13 KAR 1:050 - Licensed out-of-state college's eligibility for Kentucky tuition grant
RELATES TO: KRS 164.020(37), 164.785, 164.945, 164.946, 164.947, 164.992
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 164.785(7)(c) requires the Council on Postsecondary Education to promulgate an administrative regulation to implement the requirement that, beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year, programs or campuses of any out-of-state postsecondary education college that is licensed by the Council on Postsecondary Education to operate in Kentucky and whose institutional programs are not composed solely of sectarian instruction, but in which accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is not an option, be reviewed and approved by the Council on Postsecondary Education based on accreditation criteria that mirrors Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation criteria in order to qualify as an eligible institution in which a student may enroll and receive a Kentucky tuition grant.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Accredited" means the approval of an
accrediting agency.
(2)
"Accrediting agency" means a national or regional agency which evaluates
colleges and is recognized by the United States Department of Education, the
Council on Higher Education Accreditation, or the Council on Postsecondary
Education.
(3) "Agent" means any
person employed by a college to act as a solicitor, broker, or independent
contractor to procure students for the college by solicitation in any form made
at any place other than the main campus of the college.
(4) "College" is defined by
KRS
164.945(1).
(5) "Degree" is defined by
KRS
164.945(2).
(6) "Out-of-state college" means a college
that is chartered, organized, or has its principal location outside of
Kentucky.
(7) "President" means the
president of the Council on Postsecondary Education.
(8) "Regional accrediting association" is
defined by
KRS
164.740(18).
Section 2. General Requirements.
(1) If an out-of-state college licensed by
the Council on Postsecondary Education is seeking to qualify as an eligible
institution in which a student may enroll and receive a Kentucky tuition grant,
and if accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is not
an option for the college, the college shall apply with the Council on
Postsecondary Education.
(2)
(a) Approval by the Council on Postsecondary
Education shall be for the sole purpose of qualifying a Kentucky campus or
campuses of a college as an eligible institution in which a Kentucky student
may enroll and receive a Kentucky tuition grant, and shall not mean that the
college is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools, the Council on Postsecondary Education, or any other
agency.
(b) A college shall not
represent its status as seeking or being accredited by the Commission on
Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the Council on
Postsecondary Education, or any other agency.
(3)
(a) A
college seeking eligibility shall submit the "Application for Council on
Postsecondary Education Approval for Eligibility Pursuant to 13 KAR 1:050 " for
each licensed Kentucky program or instructional site to the
president.
(b) A college seeking
eligibility shall submit a complete and accurate "Application for Council on
Postsecondary Education Approval for Eligibility Pursuant to 13 KAR 1:050 " by
May 30 of the year prior to the first academic year for which it seeks to be
eligible.
(4) The
college shall pay a nonrefundable fee of $10,000 to the Council on
Postsecondary Education with the submission of the application. Review of the
application shall not occur until the fee is paid by the college.
(5) The president shall review the
application and documentation submitted by the applicant college.
Section 3. Integrity of College.
(1) The college shall operate with integrity
in all matters.
(2) The college
shall be responsible for any of its agents and any individual who reports to
the president on behalf of a college, either by virtue of his or her office or
as delegated by the chief executive officer of the college, in all matters
regarding institutional integrity.
(3) Failure to respond appropriately to the
president's decisions and requests or to make complete, accurate, and honest
disclosure shall be grounds for the president to impose a sanction, including
ineligibility under this administrative regulation.
Section 4. Core Requirements. A college
applying for approval by the Council on Postsecondary Education shall meet the
standards established in this section.
(1)
The college shall have a clearly defined, comprehensive, and published mission
specific to the college and appropriate for higher education. The mission shall
address teaching and learning, and where, applicable, research and public
service.
(2) The college shall:
(a) Have degree-granting authority from its
home state authorization agency;
(b) Be licensed by the Council on
Postsecondary Education in accordance with
13 KAR
1:020 prior to seeking eligibility under this
administrative regulation; and
(c)
Be accredited by a regional accrediting association.
