Missouri Code of State Regulations › Title 6 - DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT › Division 10 - Commissioner of Higher Education › Chapter 5 - Regulation of Proprietary Schools › Section 6 CSR 10-5.010 - Rules for Certification of Proprietary Schools

Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 14, July 15, 2024
PURPOSE: This rule sets forth the standards and
				  procedures through which all schools covered by the statutory authority,
				  sections 173.600 through 173.619, RSMo, may be certified to operate consistent
				  with a public policy ensuring the legitimacy of the purpose and programs of the
				  schools, that the schools operate as represented, and that students enrolling
				  in the schools have financial and educational safeguards as provided in the
				  rule.
(1) Definitions.
				Definitions are consistent with those set forth in the statutory authorization.
(A) "Academic progress" or "satisfactory
				academic progress" means the policy and procedures for periodically evaluating,
				measuring, and recording the extent to which each student is meeting stated
				course or program requirements and objectives, including timely completion of
				the program, and includes any consequences of failure to comply with the
				policy.
(B) "Accredited school"
				means a school that holds institutional accredited status from an accrediting
				body recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(C) "Advertising" means any printed,
				published, recorded, broadcast, electronically transmitted, or publicly
				presented information that markets or describes the school for any
				purpose.
(D) "Agent" means any
				employee, solicitor, or other person who for remuneration, by any means and at
				a place away from the school premises or site of instruction, enrolls or
				attempts to enroll a resident of this state in a course or courses of
				instruction or study offered or maintained by a proprietary school, wherever
				located, or otherwise holds himself/herself out to a resident of this state as
				representing a proprietary school for such purposes.
(E) "Board" or "Coordinating Board" means the
				Coordinating Board for Higher Education created by section 173.005(2),
				RSMo.
(F) "Branch campus" or
				"branch" means a geographically separate and permanent instructional facility
				located in Missouri that is derived from and controlled by its main Missouri
				campus. A branch campus may provide complete and distinct programs and employ
				unique or shared instructional and administrative personnel. A branch may
				produce and maintain its own institutional and student records.
(G) "Certificate" means any award for
				successfully completing a program of instruction, including a diploma that does
				not have a degree designation.
(H)
				"Certificate of approval" means the document issued by the Coordinating Board
				indicating a school may operate in compliance with this rule and the provisions
				of sections 173.600 through 173.619, RSMo.
(I) "Certified" or "approved" means having
				been granted a certificate of approval by the Coordinating Board, pursuant to
				section 173.604, RSMo.
(J) "Contact
				hour" or "clock hour" means a minimum of fifty (50) minutes of instruction or
				training during a sixty- (60-) minute period that is directed and supervised by
				an instructor or trainer.
(K)
				"Continuing education" means a course, module, or program of instruction
				offered by a certified school that is no more than twenty-five (25) contact
				hours in length that is not portrayed or advertised as having a primarily
				vocational or academic objective but is designed for personal or professional
				development of a student and typically results in the awarding of a certificate
				of attendance and may carry continuing education credit.
(L) "Continuous operation" means a
				certificate of approval to operate in Missouri that has been maintained without
				lapse, suspension, or revocation.
(M) "Course" means a defined and unique
				educational offering with discrete objectives and requirements in support of a
				program, regardless of how the offering is delivered. A course may be offered
				as a distinct program.
(N) "Credit
				hour" means the unit of quantitative measurement of educational attainment
				earned in a course, generally stated in semester, trimester, or quarter hours.
				The basis of measuring a credit hour shall be defined in accordance with the
				standards of a school's accreditor or, in the absence of accreditation, defined
				to be consistent with the definition of such generally employed at institutions
				of American higher education, as determined by the department.
(O) "Degree" means any award, earned or
				honorary, conferred with the designation of associate, baccalaureate, master,
				education specialist, or doctorate.
(P) "Department" means the Department of
				Higher Education and Workforce Development created by section 173.005(1),
				RSMo.
(Q) "Exempt" means having
				been determined to be a school eligible for release from the provisions of
				sections 173.600 to 173.619, RSMo, pursuant to section 173.616, RSMo.
