§ 5002 — Standards for licensed private career schools

New York § 5002

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law EDN: Education
• Title 6: Special Schools and Instruction
• Art. 101: Licensed Private Career Schools and Certified English As a Second Language Schools

Text

§ 5002. Standards for licensed private career schools. Any school\nlicensed pursuant to section five thousand one of this article shall be\norganized and conducted only as a school and shall be subject to the\njurisdiction of the department exclusively, or in conjunction with such\nother state agency or department or district attorney upon which\njurisdiction has also been conferred by law. Such schools shall be\nsubject to and comply with the provisions of this section.\n 1. Standards. a. No program of such schools shall be conducted in a\nfactory or commercial establishment, except where the use of facilities\nor equipment of such factory or commercial establishment is permitted\nfor necessary or desirable educational purposes and objectives.\n b. For every such school, the commissioner shall set forth in\nregulation standards governing all of the following:\n (1) criteria for admission, which shall provide that students at least\npossess a high school diploma or its equivalent or demonstrate the\nability to benefit from the instruction, except that in the case of\nstudents who do not possess a high school diploma or its equivalent,\ncertification of the students' ability to benefit from instruction shall\nbe provided to the commissioner as provided in paragraph c of this\nsubdivision;\n (2) the standards and the methods of instruction;\n (3) the equipment available for instruction with the maximum\nenrollment that such equipment and physical plant will accommodate;\n (4) the qualifications and experience of teaching and management\npersonnel;\n (5) the form and content of the student enrollment agreement or\ncontract, provided that such agreement or contract shall be written in\nthe same language as that principally used in the sales presentation;\n (6) the methods of collecting tuition;\n (7) eligibility criteria for programs that will require licensure;\n (8) the sufficiency and suitability of the resources available for the\nsupport of such school; and\n (9) counseling provided to students.\n b-1. (1) Student loans or other financial aid funds received from\nfederal, state, or local governments or administered under the federal\nstudent financial assistance programs governed by Title IV of the Higher\nEducation Act of nineteen hundred sixty-five, 20 U.S.C. section 1070 et\nseq., as amended, must be collected and applied in the manner as\ncontrolled by the applicable federal, state or local regulations.\n (2) Student loans or other financial aid funds received from private\nentities, including, but not limited to, banks, financing companies, and\nother lending sources must be collected or disbursed in the following\nmanner:\n (A) Loans or other financial aid payments for amounts of five thousand\ndollars or less may be disbursed as a single disbursement, regardless of\ncourse length.\n (B) Loans or other financial aid payments for amounts greater than\nfive thousand dollars that reflect a class term of less than six months\nshall have two equal disbursements. The disbursement schedule for such\nloans or payments shall be as follows: one-half of the tuition amount\nreleased initially, and the remainder released halfway through the\ncourse term.\n (C) Loans or other financial aid payments for amounts greater than\nfive thousand dollars that reflect a class term of greater than six\nmonths, but less than twelve months must have three equal disbursements.\nThe disbursement schedule for such loans or payments shall be as\nfollows: one-third of the tuition amount released initially, the second\ndisbursement shall be released one-third of the way through the length\nof the training, and the remainder released two-thirds of the way\nthrough the course term.\n (D) Loans of other financial aid payments for amounts greater than\nfive thousand dollars that reflect a class term greater than twelve\nmonths shall have four equal disbursements. The disbursement schedule\nfor such loans or payments shall be as follows: one-quarter of the\ntuition amount released initially, the second disbursement shall be\nreleased one quarter of the way through the length of the training; the\nthird disbursement shall be released halfway through the length of the\ntraining, and the remainder shall be released three-quarters of the way\nthrough the training.\n (3) No school may enter into any contract or agreement with or receive\nany students loan or financial aid funds from private entities,\nincluding, but not limited to, banks, financing companies, and any other\nprivate lending sources unless the private entity has a disbursement\npolicy that, at a minimum, meets the requirements of subparagraph two of\nthis paragraph.\n (4) The term private entity referenced in subparagraphs two and three\nof this paragraph shall not be construed to include a friend or family\nmember of the student who is not in the routine business of providing\nstudent loans or financial aid funds. The provision of such a loan or\nfund by a private entity shall also not include the payment of the\nstudent's tuition or fees by use of a credit card.\n c. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the\ncontrary, the commissioner shall define alternative educational and\ncurriculum standards for any program of less than forty hours designed\nexclusively for non-occupational, personal enrichment purposes.