(3) The college shall have a governing board
of at least five (5) members that:
(a) Is the
legal body with specific authority over the college;
(b) Exercises fiduciary oversight of the
college;
(c) Ensures that both the
presiding officer of the board and a majority of other voting members of the
board are free of any contractual, employment, personal, or familial financial
interest in the college;
(d) Is not
controlled by a minority of board members or by organizations or colleges
separate from it; and
(e) Defines
and regularly evaluates its responsibilities and expectations.
(4) The college shall have a chief
executive officer selected and evaluated by the college's board whose primary
responsibility is to the college and has ultimate responsibility for, and
exercises appropriate control over, the college's educational, administrative,
and fiscal programs and services.
(5) The college shall employ and regularly
evaluate administrative and academic officers with appropriate experience and
qualifications to lead the college.
(6) The college shall employ an adequate
number of full-time faculty members to support the mission and goals of the
college.
(7) The college shall
engage in ongoing, comprehensive, and integrated research-based planning and
evaluation processes that:
(a) Focus on
institutional quality and effectiveness; and
(b) Incorporate a systematic review of
institutional goals and outcomes consistent with its mission.
(8) The college shall:
(a) Identify, evaluate, and publish goals and
outcomes for student achievement appropriate to the college's mission, the
nature of the students it serves, and the kinds of programs offered;
and
(b) Use multiple measures to
document student success.
(9) The college shall identify expected
outcomes, assess the extent to which it achieves those outcomes, and provide
evidence of seeking improvement based on analysis of the results in:
(a) Student learning outcomes for each of its
educational programs;
(b) Student
learning outcomes for collegiate-level general education competencies of its
undergraduate degree programs; and
(c) Academic and student services that
support student success.
(10) The college shall have educational
programs that embody a coherent course of study, are compatible with the stated
mission and goals of the college, and are based on fields of study appropriate
to higher education.
(11) The
college shall require the successful completion of a general education
component at the undergraduate level that:
(a)
Is based on a coherent rationale;
(b) Is a substantial component of each
undergraduate degree program; and
(c) Ensures breadth of knowledge by having at
least one (1) course from each of the following areas: humanities and fine
arts, social and behavioral sciences, and natural science and mathematics, and
the courses do not narrowly focus on skills, techniques, and procedures
specific to a particular occupation or profession.
(12) The college shall:
(a) Publish, implement, and disseminate
academic policies that adhere to principles of good education practice and that
accurately represent the programs and services of the college;
(b) Make available to students and the public
current academic calendars, grading policies, cost of attendance, and refund
policies;
(c) Ensure the
availability of archived official catalogs with relevant information for course
and degree requirements; and
(d)
Publish and implement policies on the authority of faculty in academic and
governance matters, and places primary responsibility for the content, quality,
and effectiveness of the curriculum with its faculty.
(13) The college shall:
(a) Publish admissions policies consistent
with its mission;
(b) Have
recruitment materials and presentations that accurately represent the
practices, policies, and accreditation status of the college; and
(c) Ensure that independent contractors or
agents used for recruiting purposes and for admission activities are governed
by the same principles and policies as institutional employees.
(14) The institution shall publish
policies for evaluating, awarding, and accepting credit not originating from
the institution that ensure:
(a) The academic
quality of any credit or coursework recorded on its transcript;
(b) An approval process with oversight by
persons academically qualified to make the necessary judgments; and
(c) The credit awarded is comparable to a
designated credit experience and is consistent with the institution's
mission.
(15) The
college shall:
(a) Provide adequate and
appropriate library and learning and information resources, services, and
support for its mission;
(b) Ensure
an adequate number of professional and other staff with appropriate education
or experience in library or other learning or information resources to
accomplish the mission of the college; and
(c) Provide students and faculty with access
and user privileges to its library services, and access to regular and timely
instruction in the use of the library and other learning or information
resources.
