Accredited Training Curriculum Qualifications

1. The training material must be available in the form of written and published text (in hardcopy or online), even if the material will be delivered orally in a classroom setting. AFIP must be provided with a copy of the training material for review.

2. The training material must provide complete and accurate renderings of the topics under discussion and not directly or by inference violate any state or federal regulation or a reasonable standard of fairness.

3. The training material must be delivered in a reasonable classroom setting – whether one maintained by the firm conducting the instruction or owned by others but acquired for holding training classes.

4. The course of study must include instruments for measuring the student’s grasp of the material. The competency examinations must be comprehensive and commensurate with the topics address. The final examination cannot be an “open book” exercise. It must be reflective of individual effort and properly proctored. (The proctor standards require that the participants be monitored continually through the entire examination period.)

The exam cannot contain more than 33% of True / False questions. The test scores must reflect a reasonable pass / fail scale. Students who fail may retest, but cannot be accorded credit for the training until a passing score is achieved. (While the examination may be segregated into topic-specific modules, students who fail cannot retest only on those questions marked incorrectly. They must retake the full module.) The test scores must be reported to the student’s employer.

5. The course must include an ethical practices module reflective of the processes addressed by the curriculum. An applicable ethical practices module must be included in the course final exam.

6. The course provider must maintain a copy of all training material (whether current or outdated) for a reasonable period in the case that the training itself is called into question. The provider must maintain records of examination results and the dates for recurrent training for a reasonable period. A time-limit standard must be established for conducting training for those individuals (new hires, transfers, etc.) in need of training.

7. The course, when applicable, must include a reasonable recurrent training provision. The provider must be diligent in keeping the course curriculum updated relative to the products being sold, established solicitation and disclosure practices, and changes in the governing regulations. The course provider must provide AFIP will copies of all course revisions and re-issues within sixty days of classroom implementation.

8. The course provider must document any incidents in which the actions of a previously trained individual result in formal action taken by a customer. (Formal action is determined to be action taken by the customer that involves a third party – lawyer, regulator, ombudsman, consumer advocate, media reporter, arbitrator or mediator.) The incident must be documented, even if the individual is cleared of wrongdoing.

9. The student must be provided with tangible proof that the course was satisfactorily completed (e.g., diploma or certificate).

10. If the nature of the training falls within the purview of AFIP (entails directly or indirectly any element of the F&I function), the instructor must be AFIP Certified (and may wish to become an AFIP Accredited Facilitator).