2023 Massachusetts General Laws › Part I - Administration of the Government › Title XII - Education › Chapter 69 - Powers and Duties of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education › Section 30 - Approval of Organization Certificate or Charter Amendments; Appeal of Denial; Periodic Inspections

Section 30. (a) Any person or entity, regardless of its anticipated corporate form, which seeks to incorporate, register or operate as a college, junior college, university or other post-secondary educational institution with the power to grant degrees, and any person or entity, regardless of its corporate form, that seeks to amend the charter of an existing entity, which will give it such power to grant degrees, or which will change its name to include the term ''college'', ''junior college'' or ''university'' shall make application to, and receive approval from, the board of higher education by submitting to the board articles of incorporation, articles of amendment, certificate of organization or foreign corporation certificate of registration, in draft form, along with an application and supporting materials as required by the board. The board shall immediately make an investigation as to the applicants for incorporation of such an institution and as to the purposes thereof and any other material facts relative thereto. The board may approve such application for a junior college, the name of which does not include the word ''junior''; provided, that the charter of such educational institution shall require that such name when used on its official documents and publications be accompanied by a descriptive phrase which in the judgment of the board shall effectively distinguish the institution from a senior college. In the case of a proposed amendment to the charter of an existing educational institution which shall give it power to grant degrees, or change its name as aforesaid, the board shall make an investigation of the institution, its faculty, equipment, courses of study, financial organization, leadership and other material facts relative thereto. The board shall establish a policy providing for public notice and the opportunity for public comment on such certificates or articles submitted to it pursuant to this section, where appropriate. The board, after making its investigation and subject to section 31, shall make a determination approving or disapproving the application submitted to it and shall report its findings to the applicant. After approval by the board, the applicant shall file final articles of incorporation, articles of amendment, certificate of organization or foreign corporate certificate of registration with the state secretary along with the approval letter from the board. The board shall inform the applicant of the reasons for its disapproval of any application it disapproves pursuant to this section.
(b) If an application is not approved, the applicant may appeal to the superior court, which shall hear the case and determine whether the application shall be approved.
(c) For the purpose of determining evidence of improvement and growth, the board of higher education, through its agents, shall make periodic inspections of every such educational institution within the 12 years following the board's approval of an institution's application submitted pursuant to this section.