parts of the world. The process has encouraged a voluntary system of promoting quality education without inhibiting innovation.

Entities conducting institutional accreditation are national or regional in scope and comprise the institutions that have achieved and maintain accreditation. These bodies consider the characteristics of whole institutions. For this reason an institutional accrediting body gives attention not only to the educational offerings of the institutions it accredits, but also in-depth institutional characteristics as student personnel services, financial conditions and administrative strengths.

Entities conducting programmatic or specialized reviews, such as the ARELLO Distance Education Certification Council, may be international in scope and typically conduct program and course certification for a profession or occupation. Such specialized review entities focus their attention on the institution, particular programs or courses, and provide a basic assurance of the scope and quality of the professional or occupational preparation.

The objectives of a certification process derive from the minds and experiences of individuals and groups who are seeking to realize certain values and fulfill certain purposes. Typically the general objectives are derived from the history, experiences, and bylaws of the professional association, in this case being the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials.

Note: ARELLO certification does not guarantee automatic approval in all states, provinces, territories and countries, but it is the leading credential available in distance education in the world today. You may access a list of jurisdictions recognizing ARELLO course certification here.  Education providers are finding that "ARELLO Certified" not only helps clear regulatory hurdles, but also serves as a powerful marketing tool.

The ARELLO Distance Education Standards are now the global benchmark for distance education delivery measurement. 

Hear what others are saying about the ARELLO Distance Education Certification Program:

I want to share with some benefits that I think Arkansas has received as a result of requiring ARELLO Certification for Distance Education Real Estate courses. While I expected that ARELLO Certification would help us improve the quality of distance education in Arkansas, which it definitely has, I didn't really anticipate these additional advantages.

Arkansas has approximately 9,500 active licensees and about a dozen real estate educators. To offer classroom courses practically, the instructors design those courses on topics that they anticipate will draw the most students. Consequently, the classroom courses are mostly limited to the topics of agency, contracts, closings and ethics. Of course, all of these are very good subjects and Arkansas has some quality classroom education. However, ARELLO Certified Distance Education has made it economically feasible for instructors to offer many more subjects. Obviously, some Arkansas instructors agree with me as evidenced by the following list of continuing education topics currently available to Arkansas licensees via ARELLO Certified Distance Education: Property Management, Risk Management, Real Estate Taxation, Intro to Commercial Real Estate, Buyer Representation, Property Inspections, Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Ethics, Fair Housing, and Tax Free Exchanges.

Arkansas licensees have benefitted as they have both additional topics from which to choose and the added flexibility of completing a course at their convenience. What makes this even better is that the instructors can afford to offer the ARELLO Certified Distance Education courses to the candidates/licensees for basically the same cost as classroom education.

Arkansas has had pre-licensing courses available by ARELLO Certified Distance Education for the past two years. While I won't say that the availability of these courses is the sole reason that Arkansas, for the first time in over twenty years, has seen its number of licensees increase over the past two years, some of those new license candidates definitely needed the flexibility offered by a distance education prelicensing course to pursue a career in real estate. ARELLO Certification helps to assure those courses are of quality.

Gary Isom
Deputy Executive Director
Arkansas Real Estate Commission

"From my perspective as a course developer and primary provider, the ARELLO certification program is a welcome development that can serve to foster consistently high standards for quality distance education.  The review process is rigorous, as it should be for a professional training program of national scope, but the spirit in which it was conducted kept it from being an unpleasant experience.  The self-study process was very effective in causing us to examine in detail every aspect of our operation.  The result was that we found opportunities to improve our methods and practices that we would have not have otherwise discovered.  I wholeheartedly support the ARELLO Certification Program because it can do much to insure that the distance education process is based on sound education methods and systems.”

Robert L. Collins, Ph.D
President, CompuTaught Inc.

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“My experience was one of working closely and cooperatively with dedicated professionals toward a common goal of providing the best possible learning tools for real estate students.  The ARELLO certification process is neither an automatic rubber-stamp nor a roadblock to business.  The sharing of suggestions and expectations, and even the sorting out of differences of opinions was a very positive experience.  This was not a one-way “submission/response” process, but a cooperative interactive effort that resulted not only in insuring that Dearborn’s SuccessMaster line of courses satisfy ARELLO’s standard, but in a stronger product that offers enhanced value to customers.”

Evan M. Butterfield, MA, JD
Dearborn Financial Publishing

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"The ARELLO certification process is a strong test of the academic integrity of the design of on-line course delivery.  Encouraging objective evaluation of course content coupled with student involvement and interaction, the process is both demanding and revealing.  Working through the application process helped me to bridge the gap between twenty plus years of classroom teaching and moving to instruction via the on-line virtual classroom.  I know of no other resource or experience that pinpoints so clearly the steps needed to make the computer based teaching method satisfying to the student while maintaining academic validity.  Working through the ARELLO certification guidelines has not only been instructive in creating an interactive relationship with the student in the virtual classroom; but has also revealed interactive weaknesses in my traditional classroom.  The certification process has been personally enriching and academically rewarding."

Donald E. Bodley, Ph.D.
Emeritus Professor of Real Estate Studies
College of Business and Technology
Eastern Kentucky University

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In regard to the, ARELLO Distance Education Standards manual. "What a refreshing and exhaustive format. I think that this sets a new benchmark for quality education and should be used as such for all distance education. . . actually all education.

The new book not only guides the course creator through the options that they should have thought of, but also gives helpful examples of what a good course should have, point by point. I am so impressed, that I think you should use this nationwide to get states to work together under these standards. There is no reason if a course can be approved under these guidelines that the course couldn't be taught in any state with the same CE credit hours." 

Randy Eagar, CRS,  President
Computer Camp

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"I was hesitant to begin the ARELLO approval process as it is quite detailed and extensive. However, as a course developer and provider and a practicing commercial real estate professional, I believe there has been a strong need for standards in the distance education industry. I found the ARELLO reviewers applied the standards fairly and allowed for flexibility adapting to the unique design of the JMRE™ program. ARELLO did not require changes to our software or application. Our course was certified upon the first submission. We adhered closely to the application and self study workbook and the approval process went smoothly and was completed in a very reasonable period of time."

 

Juanita Motley, MBA, CCIM

President, JMRE™