§ 28C.10.110 — Unfair business practices.

Washington § 28C.10.110

• Jurisdiction: Washington
• Title 28C: VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
• Ch. 28C.10: PRIVATE VOCATIONAL SCHOOLS

Text

(1) It is a violation of this chapter for an entity operating a private vocational school to engage in an unfair business practice. The agency may deny, revoke, or suspend the license of any entity that is found to have engaged in a substantial number of unfair business practices or that has engaged in significant unfair business practices.

(2) It is an unfair business practice for an entity operating a private vocational school or an agent employed by a private vocational school to:

(a) Fail to comply with the terms of a student enrollment contract or agreement;

(b) Use an enrollment contract form, catalog, brochure, or similar written material affecting the terms and conditions of student enrollment other than that previously submitted to the agency and authorized for use;

(c) Advertise in the help wanted section of a newspaper or otherwise represent falsely, directly or by implication, that the school is an employment agency, is making an offer of employment or otherwise is attempting to conceal the fact that what is being represented are course offerings of a school;

(d) Represent falsely, directly or by implication, that an educational program is approved by a particular industry or that successful completion of the program qualifies a student for admission to a labor union or similar organization or for the receipt of a state license in any business, occupation, or profession;

(e) Represent falsely, directly or by implication, that a student who successfully completes a course or program of instruction may transfer credit for the course or program to any institution of higher education;

(f) Represent falsely, directly or by implication, in advertising or in any other manner, the school's size, location, facilities, equipment, faculty qualifications, number of faculty, or the extent or nature of any approval received from an accrediting association;

(g) Represent that the school is approved, recommended, or endorsed by the state of Washington or by the agency, except the fact that the school is authorized to operate under this chapter may be stated;

(h) Provide prospective students with: Any testimonial, endorsement, or other information that a reasonable person would find likely to mislead or deceive prospective students or the public, including those regarding current practices of the school; information regarding rates of completion or postgraduation employment by industry, or its graduates' median hourly or annual earnings, that is not consistent with the presentation of data as established under RCW 28C.10.050 (2)(c); current conditions for employment opportunities; postgraduation employment by industry or probable earnings in the occupation for which the education was designed; total cost to obtain a diploma or certificate; the acceptance of a diploma or certificate by employers as a qualification for employment; the acceptance of courses, a diploma, or certificate by higher education institutions; the likelihood of obtaining financial aid or low-interest loans for tuition; and the ability of graduates to repay loans;

(i) Designate or refer to sales representatives as "counselors," "advisors," or similar terms which have the tendency to mislead or deceive prospective students or the public regarding the authority or qualifications of the sales representatives;

(j) Make or cause to be made any statement or representation in connection with the offering of education if the school or agent knows or reasonably should have known the statement or representation to be false, substantially inaccurate, or misleading;

(k) Engage in methods of advertising, sales, collection, credit, or other business practices which are false, deceptive, misleading, or unfair, as determined by the agency by rule;

(l) Attempt to recruit students in or within forty feet of a building that contains a welfare or unemployment office. Recruiting includes, but is not limited to canvassing and surveying. Recruiting does not include leaving materials at or near an office for a person to pick up of his or her own accord, or handing a brochure or leaflet to a person provided that no attempt is made to obtain a name, address, telephone number, or other data, or to otherwise actively pursue the enrollment of the individual;

(m) Violate RCW 28C.10.050 (3) regarding the sale of, or inducing of students to obtain, specific consumer student loan products; or

(n) Use any official United States military logos in advertising or promotional materials.

Finding — Intent — 2018 c 203: See note following RCW 28B.85.095 .

Severability — 1990 c 188: See note following RCW 28C.10.020 .

Legislative History

[2018 c 203 s 7;2014 c 11 s 6;2001 c 23 s 3;1990 c 188 s 9;1986 c 299 s 11.]