\n d. Admission of students under the ability to benefit provision.\n (1) Certification. Each school admitting students who do not possess\nat least a high school diploma or its equivalent shall certify to the\nsatisfaction of the commissioner that such prospective students have\nbeen administered and passed an examination which has been approved by\nthe commissioner to determine their ability to benefit from the chosen\ncurriculum prior to admission to the curriculum or course of study. Such\nexamination shall, whenever possible, be a nationally recognized test\nappropriate for the course of instruction which has been approved by the\ncommissioner. The examination results of each such student who is\nadmitted shall be made available to the commissioner at a time\nprescribed by the commissioner and, together with the student's original\nanswer sheet, shall be maintained by the school in the student's\npermanent record. For any student failing to achieve the necessary score\non such examination for enrollment, the school shall be required to\nprovide such student with a listing of appropriate counseling and\neducational opportunities available to the student at no cost, as\ndetermined by the commissioner. Where appropriate, the commissioner may\naccept such other entrance requirement documentation such as\nprerequisite coursework, professional or vendor certifications, personal\ninterviews, and/or attestations of equivalent knowledge in lieu of the\nexamination requirement.\n (2) Counseling. Each school offering curricula which admit students\nwho do not possess a high school diploma or its equivalent shall develop\na plan to be approved by the commissioner for the counseling of such\nstudents on an individual basis on matters including but not limited to\nthe student's ability to progress in the curriculum, the student's\nfinancial aid rights and responsibilities, the availability of programs\nto earn a high school equivalency diploma, including programs provided\nat no cost to the student, and the potential of the training to prepare\nthe student for available employment opportunities within the region.\n (3) Compliance. (A) The commissioner shall monitor compliance with\nthis paragraph and verify the examination and counseling process and\nstudent examination scores. Such procedures may include but not be\nlimited to an annual, statistically significant, random sampling of the\nexaminations taken by prospective students of each school administering\nsuch examinations.\n (B) In the event that the commissioner determines that the school is\nout of compliance with the examination process and counseling, the\ncommissioner shall require that examinations and counseling for students\nadmitted under the ability to benefit provision and the counseling\nrequired by subparagraph two of this paragraph be conducted off the\npremises of the school by an entity approved by the commissioner for\nsuch period of time as the commissioner deems appropriate, the cost of\nwhich shall be incurred by the school.\n 2. Inspections. a. Every school licensed pursuant to this article\nshall maintain adequate and accurate records for a period of not less\nthan seven years at its principal place of business within this state.\nSuch records shall be maintained in a manner and form prescribed by the\ncommissioner and shall be made available to the department and the\nhigher education services corporation upon request.\n b. In addition to other requirements in this article, the information\nto be made a part of the record shall include, but not be limited to:\n (1) names and addresses of each enrolled student;\n (2) the course of study offered by the institution;\n (3) the name and address of its faculty, together with a record of the\neducational qualifications of each;\n (4) the graduation date of each student; and\n (5) for each student who fails to complete his or her program, the\nstudent's last date of attendance and, if applicable, the amount of any\nrefund paid to, or on behalf of, the student and the date the refund was\nmade.\n c. The commissioner shall conduct periodic unscheduled inspections of\nlicensed private career schools to monitor compliance with the\nprovisions of this article or the rules or regulations promulgated\nthereunder or any final order or decision of the commissioner made\npursuant to this article. The department shall conduct an inspection of\neach school at least once every licensure period. All schools shall\nprovide upon request of the department, any and all records necessary to\nreview compliance with the provisions of this article.\n d. Student permanent records, as defined in the regulations of the\ncommissioner, shall be maintained for a period of twenty years.\n 3. Tuition liability. a. The tuition charge for programs approved for\nparticipation in student financial aid general award programs pursuant\nto articles thirteen and fourteen of this chapter shall be apportioned\non the basis of terms, quarters or semesters. For the purposes of this\nsection, the terms "term", "quarter" and "semester" shall be defined in\nregulations by the commissioner.