The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Academic Associate Degree Program--A grouping of courses designed to transfer to an upper-level baccalaureate program. This specifically refers to the associate of arts and the associate of science degrees.
2. (2) Accreditation--The status of public recognition that an accrediting agency grants to an educational institution.
3. (3) Accrediting Agency--A legal entity that conducts accreditation activities through voluntary peer review and makes decisions concerning the accreditation status of institutions.

4. (4) Agent--A person employed by or representing a post-secondary educational institution within or without Texas who:

   1. (A) solicits any Texas student for enrollment in the institution;
   2. (B) solicits or accepts payment from any Texas student for any service offered by the institution; or
   3. (C) while having a physical presence in Texas, solicits students or accepts payment from students who do not reside in Texas.
5. (5) Alternative Certificate of Authority--A type of certificate of authority for approval of postsecondary institutions, with operations in the state of Texas, to confer degrees or courses applicable to degrees, or to solicit students for enrollment in institutions that confer degrees or courses applicable to degrees that is governed by flexible, streamlined procedures, emphasizing the importance of innovation, consumer choice, and measurable outcomes in the delivery of educational services.
6. (6) Applied Associate Degree Program--A grouping of courses designed to lead the individual directly to employment in a specific career and that includes at least fifteen (15) semester credit hours or twenty-three (23) quarter credit hours of general education courses. This specifically refers to the associate of applied arts and the associate of applied science degrees.
7. (7) Associate Degree Program--A grouping of courses designed to lead the individual directly to employment in a specific career, or to transfer to an upper-level baccalaureate program. This specifically refers to the associate of arts, the associate of science, the associate of applied arts and the associate of applied science.
8. (8) Board--The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
9. (9) Board Staff--The staff of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board including the Commissioner of Higher Education and all employees who report to the Commissioner.

10. (10) Career School or College--Any business enterprise operated for a profit, or on a nonprofit basis, that maintains a place of business in the State of Texas or solicits business within the State of Texas, and that is not specifically exempted by Texas Education Code §132.002 or §7.4 of this chapter (relating to Standards for Operations of Institutions), and:

    1. (A) That offers or maintains a course or courses of instruction or study; or
    2. (B) At which place of business such a course or courses of instruction or study is available through classroom instruction, by electronic media, by correspondence, or by some or all, to a person for the purpose of training or preparing the person for a field of endeavor in a business, trade, technical, or industrial occupation, or for career or personal improvement.
11. (11) Certificate of Approval--The Texas Workforce Commission's approval of career schools or colleges with operations in Texas to maintain, advertise, solicit for, or conduct any program of instruction in this state.
12. (12) Certificate of Authority--The Board's approval of postsecondary institutions, (other than exempt institutions) with operations in the state of Texas, to confer degrees or courses applicable to degrees, or to solicit students for enrollment in institutions that confer degrees or courses applicable to degrees.
13. (13) Certificate of Authorization--The Board's acknowledgment that an institution is qualified for an exemption from the regulations herein.

14. (14) Certification Advisory Council--

    1. (A) Council to advise the Board on standards and procedures related to certification of private, nonexempt postsecondary educational institutions, and to assist the Commissioner in the examination of individual applications for certificates of authority, and to perform other duties related to certification that the Board finds to be appropriate.
    2. (B) The council shall consist of six members with experience in higher education, three of whom must be drawn from exempt private postsecondary institutions in Texas.
    3. (C) The members shall be appointed for two year fixed and staggered terms.

15. (15) Change of Ownership or Control--Any change in ownership or control of a career school or college or an agreement to transfer control of such institution.

    1. (A) The ownership or control of a career school or college is considered to have changed:

