90-Hour SAE Renewal Program

New sales agents are required to complete 98 hours of Sales Agent Apprentice Education within the first two years of receiving their real estate license. This 90-hour program is for students who have already fulfilled the 8-hour Legal Update requirement: it includes two 30-hour elective courses and the 30-hour Real Estate Brokerage course. 8 hours of Legal Update is still required for license renewal.

Champions says its 30-hour SAE courses offer more topics than any other educator, keeping your license active while building your career through subjects like appraisal, investing and the inspection process.

Champions School of Real Estate has been providing education to aspiring agents and brokers since it opened its doors in Houston in 1983. It offers courses and counseling at brick-and-mortar campuses in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio, and its Online Correspondence, Online Interactive and Virtual Classroom (ChampionsLive) delivery methods reach students anywhere in the nation. Since 1983 the curriculum has expanded from real estate to loan origination, appraisal, and inspection licensing and renewal programs.

• Updated, leading-edge course material created by the school’s own in-house curriculum development team, with constant updates based on market changes.
• Instructors are practicing professionals with at least five years of industry experience; the school says all instructors also have at least five years of experience teaching adults.
• Morning, day, night and weekend classes offered via Classroom, Virtual Classroom, Correspondence and Online Interactive.
• Career counselors available at campuses Monday through Saturday in person, by phone or by online chat.
• Free networking events, career nights, virtual study halls, career fairs, and annual free industry updates, live-streamed and in person.
• Textbooks and proctoring fees are included in tuition, and most courses remain available for up to 10 years.

SAE courses are for Real Estate Sales Agents renewing their license for the very first time; if it is not your first renewal, you need 18 hours of CE credit instead. Agents made supervisors by their broker for 6 months or more must also take the 6-hour Broker Responsibility course.

Real estate license holders must register using the name on their TREC license, and the last name and license number must match TREC’s database to receive credit. A student may not repeat the same QE or SAE course in a 2-year period, and it is the student’s responsibility to know how many hours they need. Students must register at least 24 hours before class starts.

Classroom SAE courses run as 2-day classes (Day 1 and 2, 8:30 AM to 4:45 PM) or 4-day evening classes (Monday to Thursday, 6:00 PM to 9:45 PM) at the Austin, Dallas, Houston Galleria, Houston North and San Antonio campuses and on ChampionsLive, with the Real Estate Brokerage course offered about monthly at each campus and electives rotating. Legal Update I and II run as a one-day class (Legal Update I 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Legal Update II 1:30 PM to 5:30 PM) and every Monday in the virtual classroom. A 98-hour Online Interactive SAE program can be completed at your own pace.

Tuition. The catalog and website list the 90-Hour SAE Renewal Program at $435, against a combined individual-course value of $495 (a saving of $60); textbooks are included.

Payment. Tuition is due in full at the time of enrollment, but you may purchase courses individually if you prefer to pay as you go. Tuition for each course must be paid in full at registration to receive package pricing. Textbook materials are included in the cost of courses, and the school states that proctoring fees are included with no hidden add-ons.

Discounts. Champions offers a military appreciation discount to active-duty military, veterans and military spouses: 25% off Real Estate, Home Inspection, Loan Origination and Appraisal pre-licensing (including SAE) programs, 20% off individual Real Estate QE/SAE and Loan pre-licensing courses, and $20 off Real Estate Continuing Education programs. It also works with the SpouseWorks Scholarship Program, which offers up to $4,000 to eligible military spouses for the pursuit or maintenance of a license or certification.

Refunds. All courses except Exam Prep are refundable within 5 days of purchase, minus a $20 cancellation fee per course and the cost of the textbook(s). After 5 days, or once any portion of a course is started, courses are non-refundable; unstarted courses can still be transferred or used toward another course.

Sales Agent Apprentice Education is the first important step to maintaining your real estate license in the first two years of your career. Champions’ 30-hour Texas SAE courses aim to keep your license active while improving your career through more advanced subjects like appraisal, investing and the inspection process.

Every course taken for credit also counts toward the 900 education hours required for a Texas Real Estate Broker license, which Champions calls the highest and most respected credential in real estate and which empowers professionals to own and operate a brokerage and supervise agents.

Delivery methods. Blended Classroom combines home study with classroom instruction at a campus; Classroom requires in-person attendance for all course hours; Virtual Classroom (ChampionsLive) is live instruction over Zoom from home; Online Interactive is self-paced with videos, activities and online exams; Online Correspondence combines textbook study with online exams; Online Instructor-Led pairs online modules with required instructor sessions. Not every method is offered for every course.

Quizzes and exams. Certificates are awarded only after passing chapter quizzes and the final exam. Quizzes are open-book and untimed, and QE/SAE course exams are open-book, with 70% or higher required to pass. A student who fails the first final exam can retake it at no charge; failing the second requires retaking the course for a $50 fee.

Attendance. Full attendance is required for credit. Missing more than 5 hours of class means being moved to the next course offering for a $50 fee; missed QE time can be made up by attending a corresponding session or watching video recordings.

Support. All QE and Prep students can join free virtual study hall sessions (also in Spanish) to ask an instructor questions, and one-on-one teacher tutoring is available.