(R) "Extension site" or "extension" means any
				geographically separate and either temporary or permanent instructional
				facility located within reasonable geographic proximity to a main or branch
				campus that is entirely auxiliary to and operated by a main or branch campus.
				An extension site shall not provide distinct programs, employ significant
				administrative personnel, or maintain its own institutional or student
				records.
(S) "Formal grievance"
				means a complaint against a certified school that is submitted on forms
				provided by the department.
(T)
				"Grievance policy" or "complaint policy" means a school's internal procedures
				through which a student may formally make a complaint regarding actions of a
				school in violation of published policies.
(U) "Lapse" means a certificate of approval
				to operate that has not been renewed by the deadline established by the
				department.
(V) "Main campus" means
				the primary Missouri instructional facility of a school, as so designated by
				the school. For accredited schools, the main campus is the one to which
				accreditation is directly conferred and from which other campus locations
				derive their accreditation.
(W)
				"New program" means an academic or vocational educational offering not
				previously approved by the department or a current offering delivered in a
				format not previously approved by the department. New program shall also mean
				an approved academic or vocational offering whose components, including but not
				limited to program length, required hours, and/or content, have been modified
				by fifty percent (50%) or more since approval of the initial program.
(X) "Non-substantive change" means a
				modification of a program name, classification of instructional program (CIP)
				code, tuition, fees, and/or the cost of books and supplies. The department does
				not charge a fee for non-substantive changes.
(Y) "Operate" means to establish, keep, or
				maintain any facility at a location or locations in this state where, from, or
				through which education is offered or given and shall include contracting with
				any person, group, or entity to perform any such act.
(Z) "Person" means any individual,
				corporation, partnership, association, or business entity of any kind or
				description.
(AA) "Physical
				presence" means any person or location within the state of Missouri where,
				from, or through which a school operates for the purpose of conducting an
				activity relating to postsecondary education, including the granting of
				certificates or degrees, or for the purpose of recruiting students. Location is
				defined to include any address, physical site, electronic device, or telephone
				number within or originating from within the boundaries of the state of
				Missouri. Physical presence shall also mean a formally scheduled instructional
				interaction organized by or through a school taking place between two (2) or
				more students and/ or instructors within the state of Missouri. Physical
				presence does not include any activity conducted by a school based outside of
				Missouri covered by the provisions of the State Authorization Reciprocity
				Agreement.
(BB) "Program" or
				"program of instruction" means a complete academic or vocational educational
				offering which fulfills the requirements for the awarding of a certificate or
				degree. A program may consist of one (1) or multiple courses and shall, upon
				satisfactory completion, fulfill an academic, occupational, or other training
				objective.
(CC) "Proprietary
				school," "certified school," or "school" means any non-exempt person or
				institution holding a certificate of approval which offers or maintains on
				either a profit or not-for-profit basis within the state of Missouri a course
				or courses of instruction or study through classroom instruction or other
				distance modalities.
(DD) "Public
				institution" means a postsecondary educational institution established by
				provisions of Missouri constitutional or statutory law or established by the
				voters of the district in which it is located.
(EE) "Religious degree" or "religious
				program" means any degree or program with a specific theological, biblical,
				divinity, or other religious designation. Religious degrees or programs shall
				not include those with a designation that generally denotes a secular degree,
				including but not limited to associate, baccalaureate, master or doctor of
				arts, science, humanities, philosophy, law, business, education, medicine, and
				other designations of non-religious disciplines.
(FF) "Substantive change" means a
				modification of a program's components including but not limited to program
				length, required hours, and/or content.
(GG) "Transcript" or "transcript record"
				means a student's permanent educational record.
(HH) "Test prep" or "test preparation course"
				means a course that is solely designed to enhance performance on an examination
				leading to occupational eligibility or admission to a postsecondary institution
				and does not advertise or award postsecondary credit. The Coordinating Board
				shall deem test-prep courses or programs offered for postsecondary credit or
				advertised as providing postsecondary credit as proprietary schools pursuant to
				section 173.602, RSMo.