\n b. The tuition refund policy for the first term or quarter of any\nprogram at schools licensed pursuant to section five thousand one of\nthis article shall be as follows:\n (1) For programs which are divided into quarters of up to fourteen\nweeks, the school shall evenly divide the total tuition charges among\nthe number of quarters. After instruction is begun in a school, if a\nstudent withdraws or is discontinued, the school may retain no more\nthan:\n (i) zero percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination is during\nthe first week of instruction; or\n (ii) twenty-five percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination\nis during the second week of instruction; or\n (iii) fifty percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination is\nduring the third week of instruction; or\n (iv) seventy-five percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination\nis during the fourth week of instruction; or\n (v) one hundred percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination\noccurs after the fourth week of instruction.\n (2) For programs organized by terms of fifteen, sixteen, seventeen or\neighteen weeks apiece, the school shall evenly divide the total tuition\ncharges among the number of terms. After instruction is begun in a\nschool, if a student withdraws or is discontinued, the school may retain\nno more than:\n (i) zero percent of the term's tuition if the termination is during\nthe first week of instruction; or\n (ii) twenty percent of the term's tuition if the termination is during\nthe second week of instruction; or\n (iii) thirty-five percent of the term's tuition if the termination is\nduring the third week of instruction; or\n (iv) fifty percent of the term's tuition if the termination is during\nthe fourth week of instruction; or\n (v) seventy percent of the term's tuition if the termination is during\nthe fifth week of instruction; or\n (vi) one hundred percent of the term's tuition if the termination\noccurs after the completion of the fifth week of instruction.\n c. (1) The tuition refund policy for the second term or quarter of any\nprogram at schools licensed pursuant to section five thousand one of\nthis article shall be as follows:\n (A) For programs which are divided into quarters of up to fourteen\nweeks, the school shall evenly divide the total tuition charges among\nthe number of quarters. After instruction is begun in a school, if a\nstudent withdraws or is discontinued, the school may retain no more\nthan:\n (i) twenty-five percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination is\nduring the first week of instruction; or\n (ii) fifty percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination is\nduring the second week of instruction; or\n (iii) seventy-five percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination\nis during the third week of instruction; or\n (iv) one hundred percent of the quarter's tuition if the termination\noccurs after the third week of instruction.\n (B) For programs organized by terms of fifteen, sixteen, seventeen or\neighteen weeks apiece, the school shall evenly divide the total tuition\ncharges among the number of terms. After instruction is begun in a\nschool, if a student withdraws or is discontinued, the school may retain\nno more than:\n (i) twenty percent of the term's tuition if the termination is during\nthe first week of instruction; or\n (ii) thirty-five percent of the term's tuition if the termination is\nduring the second week of instruction; or\n (iii) fifty percent of the term's tuition if the termination is during\nthe third week of instruction; or\n (iv) seventy percent of the term's tuition if the termination is\nduring the fourth week of instruction; or\n (v) one hundred percent of the term's tuition if the termination\noccurs after the completion of the fourth week of instruction.\n (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph one of this\nparagraph, the tuition refund policy set forth in paragraph b of this\nsubdivision shall apply unless the school demonstrates that there are no\nsignificant educational changes in the educational program of the\nstudent, such changes as defined in regulations of the commissioner.\n d. The tuition refund policy for the third and any subsequent term or\nquarter of any program licensed pursuant to section five thousand one of\nthis article shall be the policy set forth in subparagraph one of\nparagraph c of this subdivision.\n e. No program shall have a term in excess of eighteen weeks.\n f. The amount of the refund shall be calculated based on the last day\nof student attendance.\n g. (1) Any refund due to a student shall be paid by the school within\nforty-five days of the date on which the student withdraws from the\nprogram. For the purposes of this article, such date shall be the\nearliest of (i) the date on which the student gives written notice to\nthe school or (ii) the date on which the student is deemed to have\nwithdrawn pursuant to subparagraph two of this paragraph.\n (2) If a student has failed to attend classes for a period of thirty\ncalendar days, the school shall send by regular mail a notice to the\nstudent that the student shall be deemed to have withdrawn from the\nprogram if the student does not notify the school to the contrary within\ntwelve days from the date on which the letter is sent. If the student\nfails to respond within such twelve-day period, the student shall be\ndeemed to have withdrawn and the school shall notify the higher\neducation services corporation that the student has withdrawn and the\ndate of the withdrawal.\n h. Schools shall submit, for approval by the commissioner, the school\ncatalog with a weekly tuition liability chart for each program that\nindicates the amount of refund due the student in the event of\nwithdrawal.