Curriculum for Canada

InterNACHI - International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, Inc.  www.nachi.org

InterNACHI Canadian Pre-Licensing Curriculum

The International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) hereby grants an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to any federal, state, or local government located in the United States or Canada, and any agencies thereof, including licensing boards, to use InterNACHI's Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics, and any other materials found on the InterNACHI website (www.nachi.org) free of charge.  This free-use license is located at https://www.nachi.org/freeuse.htm.

Two hundred and two hours (202.0 hours)

Internet/Distance located at https://www.nachi.org/canada-curriculum.htm.  Curriculum is online and can be delivered in a live, classroom setting as well.  The InterNACHI curriculum content can be licensed by any InterNACHI-approved schools and instructors.

The examination proctor shall be a Certified Master Inspector® and/or an Executive of the Alberta Chapter of InterNACHI.  

The proctor shall issue a Certificate of Completion following successful completion of the proctored examination.

The Certified Master Inspector® will proctor and grade the inspection performance, inspection report and inspection presentation according to the InterNACHI Standards of Practice (SOP) currently in effect and used by the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors.  The Certified Master Inspector® will access the abilities of the applicant.

InterNACHI has both proctored and unproctored versions used by community colleges, home inspection schools and approved instructors.  The exam is available for municipalities or regulatory bodies that require a proctored exam.

InterNACHI's Unproctored Online Inspector Examination is an open-book exam.  Exam takers are free to bring and use any written notes or printed (non-digital) reference material during the exam; however, use of Palm Pilots or laptops is prohibited.  Calculators are also prohibited and unnecessary.  The items in InterNACHI's Online Inspector Examination are biased toward application, analysis, dynamic problem- solving, and defect-recognition where the exam taker demonstrates learning at a higher cognitive level by applying his/her knowledge on new material.  New material includes a referenced photo or diagram or a situational/hypothetical stem question.  InterNACHI's Online Inspector Examination can be administered open-book, as it simulates the situations home inspectors face every day.

InterNACHI's Proctored Online Inspector Examination is proctored by the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI), home inspector schools, community colleges, and Certified Master Inspectors® in various locations throughout North America.  

Proctored exam takers must bring and present photo identification.  Acceptable forms of photo identification include a driver's license, state identification card, passport, or military ID.

There is no harm in failing InterNACHI’s online exam, and it can be taken as many times as desired.  It will reveal where one is weak and what to study.  The examination is free.  It is located at http://exams.nachi.org/oe/.  The InterNACHI exam consists of 120 questions that are randomly generated from a much larger (and constantly evolving/expanding) pool of questions. This means that each time one takes the exam it will be completely unique (there are over 1,000,000,000 versions of the exam). The student will have 60 minutes to complete all 120 questions. The passing cut-off score is 80.

The scoring system is very advanced. Each item is validated to determine the relative importance on assessing the exam takers knowledge and skill, as is each answer to each question. Then each is weighted accordingly. Not only are the questions weighted, the answers are as well in the sense that an exam taker is punished severely (in terms of score) for incorrectly answering questions that indicate that he/she could cause physical harm to the public, but not greatly rewarded (in terms of score) for correctly answering such questions. Likewise, difficult questions (questions that lie outside or nearly outside the scope of a home inspection) are weighted such that the exam taker is not severely punished for answering incorrectly. This same scoring is used for questions that test minimum competency. Exam takers are not rewarded for answering easy questions (questions every practicing inspector should be able to answer) but are severely punished for answering such questions incorrectly.

Upon successful completion of the InterNACHI Pre-Licensing Curriculum, an audited a number of supervised on-site inspections, and successfully passing the peer-reviewed inspection, the applicant may make arrangements with a Certified Master Inspector® to complete the on-site home inspection, write the report and present the findings to the Certified Master Inspector® as per the Standard Procedures and Policies established by the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors for Alberta.

