Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 583 - HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING COMMISSION, OFFICE OF DEGREE AUTHORIZATION › Division 30 - STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR SCHOOLS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN AUTHORIZATION TO OFFER ACADEMIC DEGREES IN OREGON, OR REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH EXEMPTION › Section 583-030-0015 - Definitions of Terms

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
Effective September 10, 2015. The following definitions have
				particular application to one or more provisions of this division.
(1) "Academic year" means approximately nine
			 months, conventionally during fall, winter, and spring.
(2) "Accredited" means approved to offer
			 degrees at a specified level by an agency or association recognized as an
			 accreditor in the U.S. by the U.S. Secretary of Education or having candidacy
			 status with an agency or association whose pre-accreditation category is
			 recognized specifically by the U. S. Secretary of Education as an assurance of
			 future accreditation.
(3) "At risk"
			 means the school demonstrates one or more of the following conditions that the
			 Commission determines may cause potential serious problems for the continued
			 successful operation of the organization: Failure to meet the standards of
			 financial responsibility; Misrepresentation; Frequent substantiated complaints
			 filed with the Commission; Significant decrease in enrollment from the previous
			 reporting year; or Significant staff turnover from the previous reporting
			 year.
(4) "Certificate" means a
			 formal academic award that signifies, purports, or may generally be taken to
			 signify completion of a course of instruction for which college or
			 university-level academic credit is given but which is shorter or more limited
			 than that leading to a degree. Certificate includes the term "diploma" if used
			 to mean a similar award. A certificate may be at the undergraduate or graduate
			 level.
(5) "Class hour" or "contact
			 hour" means approximately one hour of direct communication between a teacher
			 and one or more students, minus time for rest or change of classes.
			 Conventionally this has been a fifty-minute period.
(6) "Confer a degree" means give, grant,
			 award, bestow, or present orally or in writing any symbol or series of letters
			 or words that would lead the recipient to believe a degree had been obtained.
(7) "Credit," when the full term
			 is "postsecondary or college credit," means indication or certification by a
			 school that a student has completed a unit of study, demonstrated achievement
			 or proficiency, or manifested measured learning outside of school so as to have
			 satisfied a portion of the requirements for a degree or for any other academic
			 recognition offered by the school.
(8) "Credit hour" means one postsecondary
			 credit resulting from one of the following intended to result from at least 2
			 hours of student work out of class (or in equivalent lab time) for each contact
			 hour in class, totaling:
(a) Approximately 45
			 hours of student work in a semester;
(b) Approximately 30 hours of student work in
			 a quarter;
(c) An equivalent amount
			 of student work under an alternate term calendar schedule approved by Office of
			 Degree Authorization; or
(d)
			 Equivalent student work demonstrated by student performance on a nationally
			 recognized examination or evaluation acceptable to the
			 Commission.