\n i. Upon payment of a refund to a lender, the school shall forthwith\nsend a notice to a person designated by the president of the higher\neducation services corporation upon a form approved by the president\nthat such refund was made.\n j. If the higher education services corporation fails to receive the\nnotice required by paragraph i of this subdivision, it shall forthwith\nnotify the student of his or her right to a refund and the commissioner\nof such failure. Upon receipt of such notification, the commissioner\nshall take appropriate action against the school.\n 4. Curriculum approval. a. An application and fee shall be made for\nthe initial approval of a curriculum or course and shall include such\ninformation as the commissioner may require by regulation. Approval\nshall be valid for a period not to exceed four years. The application\nfee for any curriculum of one hundred clock hours or more shall be two\nhundred fifty dollars. The application fee for any course of less than\none hundred clock hours shall be one hundred dollars. Such application\nfees shall accrue to the credit of the proprietary vocational school\nsupervision account.\n b. In approving curriculum, the commissioner shall take into\nconsideration the following:\n (1) that the entrance requirements demonstrate that students possess\nthe skills, competencies and prerequisite knowledge needed to progress\nin the curriculum;\n (2) that the content will enable the student to develop those skills\nand competencies required for employment in the occupational area for\nwhich the curriculum was developed;\n (3) that the school will utilize appropriate instructional methods;\n (4) that the instructional equipment used within the curriculum is\ncomparable to the equipment currently used by business or industry in\nthe occupational area for which the curriculum was developed; and\n (5) that a curriculum may include instruction in English as a second\nlanguage at a beginning or basic level, provided such instruction shall\nnot constitute more than fifty percent of such program.\n c. (1) If the evaluation of a particular course or facility requires\nthe services of an expert not employed by the department, the department\nshall retain such expert at the school's expense in addition to the\napplication fees prescribed in paragraph a of this subdivision.\n (2) If, in the interest of expediting the approvals, a school requests\nthe department to employ an outside consultant, the school shall pay the\ncost of such services in addition to the application fees prescribed in\nparagraph a of this subdivision.\n d. The commissioner shall act on applications for approval of a course\nor curriculum within one hundred twenty days of receipt of a complete\napplication and, in the case of a denial, shall set forth in writing the\nreasons for such denial.\n e. Notwithstanding paragraphs b, c and d of this subdivision,\ncurriculum certified by a nationally recognized vendor as defined in\ncommissioner's regulations shall be recognized by the department in lieu\nof an expert evaluation when such curriculum is adopted by a school in\nthe original format provided by the vendor as long as the proposed\ncurriculum is a stand alone program and not part of a larger\ncomprehensive course.\n f. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, a not-for-profit\nlicensed career school, that is eligible for participation in the\ntuition assistance program and which has national accreditation, may,\nfor the purpose of calculation of federal financial aid amounts only,\nmeasure students' academic progress in an approved curriculum in\nnon-degree granting credit hours, based upon a national accrediting\nagency's conversion and approval of clock hours to non-degree credit\nhours. For the purposes of this paragraph, "national accreditation"\nshall mean accreditation by a national accrediting agency as defined in\nthe commissioner's regulations.\n 5. Application for reapproval. a. An application and fee shall be made\nfor reapproval of a curriculum or course. Such application shall be\nconsidered timely if submitted at least one hundred twenty days prior to\nthe expiration of the current approval. The application fee for any\ncurriculum of one hundred clock hours or more shall be two hundred fifty\ndollars. The application fee for any course of less than one hundred\nclock hours shall be one hundred dollars, provided that no fee shall be\nassessed for the submission of a reapproval application without change.\nSuch application fee shall accrue to the credit of the proprietary\nvocational school supervision account.\n b. Curriculum reapproval standards. (1) The commissioner shall pre-\nscribe by regulation, standards for reapproval after the first year of\nlicensure, of any curriculum or course based upon factors including but\nnot limited to the following, as appropriate:\n (i) for each curriculum or course, the percentage of students who have\ndropped out;\n (ii) the acquisition of a specified minimum level of skills by the\nstudents; and\n (iii) for each curriculum or course, the percentage of students placed\nin occupations related to the instruction, where applicable.\n (2) Such standards shall be consistent with those applied to all\nnon-degree career education programs.\n c. Reapproval contingency. Reapproval of a curriculum or course shall\nbe contingent upon a demonstration by the applicant that the curriculum\nor course has met the curriculum reapproval standards set forth in this\nsubdivision. Except as otherwise provided in paragraph d of this\nsubdivision, no such curriculum or course or substantially similar\ncurriculum or course may be given without reapproval by the\ncommissioner.