In addition, after the student joins and becomes a certified member of InterNACHI, the new member shall submit four inspections to InterNACHI's Report Review Committee before performing the first fee-paid home inspection for a client. This requirement is only for new members who have never performed an inspection for a fee.

Continuing Education is an integral aspect of InterNACHI's mission to help inspectors maintain inspection excellence.  Continuing Education permits InterNACHI members to meet the requirements of new home inspection legislation.  Continuing Education helps ensure that each member recognizes changes within the home inspection industry.  Continuing Education improves our membership's combined knowledge and helps make InterNACHI a strong association.  InterNACHI's Continuing Education requirements are very straightforward.  Members must complete 24 hours of continuing education per calendar year, the attendance of which must be verifiable (all member's continuing education accomplishments need to be uploaded to the members-only education log).

InterNACHI curriculum has earned over 600 approvals and accreditations from various U.S. education and licensing departments and various regulatory boards.  They are all listed on the right-side column at the following webpage at https://www.nachi.org/education.htm, including:
•    Oklahoma Construction Industries Board https://www.nachi.org/okapprovesinternachi2008.htm,
•    Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation https://www.nachi.org/florida-approved-education-provider.htm,
•    Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance https://www.nachi.org/tennessee-inspector-pre-licensing-course.htm,
•    South Dakota Real Estate Commission https://www.nachi.org/sdapprovals.htm,
•    South Carolina Residential Builder’s Commission https://www.nachi.org/south-carolina-approves-internachi.htm,
•    And many more at https://www.nachi.org/education.htm.

An InterNACHI inspector shall carry E & O Insurance if required by their state or regulatory body.  InterNACHI exclusive discounts are available at https://www.nachi.org/insurance.htm.  The InterNACHI member shall comply with all government rules and licensing requirements of the jurisdiction where he/she conducts business.

1.    Applicant must have passed InterNACHI's Online Inspector Examination with a score of 80% or better.
2.    Applicant must have completed InterNACHI's Ethics Obstacle Course.
3.    Applicant must have taken InterNACHI's Standards of Practice Quiz.

InterNACHI Pre-Licensing Home Inspection Course is a 202-hour pre-licensing course that presents the student a through, rigid online course curriculum.

The purpose of this intensive course of solid instruction is to provide accurate and useful information to individuals preparing for a successful career in residential property inspection.  This course will also enhance the existing skills and knowledge of experienced property inspectors.  This comprehensive course reviews inspection methods, all major building systems, common defects, report-writing skills, and professional and business practices.

4 HOURS.  Safe Practices for the Home Inspector
This course teaches the inspector to be safe on an inspection.  It includes a review of personal protection equipment, ladder use, client safety, and what to do if an injury occurs.  It reviews inspection methods that are safe, and practices that are safe and professional.  Also, this course addresses the soft skills of running a successful inspection business, such as the inspector's basic tool kit, document preparation, and appropriate attire.

5 HOURS.  25 Standards Every Inspector Should Know
This course guides the inspector with the 25 basic building standards encompassed in an average home inspection, including their relationships to each other.  Also presented are sections in particular concern in certain geographical regions, such as roofing integrity in high-wind areas, and plumbing requirements in locations subject to freezing temperatures.  This course provides fundamentals for inspectors to recognize defects and potential hazards, as well as the proper installation and operation of the most common types of systems and components in a home.  

8 HOURS.  Residential Plumbing Inspection
This course teaches the inspector to perform the plumbing portion of a home inspection.  It includes a review of building systems and components related to plumbing.  Also leaks, inadequate water supplies, water contamination, and incorrect installations of components included.  It reviews inspection methods for identifying components and common defects.  It includes how to communicate observations and conditions of the building in the inspection report using report-writing skills.   

4 HOURS.  Residential Electrical Inspection
This course teaches the inspector to perform the electrical portion of a residential home inspection.  It includes a review of the building system and components, including service entrance, grounding, and electrical safety issues.  It reviews the inspection methods used to identify and observe building components and common defects.  The course also includes communicating inspection observations and findings using report-writing skills.

