Just Took A Mckissock Course...

[Don Clark]

B) Mike,

I second that I taught for McKissock for several years. They did not get where they are today by not having good PR. I would accept the offer. I have in the past, served on the E-50 Environmental Committee of the ASTM(American Society of Testing & Materials). That is the 200+ year old organizations that writes standards of practice for virtualy ecery type service and product on the face of the earth. They wrote the standards of practice for a Phase I environmental site assessment, and while I was still on the committee, they wrote the syandard of practice for a Phase II environmental site assessment. They also wrote the standard of practice for a "Transaction Screen" environmental assessment. A national organization asked me to teach a course in how to conduct a Phase I site assessment based on the standards. I did that in several locations. In the group of attendees there were real estate agents, appraisers, environmental engineers, and environmental scientist up to the Phd level. Talk about teaching a course to a mixed crowd...wow! But, the one thing I I consistently told myself before teaching any such group, I know more about the standard than they do. That was generally true. They knew much more than I will ever know about environmental issues, contamination, and the science and law that governs their activities. However, I knew more about the standards and that is what they were there to learn. And, I have taught appraisal courses where the expertise level of the students may have either been on par with mine and better than mine. That happens. But, in every case, I am a facilitators as well as instructor/teacher. I will find some way to keep you awake.

 

[Jerry Lieb]

My associate and I have taken McKissock classes in the past and have found them to be excellent. Knowing how they try hard to present informative courses, I have no doubt that they will look into the complaint you have stated and see if others in the class felt the same. I wouldn't be surprised if they even phoned a few of the other attendees for more insight into this matter.

In any case, their gesture of a free class was one of good-will. I don't think they're trying to "buy" your business, Jim. I believe they have responded as most quality firms would, whether we're talking about a bad continuing education experience, or a bad experience at a restaurant. I think you over-reacted by turning down the freebie.

I was the president of a large seminar company (Southwest Seminar Group, Inc.) in the 1970's and 1980's. We presented C/E seminars for appraisers, real estate licensees, attorneys and accountants all around the country. The average attendance at our seminars was 150-200 people. There were occasional complaints, but I would say fewer than 1%. Someone made the comment that "you can't please all the people all the time". So true!!!

 

[Ariba]

Jim said,

I just sat through the course yesterday. (Like my choice of words?)

Why not just sit there (your words) but participate and in the discussions?

I guess I might have been expecting something different.

What did the course description say. Was it an advance class?

But, when the day ended, I found myself asking the question, "So, how does one appraise a high-value residential property?"

I thought that you appraised your share of high-value properties. (see below)

By the way, this is the Chicago area and I've appraised my share of high-value residential properties. I wanted to learn more, I guess.

Why not participate in the class and share the benefit of your experience with high-value residential properties, instead of just sitting through the class. Someone in the class might have learned something from your experiences. That is what some of these classes are all about, sharing information. Some of the best information I got out of these courses was the real life examples of appraiser in the field.

Hope next time you share some of your experiences rather than complain.

Good Luck.

Ron
Appraiser Plus.com

 

[Jim Onderisin]

One of the reasons I posted this topic was to check to see if it was the course, or my perception of the course, or a combination of both. I was hoping others may have experienced the course so that I could measure my reactions against theirs. Looks like no one has.

 

[Keith]

Originally posted by Jim Onderisin@Apr 10 2005, 10:19 PM
One of the reasons I posted this topic was to check to see if it was the course, or my perception of the course, or a combination of both. I was hoping others may have experienced the course so that I could measure my reactions against theirs. Looks like no one has.

All CE classes are boring to me. I have taken classes from them before and found them excellent, except for the lousy location.

Anyway, I can never remember how to spell their company name. McKissock. I always want to add a N in there somewhere and drop an S. Google doesn't like that and it always takes forever to find the damn website. I've been looking for 30 minutes now and that's why I'm here... Let me go try again...

 

[Dave Dolan]

Jim, I recently took the same course and similarly had my expectations dashed. There was very little meat behind the topics covered.

Dave

 

[Bryan Reynolds]

Keith said

“All CE classes are boring to me.”


You might consider taking an upcoming course from George K. Cox, MAI, SRPA, SRA. He has thirty-seven years of experience in valuation and consulting, has experience on a national level with extensive experience in litigation-related matters and is past Chair of the Kentucky Real Estate Appraisers Board, past president of the Bluegrass Chapter of the Appraisal Institute, and the Evansville Chapter of The Society of Real Estate Appraisers.

Several people on this forum have attended his classes with great reviews. You can view some of these on his web site at the link below.

Mr. Cox is very unique in his delivery and believe me you won't fall asleep!


http://www.georgekcoxvaluationprofessionals.com/

These are great courses for those wishing to perform at a credible level.

There are many states that are reciprocal. There were several IL appraisers at the last two classes.



Good luck to you.



Bryan S. Reynolds
Reynolds Appraisal Service

 

[Gale Norton]

Originally posted by Jim Onderisin@Apr 6 2005, 02:27 PM
Tracy, it's not necessary to buy my business and, frankly, I find it offensive. Please adjust your records... I do not want a credit on the class. Just follow through and be sure that I receive my 7-hours of continuing education.

I've filled out a course evaluation. At least, I filled it out as completely as I could given the amount of time provided by the instructor. Maybe you could refer to the evaluation. I think, given the regulatory climate, there'll always be a need for timely and informative courses.

The lady makes a generous offer and Jim spits in her face.

**edited to remove personal comments - DB

 

[hal380]

Hello All:

Gale Norton said............

The lady makes a generous offer and Jim spits in her face. What a creep.

I don't think name calling is appropriate.

Jim was free to accept or refuse. He refused. He did not slam the lady for the offer, but did say that he took offese to it.

The course cost more than the fee. What is a day worth to Jim in terms of fees earned?

I have not taken any McKissok courses, but I have spoken to Mr. McKissok and was impressed with our conversation. I am sure I will take some courses in the future.

Take Care and have a great day.

Hal

 

[Nancy Wyatt]

I have taken good and bad classes from lots of providers. The AI classes are always good.

I've taken what I thought to be good and bad from McKissock. The worst was Appraising the oddball. Well, I've been doing that for 20 years. It was a total waste of time, I did not learn 1 thing. I think the problem was in the course description. It needs to be known if it is a beginner or advanced class. If most people in the class have been appraising for just a few years, well, its just not worth signing up.

I recently took a class on Conservation Easements and Case Studies from the Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. In the description it stated that is was an advanced class. I've never done conservation easements, but was very comfortable in the class and listened to every word that said. I really learned a lot! How refreshing that was. It was worth every dollar.

And Jim, I would accept Traci's offer. I think it was a nice thing to do.