Synchronous Education FAQs

Please contact us at sync@appraisalinstitute.org or 312-335-4473.

Synchronous distance education courses are offered by AI National headquarters. The instructor and students interact simultaneously in a live online learning environment, similar to a video chat or web-based meeting format. Note. Some states do NOT allow any virtual education. When registering for any AI course, you are required to check state approvals based on delivery format. For more information, see our state approvals page.

A synchronous (live online) offering is usually segmented into several 3.5 to 4.5 hour sessions, instead of whole days. Schedules may differ by offering type, including continuing education, qualifying education, and designation education. Always check your particular offering schedule when you register.

• Designation education (DE) example: To accommodate students across the United States, class begins at 10:00AM Central (8:00AM Pacific, 9:00AM Mountain, 11:00AM Eastern). Each class runs for four (4) hours each day with at least two breaks during that time. The program runs for eight (8) half-days over two weeks as follows (Central time zone):
  
  Monday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
  Tuesday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
  Wednesday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
  Thursday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
  (No class on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday)
  Monday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
  Tuesday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
  Wednesday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM
  Thursday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM


• 4-hour continuing education (CE) program example: Class begins at 10:00AM Central (8:00AM Pacific, 9:00AM Mountain, 11:00AM Eastern). Class runs for four (4) hours with at least two breaks during that time. The program runs for one (1) day (Central time zone): Friday, August 25: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM.

To participate and receive continuing or qualifying education credit where approved, there are certain requirements. If you have any questions regarding these classroom participation requirements, please contact the Appraisal Institute at sync@appraisalinstitute.org or call (312) 335-4473.

• You are responsible for having the following equipment: computer, webcam, and microphone capability. Visit the System Requirements for Attendees and Share Webcam pages for help.
• The instructor must be able to interact with all students. Instructors and administrators will direct questions to each student in the morning and afternoon to which students must respond. Students must be in a location that allows for their full attention and interaction at all times.
• Attendance will be monitored throughout the day through webcams and polling. You must turn on your webcam during roll call at the beginning of class so that the instructor can verify your photo identification. Students seeking credit or with licenses in Connecticut, Maryland, North Carolina, New York or South Dakota must keep their webcam on at all times.

Allow several minutes after registration to receive the connection information for the synchronous software, GoToTraining. The software runs on almost all operating systems and popular browsers. You can connect to audio using either your computer or your telephone. A headset is recommended for either audio option. Check the complete list of system requirements. If you do not receive connection information, please check your spam and junk folders or contact Online Education at sync@appraisalinstitute.org or 312-335-4473.

You'll choose how you wish to receive your materials during registration.

• By default, after registration you can download materials online from your "Education and Events" page under "My Account" when you log in to the AI website.
• You can choose to have materials mailed to you. Printing and shipping fees will apply. Depending on the date you register, some mailed materials may not arrive before the program starts.

Note. For designation education synchronous programs, some materials (like Excel spreadsheets) are not available for download prior to the program. These materials are only available for download after you complete a required pre-class online session through our learning management system. Check the program description for more information about the online session. Instructors may post new materials during the class. After the class ends, these materials will remain available online for one year.

AI and state regulators take attendance very seriously. Participation is used to measure attendance in live online programs. This includes logging in each morning and after breaks, completing online polls and quizzes, answering discussion questions, and contributing to interactive group activities. Failure to participate in program activities to ensure attendance will be grounds for dismissal from the program or withholding of program credit.

• For designation and continuing education synchronous programs, please check the program description or our state approvals page to confirm the amount and type of credit offered by individual states, and for the amount of Appraisal Institute CE credit.
• For designation education synchronous programs, completion certificates are available after attendance has been verified and successful completion of the exam.
• For continuing education synchronous programs, completion certificates are available after attendance has been verified.

After completion is verified, a PDF certificate will be available to you for download on the AI website. After you login, click on "Education and Events" in the navigation menu on the right. On your "My Events" page, click on the View button next to your course then scroll down and click on the Print Certificate button. Be advised, we cannot provide a certificate of general attendance for a course that was not approved by the state at the time it was completed; in that case, you must use your Education Transcript and Education Letter as proof of attendance. The print Education Transcript button is located at the top of your "My Events" page. The certificate will remain available on the website indefinitely if you need to download it in the future. You can also add more states if you need additional certificates. Note. Completion certificates for state approved online courses will not display if State License information wasn’t added during the registration process.

The exam is taken offline at a Pearson testing center. Locations are available nationwide at Pearson Vue Test Center Search. You will have up to 90 days after the course ends to schedule and complete the exam. More details about testing centers and exam procedures can be found at Exam FAQ.

1. Copy and paste the join link to a different browser such as Mozilla Firefox (PC/Mac), Google Chrome (PC/Mac), or Safari (Mac). The Internet Explorer browser is no longer supported.
2. Test your connection. https://support.goto.com/training/help/join-a-test-session-g2t060001 You will be instructed to join a test session to check that your computer has everything required.
3. You may need to update your Java. http://www.java.com/en/
4. The GoToTraining program may be blocked by a secure firewall.

If you continue to have issues, please call GoToTraining at 833-851-8340 or contact your IT department.

There are two options for audio:

• Telephone: If you want to use the phone (long distance charges may apply), select Telephone under the Audio tab in the Control Panel, then enter the Access code shown, and then enter the PIN number shown. If the phone is not connecting, you can click the "Need Audio Help" link in the same tab and an alternate phone number is available.
• Computer Audio: Select Mic & Speakers under the Audio tab in the Control Panel. You can click "Audio Settings" to test the audio on your computer. Because the quality of computer audio depends on the quality of your Internet connection, you will want to close any other applications that update frequently using the Internet (email, chat), plus stop any streaming audio/video. If the quality of computer audio is unacceptable, we suggest you switch to the Telephone option and dial the number and access code.
• If you still cannot hear after trying both options, please log out and log back in again.

Please log off and log back in using the same connection information.

Live online synchronous courses are not recorded.

Make sure that the Zoom percentage on the top-left side of your viewer is reduced so that you see the entire presentation window. The camera should appear on top right side.

Check to see if a pop-up blocker is preventing pop-ups (especially from Citrix or GoToTraining or LogMeIn). Also, the evaluation not loading can be caused by other security settings or the computer not being re-booted for a while.