4 HOURS.  Roofing Inspection
This course teaches the inspector how to perform the roofing portion of a home inspection.  It includes a review of nearly all types of residential roofs, roof systems and components. It reviews the inspection methods used to identify and observe building components and common defects.  The course also includes communicating inspection observations and findings using report-writing skills.

12 HOURS.  HVAC Inspection
This course teaches the inspector to perform the HVAC portion of a home inspection.  It includes a review of the building systems and components of common HVAC systems that may be present during a residential inspection, including warm-air, hydronic, steam and electric heating systems; air conditioning systems; and heat pump systems.  It reviews the inspection methods used to identify and observe HVAC components and common defects.  The course also includes communicating inspection observations and findings using report-writing skills.

4 HOURS.  Structural Issues
This course helps prepare the home inspector to observe and report on structural components and their conditions in a residential dwelling.  It includes a review of foundation and framing elements, structural systems and components. It reviews the inspection methods used to identify and observe structural components and common defects.  The course also includes communicating inspection observations and findings using report-writing skills related to the structure.

16 HOURS.  Exterior Inspection
The purpose of this course is to provide accurate and useful information for performing an inspection of the exterior of a residential property. This course covers the building components and materials of the exterior that may be present during a residential inspection including siding types, site drainage, moisture intrusion issues, windows and doors, flashing, exterior structures, garage, and other exterior systems and components.  It reviews the inspection methods used to identify and observe building components and common defects found at the exterior.  The course also includes communicating inspection observations and findings using report-writing skills.

4 HOURS.  Communication and Customer Service for Inspectors
This course teaches the inspector how to better serve his/her clients by providing great customer service and using effective communication.  The course also includes communicating using the inspection report.

14 HOURS.  Attic, Insulation, Ventilation and Interior
The purpose of this course is to provide accurate and useful information for performing an inspection of the attic, insulation, and interior of a residential property.  It includes the building systems and components related to inspecting the attic, insulation, ventilation and interior portions of the building.  It reviews the inspection methods used to identify and observe building components and common defects.  The course also includes communicating inspection observations and findings using report-writing skills.

3 HOURS.  Deck Inspections
This course teaches the inspector to perform residential and commercial wood deck inspections.  It includes a review of all common deck defects.  It includes some inspection methods used to find common defects.  The course also includes writing the report.

8 HOURS.  Moisture Intrusion Inspections
This course teaches the inspector how to identify and report on moisture intrusion in homes and commercial buildings.  The inspector will learn the specific details of building (building systems and components) that may cause moisture-related problems.  It teaches the inspector about the design, construction, and maintenance of houses and buildings that manage moisture effectively. It reviews the inspection methods used to identify and observe building components and common defects related to moisture.  The course also includes communicating inspection observations and findings using report-writing skills. 

8 HOURS.  Green Building
This course is designed to educate inspectors about what green building is, why it’s important, and how to recognize green systems and features in homes.  It addresses the three main aspects of green building: energy-efficiency, sustainable materials and practices, and healthy homes.  This course prepares inspectors to meet a growing demand for neutral third-party verification of green features and systems in buildings.  It includes a review of solar systems, environmental issues, and energy audits.  

12 HOURS.  Wood-Destroying Organisms
This course teaches the inspector how to identify and report infestation of wood-destroying organisms that may exist in a building using a visual examination.  The inspector will also learn to recognize evidence of structural damage and previous treatment.

12 HOURS.  Mold Inspection
This course teaches the student all about mold and how to perform a proper mold inspection.  It includes a review of types of mold, health effects, sampling, lab reports, remediation, and preventing growth.

3 HOURS.  Inspecting Foundation Walls and Piers
This course prepares the inspector to evaluate foundation walls and piers.  It also includes a review of new innovations in the foundation and concrete industries.

