The Higher Education Commission was created by the Maryland General Assembly in 1988 and given responsibility for planning and coordination of higher education in Maryland. It describes who the institution teaches, what area it serves, its admission standards, and what the academic areas where the campus specializes.
Mission statements are an important consideration in approving budgets.
These are on-going standards, which means that existing campuses must continue to comply. When the Commission considers the application, it looks closely at whether the program is in keeping with the institution's educational mission and whether other colleges or universities already offer the program. It sets academic and financial standards and sometimes takes legal action on behalf of students. It publishes a current list of Private Career Schools and a Consumer's Guide to Private Career Schools.