\n d. When timely and complete application is made for the reapproval of\na curriculum or course, and no written denial is made thirty days prior\nto the date of expiration of the existing approval, the curriculum or\ncourse shall be deemed to be approved for the period of the curriculum.\nIf the application is denied, the commissioner shall set forth in\nwriting the reasons for such denial.\n e. The commissioner may provide in regulations for reapproval\nprocedures, consistent with this subdivision, for applications submitted\nless than one hundred twenty days from the expiration date.\n f. The commissioner shall act upon enrollment agreements and catalogs\nwithin ninety days of receipt, and, in the case of denial, shall set\nforth in writing the reasons for such denial. If the commissioner fails\nto act within ninety days, a catalog shall be deemed approved for one\nyear and an enrollment agreement shall be deemed approved until the\ncommissioner acts upon it.\n 6. a. Teachers and directors. No person shall be employed by a private\ncareer school as a director or teacher who is not licensed in such\ncapacity by the department pursuant to regulations of the commissioner,\nwhich shall take into consideration such factors as moral character,\neducational qualifications and practical experience. The application\nshall include a statement, signed by the president or chief executive\nofficer of the school, certifying that to the best of his or her\nknowledge, the applicant is able to meet the educational qualifications\nand practical experience set forth in the commissioner's regulations.\nSuch application shall be considered timely if mailed to the\ncommissioner and postmarked four days prior to employment at the school\nand must be completed within twenty days thereafter; provided, however,\nthat the commissioner may, for good cause shown, extend the time within\nwhich to complete the application. When a complete application is made,\nthe commissioner shall act upon such application within thirty days. If\nno written denial is made within the thirty days, the application shall\nbe deemed to be approved until the commissioner acts upon it or until\nthe end of the term or semester, whichever occurs first. If a written\ndenial is made after the thirty day period, the commissioner may allow\nthe applicant to teach at the school for the remainder of the term or\nsemester if the commissioner determines that the removal of the teacher\nwould not be in the best educational interest of the students. This\nsubdivision shall not apply to directors or teachers employed on or\nbefore July first, nineteen hundred seventy-two. Teachers' licenses\nissued on or after the effective date of the chapter of the laws of two\nthousand twelve which amended this paragraph shall be valid at all\nlicensed private career schools for the courses, curricula, or\noccupations indicated on the license. Teachers holding valid private\nschool teacher licenses valid at only one school location shall have\nthem replaced, at no cost, with licenses valid at any licensed school in\nthe same subject or subjects and with the same expiration date as was\nlisted on the previous teaching license.\n b. A school director shall have access to all student and school\nrecords which shall be maintained in accordance with this article and\nthe regulations of the commissioner and shall make such records\navailable to the commissioner or the commissioner's designee upon\nrequest during an on-site school inspection.\n c. Notwithstanding paragraph a of this subdivision, a teacher who has\nbeen certified as an instructor by a nationally recognized vendor as\ndefined in commissioner's regulations may be deemed qualified as an\ninstructor by the department, provided such teacher shall only provide\ninstruction in the course or courses for which he or she holds vendor's\ncertification. A teacher authorized by this paragraph will be subject to\nall licensing fees required by the department for licensed teachers.\n 7. Advertising. a. The commissioner is authorized to commence a\ndisciplinary proceeding pursuant to this article for false, misleading,\ndeceptive or fraudulent advertising pursuant to regulations promulgated\nby the commissioner which shall be consistent with article twenty-two-A\nof the general business law. The department shall issue guidelines as to\nappropriate advertising content. In developing such guidelines, the\ndepartment shall consider advertising for similar programs offered by\nvarious educational institutions. In a disciplinary action or other\nproceeding, such guidelines shall not be presumptive evidence that\nparticular advertising is appropriate.\n b. Beginning on January first, two thousand, all schools shall include\nin their advertising, promotional material, or letterhead the statement\n"Licensed by the State of New York", and an accompanying symbol to\nindicate such status, issued by the commissioner pursuant to section\nfive thousand nine of this article.\n 8. The higher education services corporation shall adopt rules and\nregulations to effectuate the cessation of collection activities by\nlenders or by the corporation in cases in which a licensed private\ncareer school at which the student enrolled has closed or ceased its\nteaching activities during the academic period for which the loan was\nmade or guaranteed.\n