N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 8, § 3.29 – Use of the terms “college” and “university.”

(a) Except as provided in subdivisions (b) and (c) of this section, no individual proprietorship, association, co-partnership or corporation, other than the State University of New York and the City University of New York and their respective component institutions, a community college as defined in section 6301 of the Education Law, and an institution chartered by the Regents or by special act of the Legislature for the purpose of offering registered undergraduate and/or graduate courses of study creditable toward a degree, shall use the words “college” or “ university” in its name.
(b) This section shall not apply to corporations which are now using the word “college” in their corporate names and which had used the word “college” in their corporate names prior to the enactment of chapter 378 of the Laws of 1892, or to individual proprietorships, associations, co-partnership or corporations which do not offer educational programs and whose name includes the word “college” or “university” in a context from which it clearly appears that such entity is not an educational institution.
(c) The commissioner, pursuant to Education Law, section 216, may consent to the amendment of the certificate of incorporation of a corporation formed under the Business Corporation Law, whose purposes include the operation of a program or programs of postsecondary education, to include the word “college” in the corporate name, provided that:
1. (1) such corporation has been authorized by the Board of Regents to issue one or more academic degrees;
2. (2) the program or programs leading to such authorized degree or degrees have been registered by the department;
3. (3) such corporation possesses full and current accreditation by an appropriate regional collegiate accrediting association acceptable to the commissioner;
4. (4) the corporation and any school or educational program which it may conduct shall be subject to and comply with all of the statutory provisions, rules of the Regents and regulations of the commissioner which would be applicable to a corporation created by the Regents pursuant to section 216 of the Education Law for the same purpose or purposes; and
5. (5) the proposed amendment of the certificate of incorporation specifically states that within thirty days after receipt by the corporation of an order by the Board of Regents directing such action, the holders of the majority of all the outstanding shares of the corporation entitled to vote upon an amendment of this certificate of incorporation will cause to be filed with the Secretary of State a certificate of amendment to the certificate of incorporation changing the corporate name to delete therefrom the word “college.” Such an order of the Board of Regents shall be made upon a finding that the corporation does not comply with one or more of the requirements of paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subdivision.