CCIM Education
Ward Center Evolves
One of
the biggest challenges facing commercial real estate practitioners is remaining
relevant in an industry that is changing almost on a daily basis. Recognizing
that need, the CCIM Institute is helping CRE professionals stay current with
classes from the Ward Center for Real Estate Studies. These non-designation
courses, many of them offered online, provide designees, candidates, and other
real estate professionals with the knowledge they need to create new business
opportunities in today’s
market.
“The real estate market, like all markets, changes,” says Maryann Mize, CCIM, 2015 chair of the
Ward Center and a senior vice president/senior credit officer at Charlotte
State Bank in Port Charlotte, Fla. “Ward courses provide a timely, efficient way to re-tool by covering
relevant topics. CCIM members who keep their skills and knowledge current are
able to quickly adjust their practices and seize opportunities.”
In the
first half of this year, the Ward Center will roll out new courses covering
real estate taxes, corporate real estate services representation, and business
writing. These offerings join the 20 or so existing courses on such time-tested
subjects as financial analysis, disposition analysis, and valuation.
Providing
up-to-date material was built into the Ward Center’s mission, says Walt Clements, CCIM, executive
vice president/CEO of the CCIM Institute. “Our membership expressed a need for more real estate education to
stay current,” he
says.
Ward
classes are developed by real-world practitioners who call on their own
industry experience to present practical, “learn it today, use it tomorrow” content. For example, Mark L. Levine, CCIM,
who is developing the real estate tax update that debuts in March, has more
than 40 years’
experience as a broker, real estate tax attorney, and investor and is former
director of the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the
University of Denver.
Ward
courses address a number of topics to appeal to a broad base of real estate
professionals. “CCIM
members comprise generalists and retail, office, multifamily, hospitality, and
industrial specialists,”
Clements says. “In
addition we have real estate lenders, appraisers, property managers,
acquisition analysts, and a variety of other commercial real estate
specialties. Our intent is to offer relevancy to each of our specialty groups
and the latest in a core body of knowledge applicable to all.”
“As a lender, I appreciate the full menu of Ward courses,” Mize says. “I personally make it practice to take at least
one Ward course per year.”
Looking
further down the road, Clements envisions courses in urban planning, legal
contexts of real estate decisions, and capital markets. The increasing
globalization of commercial real estate is another topic of growing importance.
Clements sees international courses focusing on “where to make the first business move in the
global market and how to engage with international investors desiring U.S. real
estate.”
Consistent
Winners
Many of
the earlier Ward courses continue to resonate with CRE professionals far beyond
the classroom. “The
High-Tech Marketing course is seminal,” says Hugh Wade, CCIM, with Spire Commercial Real Estate in
Anchorage, Alaska. “It
really helped me understand the role of social media and how I can actually
implement it constructively. It’s one of those courses that probably merits taking once a year, to
get the full dose of what is changing and how we can use it.”
Two
courses that Clements recommends as having the widest appeal are Real Estate
Financial Analysis Using Excel and Negotiations because “those skill sets areas are used daily.”
“The Excel course was fantastic,” said Steve Caton, CCIM, a partner/broker with
Caton Real Estate Group in Naperville, Ill. “It not only helped me utilize Excel to the max,
but it helped me better understand concepts that I thought I had mastered when
building my own spreadsheets.”
With an
uptick in development, especially in multifamily and industrial, the
Feasibility Analysis course has new-found relevance. “It gave me a handle on development projects
from the CCIM perspective,” said Shannon Mar, a Realtor with Guarantee Real Estate in Fresno,
Calif. “This
course is invaluable if you want to work closely with developers of all types.”
Any
Time, Anywhere
Another
advantage of the Ward Center courses is the variety of formats. While some are
offered as live, seminar presentations, most of the courses are available
online, as self-paced but primarily as instructor-led workshops. “The online presentations can be as short as 90
minutes and as long as a series of four or five two-hour sessions,” says Mark Polon, CCIM, senior instructor and
former chair of the Ward Center. This increases their availability to the
entire industry. “The goal
of the Ward Center is to provide information not only for those in the
commercial real estate business, but for anyone whose business touches that
realm,” Polon
adds.
He sees
almost all Ward courses being relevant to designees and industry veterans. “Even if the material in a Ward Center course is
based on classic valuation processes, there will be a contemporary, timely
slant to the delivery,” he
says.
Investing
in the Ward courses helps maintain the relevancy of the CCIM designation as
well, Clement adds. “These
courses cover critical areas of knowledge necessary for remaining a recognized
expert in commercial real estate.”