“Principles and Practices” is one of the most sought after courses in adult education, but no one is quite sure where this real estate class fits — higher education or job training.
By Paul Ruffins
The students meeting in the basement of American University’s
performing arts theatre are focusing on the basic dramas of modern life — death and taxes, racism and opportunity, marriage and divorce. But the class isn’t about theatre; it’s about real estate. And AU doesn’t teach it. Rather, the class is taught by an accredited proprietary school operated by a large brokerage company. The two-dozen students are studying “Principles and Practices,” or P&P, the basic course required to earn a real estate license.
According to the National Association of Realtors, 253,167 people joined the organization in 2004. That figure suggests that at least 500,000 people took P&P that year. With the boom in real estate prices, it’s likely that it represents a 90 to 95 percent increase over the number of people who took P&P in 1998. The class is one of the most popular courses in adult education because it can literally be the key to the dual American dreams: striking it rich and owning a home.
“We know that there are lots of reasons why people take the real estate pre-licensing class, and that only about half of them do it to become licensed to make a full-time career in real estate,” says Jim Skindzer, the outgoing president of the Real Estate Educators Association. “Some want to become investors; some just want to buy or sell their own personal house; some come just because it’s a chance to take a college-level course.”
One of the things that makes the P&P class unique is that it is taught in so many different venues, says Skindzer. The classes are often taught at major universities, community colleges, privately owned real estate schools and even in real estate brokers’ offices.