(16) The
college shall:
(a) Provide appropriate
academic and student support programs, services, and activities consistent with
its mission;
(b) Publish
appropriate and clear procedures for addressing written student complaints,
demonstrate that it follows the procedures when resolving student complaints,
and maintain a record of its student complaints; and
(c) Provide information and guidance to help
student borrowers understand how to manage their debt and repay their
loans.
(17) The college
shall have sound financial resources and a demonstrated, stable financial base
to support the mission of the college and the scope of its programs and
services.
(18) The college shall
provide:
(a) An institutional audit for the
most recent fiscal year prepared by an independent certified public accountant
or appropriate governmental auditing agency employing the appropriate audit
guide;
(b) A statement of financial
position of unrestricted net assets, exclusive of plant assets and
plant-related debt, which represents the change in unrestricted net assets
attributable to operations for the most recent year; and
(c) An annual budget that is preceded by
sound planning, is subject to sound fiscal procedures, and is approved by the
governing board.
(19)
The college shall:
(a) Be in compliance with
its program responsibilities under Title IV of the most recent Higher Education
Act as amended; and
(b) Audit
financial aid programs as required by federal and state regulation.
(20) The college shall ensure
adequate physical facilities and resources that appropriately serve the needs
of the college's educational programs, support services, and other
missions-related activities and take steps to provide a healthy, safe, and
secure environment for all members of the campus community.
Section 5. Action on Application.
Within six (6) months of the submission of an "Application for Council on
Postsecondary Education Approval for Eligibility Pursuant to 13 KAR 1:050 " the
president shall do one (1) of the following:
(1) Approve the applicant college for status
as an eligible institution in which a student may enroll and receive a Kentucky
tuition grant for ten (10) years;
(2) Deny the applicant college for status as
an eligible institution; or
(3)
Notify the applicant college of deficiencies which shall be corrected before
approval is granted.
Section
6. Renewal.
(1) Beginning with
the 2022-2023 academic year, a college approved by the Council for eligibility
for ten (10) years shall seek renewal of eligibility by submitting the
"Application for Council on Postsecondary Education Approval for Eligibility
Pursuant to 13 KAR 1:050 " by May 30 of the year prior to its eligibility
expiration, and shall pay a nonrefundable fee of $10,000 to the Council on
Postsecondary Education with the submission of the application. Review of the
application shall not occur until the fee is paid by the college.
(2) A college that was previously approved by
the Council for eligibility beginning with the 2011-2012 academic year shall
seek renewal of eligibility by submitting the "Application for Council on
Postsecondary Education Approval for Eligibility Pursuant to 13 KAR 1:050 " by
May 30, 2021 in order to seek eligibility beyond the month and day of its
initial eligibility for 2022, and shall pay a nonrefundable fee of $10,000 to
the Council on Postsecondary Education with the submission of the application.
Review of the application shall not occur until the fee is paid by the
college.
Section 7.
Substantive Change.
(1) Approval pursuant to
this administrative regulation shall be specific to a licensed college and
based on conditions existing at the time of the most recent evaluation and
shall not be transferable to other colleges or entities.
(2) An approved college shall notify the
president within thirty (30) days of action by an accrediting agency that
results in the college being placed on probationary status, a college losing
accreditation, or a college being denied accreditation.
(3) The president shall be responsible for
evaluating all substantive changes to assess the impact of the change on the
college's compliance with this administrative regulation.
(4) A college's failure to comply with this
section shall be grounds for ineligibility under this administrative
regulation.
(5) If a college is
unclear as to whether a change is substantive in nature, the college shall
contact the Council on Postsecondary Education in writing for
consultation.