8 HOURS.  Log Home Inspection
This course is the largest, most in-depth log home inspection course of its kind.  This course teaches the inspector to perform an inspection on a log home.  It includes a review of framing, finishes, and decay issues.

12 HOURS.  Radon Measurement Service Provider
This very comprehensive course teaches the student about radon, how to perform radon measurements, and how to inspect radon mitigation systems.

8 HOURS.  Commercial Inspection
This course teaches best practices and reasonable approaches for the performance of inspecting commercial properties through an examination of the International Standards of Practice for Inspecting Commercial Properties.  Commercial inspection contracts, forms, addenda and other documents are reviewed.  Understanding the Standards of Practice and required agreements and documents is the inspector's first and most important step toward offering commercial inspection services.  The questions within the 49 quizzes highlight the important points and concepts in each section, while the instant grading system assures the student that he/she is on the right track.

16 HOURS.  Advanced HVAC Training for Inspectors

This course teaches the student how to properly inspect an HVAC system by applying visual-only inspection procedures and defect-recognition techniques; inspect, describe and identify the HVAC system using normal operating controls; and write a report identifying material defects observed. Follow along with a Certified Master Inspector® as he performs several inspections of HVAC systems.  Heating and cooling systems are taken apart to demonstrate how they work. Actual inspections are performed on numerous HVAC systems, including boilers, furnaces and heat pumps. A gas-fired furnace is taken apart to reveal a cracked heat exchanger defect.

 

16 HOURS.  Advanced Stucco & EIFS Inspection Training
Upon successful completion of this training course, the student will be able to properly inspect a building that has stucco or EIFS cladding. The student shall be able to: observe wall claddings on a property and identify the common stucco systems; apply non-invasive, visual-only inspection techniques as required by the InterNACHI Standards of Practice; identify points of concern about the stucco or EIFS installation or its condition; and report your findings to your clients in a concise, factual manner that is specific to the property.

 

3 HOURS.  Introduction to InterNACHI's Residential Standards of Practice

This course is designed to review InterNACHI's Standards of Practice as it relates to performing a home inspection. It covers the various components and systems that should be inspected. This class is free to everyone (InterNACHI members and non-members alike). 

 

3 HOURS.  Advanced Inspection of Crawlspaces 

This advanced course allows the inspector to obtain an advanced understanding of how to inspect a crawlspace, including use of personal protection equipment, various meters, an infrared camera, suggested report narratives and language, and defect recognition techniques. The student will watch and learn how a Certified Master Inspector® performs two on-site inspections of actual crawlspaces, and how more than 50 defects are discovered and reported.

 

5 HOURS.  Building Science and Infrared Thermography

The purpose of this online video training course is to teach residential and commercial building inspectors the principles of building science and the application of thermal imaging. In the classroom, the instructor teaches Building Science and Thermal Imaging. The topics include: building science; thermodynamics, hydrodynamics, and fluidics; architecture, engineering, and construction practices; building maintenance; energy efficiency; heat, air, and moisture effects; the building envelope; wind, rain, and sun factors; heating, cooling, humidity, and moisture; climate zones and building practices; heat loss, stack effect, and air leaks; the hygric buffer and vapor barriers; moisture, wind, and heat; and more. On-location at two residential buildings, the instructor performs inspections using an infrared camera and a moisture meter, and teaches the principles of building science and the application of thermal imaging.

 

2 HOURS.  Performing a Home Energy Audit 

This video will take you through the step-by-step procedures of performing a full energy audit conducted on a typical house. Join training experts as they demonstrate how to perform a whole house energy audit assessment.  Whether you are preparing for a building analyst exam or looking to learn the basics of the growing residential energy efficiency sector this video will show you the fundamentals: exterior walk through; blower door setup and diagnostics; intro to infrared imaging; air leakage in the building envelope; combustion Appliance Zone (CAZ) testing and worst case depressurization; and developing a work scope.

 

4 HOURS.  Home Inspection Fundamentals: The Exterior 

After successful completion of the course, the student will understand the fundamentals of how to perform an inspection of the exterior of a residential dwelling.