       1. (i) In the case of ownership by an individual, when more than fifty (50) percent of the institution has been sold or transferred;
       2. (ii) In the case of ownership by a partnership or a corporation, when more than fifty (50) percent of the institution or of the owning partnership or corporation has been sold or transferred; or
       3. (iii) When the board of directors, officers, shareholders, or similar governing body has been changed to such an extent as to significantly alter the management and control of the institution.
    2. (B) A change of ownership or control does not include a transfer that occurs as a result of the retirement or death of the owner if transfer is to a member of the owner's family who has been directly and constantly involved in the management of the institution for a minimum of two years preceding the transfer. For the purposes of this section, a member of the owner's family is a parent, sibling, spouse, or child; spouse's parent or sibling; or sibling's or child's spouse.
16. (16) Cited--Any reference to an institution in a negative finding or action by an accrediting agency.
17. (17) Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Code--The four (4)- or six (6)-digit code assigned to an approved degree program in accordance with the CIP manual published by the U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. CIP codes define the authorized teaching field of the specified degree program, based upon the occupation(s) for which the program is designed to prepare its graduates.
18. (18) Commissioner--The Commissioner of Higher Education.
19. (19) Concurrent Instruction--Students enrolled in different classes, courses, and/or subjects being taught, monitored, or supervised simultaneously by a single faculty member.
20. (20) Conditional Certificate of Authorization--The Board's acknowledgement that an institution is qualified for an exemption, once certain specified conditions have been satisfied, from the regulations herein. This certificate will have a specific effective and expiration date determined by the nature of the conditions that must be satisfied. These conditions will be outlined in the certificate of authorization letter that accompanies the certificate.
21. (21) Degree--Any title or designation, mark, abbreviation, appellation, or series of letters or words, including "associate", "bachelor's", "master's", "doctor's" and their equivalents and foreign cognates, which signify, purport to signify, or are generally taken to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of all or part of a program of study which is generally regarded and accepted as an academic degree-level program by accrediting agencies recognized by the Board.
22. (22) Educational or Training Establishment--An enterprise offering a course of instruction, education, or training that is not represented as being applicable to a degree.
23. (23) Exempt Institution--An institution that is accredited by an agency recognized by the Board under §7.6 of this chapter (relating to Recognition of Accrediting Agencies) or a career school or college that applies for and is declared exempt under this chapter, by the Texas Workforce Commission as described in Texas Education Code, §61.003(8), or Texas Education Code Chapter 132, respectively. Exempt institutions may still have to comply with certain Board rules.
24. (24) Fictitious Degree--A counterfeit or forged degree or a degree that has been revoked.

25. (25) Fraudulent or Substandard Degree--A degree conferred by a person who, at the time the degree was conferred, was:

    1. (A) operating in this state in violation of this subchapter;
    2. (B) not eligible to receive a certificate of authority under this subchapter and was operating in another state in violation of a law regulating the conferral of degrees in that state or in the state in which the degree recipient was residing or without accreditation by a recognized accrediting agency, if the degree is not approved through the review process described by §7.12 of this chapter (relating to Review and Use of Degrees from Institutions Not Eligible for Certificates of Authority); or
    3. (C) not eligible to receive a certificate of authority under this subchapter and was operating outside the United States, and whose degree the Board, through the review process described by §7.12 of this chapter, determines is not the equivalent of an accredited or authorized degree.
26. (26) Occasional Courses--Courses offered not more than twice at any given location in the state.
27. (27) Out-of-State Public Postsecondary Institution--Any senior college, university, technical institute, junior or community college, or the equivalent which is controlled by a public body organized outside the boundaries of the State of Texas.
28. (28) Person--Any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, enterprise, or other private entity or any combination thereof.

29. (29) Postsecondary Educational Institution--An educational institution which:

    1. (A) is not a public community college, public technical college, public senior college or university, medical or dental unit or other agency as defined in Texas Education Code §61.003;
    2. (B) is incorporated under the laws of this state, or maintains a place of business in this state, or has an agent or representative present in this state, or solicits business in this state; and
    3. (C) furnishes or offers to furnish courses of instruction in person, by electronic media, by correspondence, or by some means or all leading to a degree; provides or offers to provide credits alleged to be applicable to a degree; or represents that credits earned or granted are collegiate in nature, including describing them as "college-level," or at the level of any protected academic term.

30. (30) Private Postsecondary Educational Institution--An institution which:

    1. (A) is not an institution of higher education as defined by Texas Education Code §61.003;
    2. (B) is incorporated under the laws of this state, maintains a place of business in this state, has a representative presence in this state, or solicits business in this state; and
    3. (C) furnishes or offers to furnish courses of instruction in person, by electronic media, or by correspondence leading to a degree or providing credits alleged to be applied to a degree.
31. (31) Program or Program of Study--Any course or grouping of courses which are represented as entitling a student to a degree or to credits applicable to a degree.
32. (32) Protected Term--The terms "college," "university," "school of medicine," "medical school," "health science center," "school of law," "law school," or "law center," its abbreviation, foreign cognate or equivalents.
33. (33) Recognized Accrediting Agency--Any accrediting agency the standards of accreditation or membership for which have been found by the Board to be sufficiently comprehensive and rigorous to qualify its institutional members for an exemption from the operation of this chapter.
34. (34) Representative--A person who acts on behalf of an institution regulated under this subchapter. The term includes, without limitation, recruiters, agents, tutors, counselors, business agents, instructors, and any other instructional or support personnel.
35. (35) Required State or National Licensure--The requirement for graduates of certain professional programs to obtain a license from state or national entities for entry-level practice.
36. (36) Substantive Change--Any change in principal location, ownership, or governance.

Source Note:The provisions of this §7.3 adopted to be effective December 6, 2009, 34 TexReg 8515; amended to be effective May 26, 2010, 35 TexReg 4152.