(6) A substantive
change shall include:
(a) Action by an
accrediting agency that results in the college being placed on probationary
status, a college losing accreditation, or a college being denied
accreditation;
(b) Initiating a
merger or consolidation;
(c)
Altering significantly the educational mission of the college;
(d) Relocating a licensed Kentucky
instructional site or principal location of the college;
(e) Changing the college's governance,
ownership, control, or legal status;
(f) Changing the name of the
college;
(g) Altering significantly
the length of a program;
(h) Adding
a new instructional site or program licensed in accordance with
13 KAR
1:020;
(i)
Denial, suspension, or revocation of licensure by the Council on Postsecondary
Education pursuant to
13 KAR
1:020; or
(j) Closing the college, a Kentucky licensed
instructional site, or a Kentucky licensed program and initiating teach out
agreements.
(7) Within
six (6) months of notification by the college of a substantive change the
president shall do one (1) of the following:
(a) Approve the substantive change and
continue approval under this administrative regulation without changing the
approval period;
(b) Deny the
substantive change and require that the college abandon and not proceed with
the substantive change or else lose approval under this administrative
regulation;
(c) Notify the college
of deficiencies which shall be corrected before the substantive change is
approved, and suspend or revoke approval under this administrative regulation;
or
(d) Suspend or revoke approval
under this administrative regulation.
Section 8. Site Visits.
(1) The president may conduct, or may have
conducted, an announced or unannounced site visit of a licensed college during
reasonable business hours to inspect the files, facilities, and equipment as
well as conduct interviews to determine the college's eligibility under this
administrative regulation.
(2)
Failure to provide full access to the college's files, facilities, and
equipment or prevention of interviews shall be grounds for
ineligibility.
(3) All costs
associated with a site visit and necessary subsequent visits, including travel,
meals, lodging, and consultant honoraria shall be paid by the applicant
college.
(4) The estimated cost of
the site visit shall be paid by the college prior to the site visit, and final
settlement regarding actual expenses incurred shall be paid no later than
thirty (30) days following the completion of the site visit.
(5) Failure to pay these costs shall result
in ineligibility.
Section
9. Hearings and Appeals.
(1) If
the president has determined that there are sufficient grounds for
ineligibility under this administrative regulation, he or she may, for cause,
require the chief administrative officer, or other officers, of a college to
appear for a hearing, consistent with the provisions of KRS Chapter 13B, in
order to determine the facts.
(2)
The chief administrative officer, or other officers, of the college may be
accompanied at the hearing by counsel of their own choosing and at their
expense.
(3) Within thirty (30)
working days after a hearing is held, the president shall reach a determination
and shall issue findings, in writing, to the Council and to the chief
administrative officer of the college.
(4) A college may appeal the actions of the
president regarding a college's ineligibility under this administrative
regulation according to the following procedure:
(a) A college shall notify the president of
the intent to appeal an action within fourteen (14) days of the receipt of the
letter notifying the college of the action taken;
(b) The president shall request that the
Office of Administrative Hearings appoint a hearing officer who shall conduct
an administrative hearing consistent with the provisions of KRS Chapter
13B;
(c) The appeal shall be
presented in writing no later than sixty (60) days following the receipt of
notification of intent to appeal;
(d) The appeals officer shall review findings
of fact, consider testimony, draw conclusions, and formulate a recommendation
consistent with the facts and this administrative regulation;
(e) Within fourteen (14) days, the report of
the appeals officer shall be forwarded to the college and to the president of
the Council on Postsecondary Education; and
(f) Within thirty (30) working days of
receipt of the report of the appeals officer, the president shall approve or
not approve the college.
Section 10. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) "Application for Council on Postsecondary
Education Approval for Eligibility Pursuant to 13 KAR 1:050 ", May 2020, is
incorporated by reference.
(2) This
material may be inspected, copied, or obtained, subject to applicable copyright
law, at the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, 100 Airport Road, 2nd
Floor, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601.
Notes
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 164.785(7)(c)
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No prior version found.