 

4 HOURS.  Inspecting Water Heater Tanks 

This advanced course teaches the inspector how to identify components of gas-fired and electric water heater tanks, recognize defects and safety hazards in relation to modern standards and requirements, explain flammable vapor ignition-resistance systems, and evaluate TPR valves.  Watch as a Master Plumber inspects cut-away water heater tanks in a studio setting, and a Certified Master Inspector® performs inspections on water heaters on location. 

i. Interactivity by correspondence. The course will demonstrate interactivity between the student and course provider by providing the opportunity to correspond with the instructor via email.   To ask questions at any time prior to, during or after the taking the course, the student can the course instructor via email.  Students will receive a timely response within 24 hours during the workweek and by close of business on Monday for questions received over a weekend.  

ii. Involvement by a student forum. The student can join in the conversation with other students of this curriculum, by visiting the course’s online forum dedicated to the subject matter at https://www.nachi.org/forum/f25/international-association-certified-home-inspectors-licensing-curriculum-61783/#post794267.   Students are free to pose questions and comments there and join in the conversation with other students.  The thread will be monitored by the course instructor.

Below is a screen shot of the first slide of an online course.



Below is a screen shot of the last slide of an online course.

iii. Measurement of learning and comprehension. The course measures learning and addresses comprehension of content at regular intervals.  There are numerous quizzes integrated with the main topics of the course to ensure comprehension.  The quizzes are multiple-choice questions that reinforce learning.  Incorrect answers will allow the student to review previous information for remediation.  The student is not allowed to progress without answering all of the questions correctly.

i. Monitor student enrollment.  The provider is able to monitor student enrollment by requiring that that each student to log into the system with a unique identification at the start of the course, when he/she begins the course portion, and when he/she begins the final exam.  This identification is linked both to individual e-mail and mailing addresses, and also membership information if applicable.  This information is stored with that inspector’s unique Internet protocol (IP) address and is verified by the system before allowing the inspector to take the final exam. The student enrolls by completing a registration form, which includes, name, InterNACHI ID member number (if applicable), company name, address, e-mail, phone number, desired username and password.

ii. Participation.  The course system stores: (a) the time when the student logs into the course (start time), (b) the time when the student finishes the course (end time), (c) the time when the final exam starts and ends.

There are several multimedia presentations that must be viewed throughout the course. When you access a page with a multimedia presentation, you may pause or rewind the presentation at any time. Students must let the presentation finish. Once the presentation is complete, the learning management system will enable the navigation buttons allowing you to move on. The system is designed to ensure students watch and listen to the presentations. If the student leaves the computer and the video finishes and the student isn’t present to press “next” to proceed and the system times out, the student will have to watch the video again. Many quiz and exam questions are derived from the multimedia presentations, so the course system suggests to students to take notes on each.

iii. Course completion.  The course comprehensively tracks the progress of the student and ensures progress through the entire course.  The system records and displays the progress of the student through the course.  If the student logs out of the course, it remembers the student’s position in the course.  The system will automatically jump the student to where they left off once they log back into the course.  

Below is a screen shot of the slide just before the student can progress to a final exam.  As you can see, the system prevents progressing to the final exam until all content has been finished by the student.



The student cannot progress to the final exam without visiting each slide of the course, playing each video of the course, passing each question of the quizzes, and reading any required reading.  Before the student can progress to the final exam, the system informs the student, which slide of any incomplete portions of the course and provides and easy link to that portion.  The course calculates and stores: (i) how long the inspector took to complete the course and the timed exam, (ii) his or her final score, (iii) each question asked, and (iv) which answer the inspector provided for that question.  After successfully completing the course and final exam, a certificate of completion is automatically made available for the student to download for printing. 

The course provider will be able to satisfactorily demonstrate that stated course hours are consistent with the actual hours spent by each student to complete the course.

