§ 21-18-226 — State authorization reciprocity agreements; administration; requirements; fees; rules and regulations

(a) The commission shall enter into an agreement with the
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education to
participate, on behalf of the state of Wyoming, with all other
states legally joining in the state authorization reciprocity
agreement.
(b) The requirements of the agreement shall be sufficient
to protect the integrity of Wyoming post secondary education,
but shall also allow authorized institutions complying with the
agreement the ability to reach as many potential students as
possible.
(c) The commission shall review applications from any
public or private post secondary institution seeking admission
under the state reciprocity agreement if the institution has a
physical presence in Wyoming and is organized under the laws of
the state of Wyoming. The commission shall:
(i) Admit to the state authorization agreement any
qualified public or private applicant that meets the
requirements of the state authorization reciprocity agreement
pertaining to institutional quality, consumer protection and
fiscal viability as defined by subsection (d) of this section;
(ii) Monitor compliance of admitted institutions for
institutional quality, consumer protection and fiscal viability;
(iii) Notify, in a timely manner, the Western
Interstate Commission for Higher Education of those post
secondary institutions admitted to the reciprocity agreement
under paragraph (i) of this subsection and any action taken
against an authorized institution pursuant to paragraph (iv) of
this subsection; and
(iv) Take appropriate action against any authorized
institution upon failure to comply with requirements of the
state authorization reciprocity agreement, including an
investigation, citation, suspension or expulsion from the
reciprocity agreement.
(d) For purposes of paragraph (c)(i) of this section, an
institution may satisfy:
(i) The institutional quality standard through
evidence of current accreditation;
(ii) The consumer protection standard through
evidence that information required under Title IV of the Higher
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1070 et seq.), as amended, is
provided to current and prospective students, and evidence of a
procedure for addressing student complaints both internally and
through an outside state agency as required by that act;
(iii) The fiscal viability standard for public
institutions through evidence of adequate public funding, or for
a private institution, through evidence that the United States
department of education, in its most recent fiscal year report,
assigned the institution a financial responsibility composite
score of one and five-tenths (1.5) or greater, or a financial
responsibility composite score of not less than one (1) if the
report covers the most recent two (2) consecutive fiscal years.
(e) The commission may adopt rules and regulations to
implement this section.
(f) For purposes of administrating this section, the
commission may establish and collect fees from authorized
institutions to pay necessary administrative expenses incurred
under this section. Any fees collected pursuant to this
subsection shall be deposited into the general fund.
(g) As used in this section:
(i) "Accredited" or "accreditation" means the status
of public recognition that an accrediting agency recognized by
the United States department of education pursuant to Title IV
of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1070 et seq.),
as amended, grants to an institution or educational program that
meets the department's established requirements;
(ii) "Educational program" means a program of
organized instruction or study beyond secondary education that
leads to an academic professional degree, vocational degree or
certificate or other recognized educational credential;
(iii) "Physical presence" means the ongoing
occupation of a physical location in Wyoming for instructional
purposes or the maintenance of an administrative office in
Wyoming to facilitate instruction. For purposes of this section,
the following activities do not constitute a physical presence
in Wyoming:
(A) Delivery of distance education courses
online;
(B) Advertising;
(C) Recruiting;
(D) Courses delivered on military installations
by an accredited institution limited to active and reserve
military personnel, dependents of military personnel and
civilian employees of the military installation;
(E) Operation of a server or other electronic
service device; or
(F) Experiential learning opportunities such as
a clinical practicum residency or internship.
(iv) "Post secondary institution" means a person,
business entity, nonprofit corporation or governmental entity
that operates educational programs beyond secondary education;
(v) "State authorization reciprocity agreement" means
an agreement, as published by the Western Interstate Commission
for Higher Education on November 1, 2013, or substantially
similar to the version published on that date, which allows post
secondary institutions that meet federal criteria to recruit,
advertise, market and conduct distance education across state
lines with as few restrictions as possible.