(a) Credit hours for courses are determined by the methods set forth in paragraphs (1) - (7) of this subsection.
  (1) TDI will award credit for certified classroom courses at the rate of one hour for every 50 minutes of actual instruction contact time. All classroom courses must be at least one hour of credit in length. Instruction contact time is considered the amount of time devoted to the actual course instruction and does not include breaks, lunch, dinner, introductions of speakers, explanatory or preparatory instructions, or evaluation of the course. TDI will not certify more than 24 credit hours for any one classroom course.
  (2) TDI will award credit for certified classroom equivalent and self-study courses as set forth in subparagraphs (A) - (D) of this paragraph.
    (A) The provider must determine the number of course hours by using one of the methods described in the following clauses.
      (i) Average completion time. The provider may determine the number of course hours by calculating the average completion time of the individual course completion times of at least five licensees. If the provider uses this method to determine the number of credit hours, the provider must retain the names, current insurance license numbers, and completion times of all licensees that were used by the provider. A provider using this method may, at its discretion, issue certificates of completion in the number of hours certified by TDI to the licensees involved in the process and who completed the entire course.
      (ii) Average number of credit hours assigned by other states. The provider may determine the number of course hours by calculating the average number of hours of the credit hours assigned by all other states in which the course is certified or approved. A provider may not use this method to determine the number of credit hours unless the course is approved in at least three other states. Providers may not include any hours allowed by other states for sales and marketing topics in calculating the average.
      (iii) Word count/difficulty level. Providers using this method must designate the course as one of three difficulty levels: basic, intermediate, or advanced. A basic level course is designed for entry-level practitioners or practitioners new to the subject matter, an intermediate level course is designed for practitioners who have existing competence in the subject area and who seek to further develop and apply their skills, and an advanced course is designed for practitioners who have a strong foundation and high level of competence in the subject matter. Using these course difficulty definitions, the provider may then determine the number of course hours in the following manner. First, divide the total number of words by 180 to equal the documented average reading time. Second, divide the documented average reading time by 50 to equal the credit hours for a basic level course. Third, for intermediate and advanced courses, multiply the number of credit hours by 1.25 and 1.50, respectively, to reach the total number of credit hours for those respective courses. Fractional hours must be rounded up to the nearest whole number if .50 or above, and fractional hours must be rounded down to the nearest whole number if .49 or less.
      (iv) Interactive course content. To use this method, the course must be interactive. An interactive course includes regularly occurring opportunities for student participation, engagement, and interaction with or in course activities and information. Examples include, but are not limited to, question and answer sessions, polling, games, sequencing, and matching exercises. The provider may determine the number of course hours of an interactive course by calculating the run time of the mandatory interactive elements, which include only those elements required to complete the course.
    (B) All classroom equivalent and self-study courses must be at least one hour of credit, 50 minutes, in length.
    (C) Providers may not use the final examination and pre-tests for determining course hours or calculating an average.
    (D) TDI will not certify more than 24 credit hours for any one classroom equivalent course or 12 credit hours for any one self-study course.
  (3) TDI will grant continuing education classroom credit to licensees successfully completing qualifying college, law school, and university insurance classroom courses, as determined by the college, law school, or university. The number of classroom hours of continuing education credit for college, law school, and university insurance courses is the number of classroom instruction contact hours not including examinations, which may be no more than 24 credit hours per course.
  (4) TDI will grant 12 self-study credit hours to licensees successfully passing qualifying national designation certification program examinations. Should the licensee also participate in and successfully complete a certified or qualifying classroom or classroom equivalent course in preparation for the national designation certification program examination, the licensee must choose either the classroom presentation or the national designation certification program examination to count as credit towards the licensee's continuing education requirement.
  (5) Licensees who teach any portion of a certified continuing education classroom course may receive hour for hour classroom credit up to the maximum number of credit hours for the course. Licensees who teach courses may also be awarded an equal number of self-study hours as credit for course preparation.
  (6) TDI will grant continuing education classroom credit to licensees successfully completing qualifying courses certified or approved for classroom, classroom equivalent, or participatory credit by the continuing education authority of a state bar association or state board of public accountancy on an hour for hour basis equal to the credit hours assigned to the course by the certifying state bar association or state board of public accountancy. The state bar association or state board of public accountancy must determine what constitutes successful completion of the course. TDI will not grant licensees self-study credit for any course accepted by a state bar association or state board of public accountancy unless the self-study course is offered through a registered provider in accordance with this subchapter.
  (7) TDI will grant licensees continuing education credit for successfully completing courses certified or approved by the Federal Farm Credit Insurance Corporation on an hour for hour basis as assigned by the Farm Credit Insurance Corporation. The Farm Credit Insurance Corporation must determine what constitutes successful completion of the course.
(b) A provider must not issue certificates of completion to a licensee for partial credit of any course, except to an instructor teaching a portion of the course and who does not attend the full course.
(c) A licensee may not receive credit for teaching or completing the same continuing education course more than once within the same reporting period for compliance with the continuing education requirement.
(d) Providers may advertise and link courses as parts of a whole curriculum, but providers may not require a licensee to purchase more than one continuing education course to receive the credit hours approved for a single course.

Source Note: The provisions of this §19.1010 adopted to be effective January 6, 2003, 28 TexReg 75; amended to be effective May 31, 2018, 43 TexReg 3367; amended to be effective June 16, 2021, 46 TexReg 3610