The course hours are calculated by the actual word count of the text used by the instructor.  For all videos in the course, an audio transcript is created and a word count is calculated from the transcript.  The total number of words divided by 145, divided by 50, and multiplied by 2 equals the number of credit hours, rounded to nearest whole hour.

For any particular course, InterNACHI will accept a lower number of credit hours for approval as the regulatory body sees fit.  For example, for an 8 credit hour course, we’ll accept 5 credit hours.

For this course there are approximately 734,000 words - which calculates into 202 hours.  

InterNACHI Pre-Licensing Curriculum for Canada at https://www.nachi.org/canada-curriculum.htm equals 202 credit hours.

Interactivity between the student and course provider is made possible by corresponding with the instructor via email.   To ask questions at any time prior to, during or after the taking the course, the student can the course instructor via email.  Students will receive a timely response within 24 hours during the workweek and by close of business on Monday for questions received over a weekend.

At the beginning of each course of our system, we require to the student to read and agree to the following:
“By enrolling in this course, the student hereby attests that he or she is the person completing all course work. He or she understands that having another person complete the course work for him or her is fraudulent and will immediately result in expulsion from the course and being denied completion. The courser provider reserves the right to make contacts as necessary to verify the integrity of any information submitted or communicated by the student. The student agrees not to duplicate or distribute any part of this copyrighted work or provide other parties with the answers or copies of the assessments that are part of this course. Communications on the message board or forum shall be of the person completing all course work. If plagiarism or copyright infringement is proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the student will be notified of such and expelled from the course and/or certification revoked.”

The provider is able to monitor student enrollment by requiring that that each student to log into the system with a unique identification at the start of the course, when he/she begins the course portion, and when he/she begins the final exam.  This identification is linked both to individual e-mail and mailing addresses, and also membership information if applicable.  This information is stored with that inspector’s unique Internet protocol (IP) address and is verified by the system before allowing the inspector to take the final exam.  The student enrolls by completing a registration form, which includes, name, InterNACHI ID member number (if applicable), company name, address, e-mail, phone number, desired username and password.

•    Ben Gromicko, InterNACHI Director of Education, Director of the InterNACHI School
•    Nick Gromicko, Founder, International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, Inc. (InterNACHI)
•    Joe Farsetta, Alternate Dispute Resolution Service, InterNACHI Ethics & Standards of Practice Committee
•    Paul Abernathy, InterNACHI Education Consultant, Electrical Inspection Trainer
•    Gerry Beaumont, InterNACHI Education and Training Consultant
•    The International Residential Standards of Practice of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) is a reference for this course and is located at www.nachi.org/sop
•    Lisaira Vega, InterNACHI Architect and Graphics Artist
•    Kate Tarasenko, Crimea River, InterNACHI Editor in Chief
•    Mark Cohen, Cohen Law Group, InterNACHI Legal Counsel
•    Dr. Keith Swift, InterNACHI Technical Consultant and Author
•    Russell Buchanan, HomeGauge, InterNACHI Inspection Report Writing Consultant
•    Paige Peters, InterNACHI Director of Business Development
•    The InterNACHI Inspector Library of Textbooks at www.inspectoroutlet.com/internachi-inspector-library.aspx

Ben Gromicko
InterNACHI
1750 30th Street
Boulder, CO 80301
(303)862-2611 (MST)
ben@internachi.org

https://www.nachi.org/ben-gromicko.htm

Ben Gromicko, InterNACHI Director of Education, manages course development, instruction, administration, assessment, and continuous improvement and expansion the courses and related programs. 
 
As a Certified Distance Education Instructor for Professional Training and Continuing Education, I work in collaboration with other Directors of Education throughout the world, industry experts and resources specific to the industry. I develop, market, administer, assess, and continuously improve and expand the online courses and related programs under my direction.  I am the Director of Education for the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (www.InterNACHI.org).  I am the Executive Producer of training videos at www.NACHI.TV. I am the Director at the InterNACHI School (www.nachi.org/school).