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

1. (1) Academic quarter--A period of instruction that includes at least ten weeks of instruction, unless otherwise approved by the Commission.
2. (2) Academic semester--A period of instruction that includes at least 15 weeks of instruction, unless otherwise approved by the Commission.
3. (3) Accountant--An independent certified public accountant properly registered with the appropriate state board of accountancy.
4. (4) Act--Texas Education Code, Chapter 132, Proprietary Schools.
5. (5) Advertising--Any affirmative act designed to call attention to a school or program for the purpose of encouraging enrollment.
6. (6) Asynchronous distance education--Distance education training that the Commission determines is not synchronous.
7. (7) Board--A local workforce development board as created under the Workforce and Economic Competitiveness Act.
8. (8) Clock hour--Fifty minutes of instruction during a 60-minute period.
9. (9) Commission--The Texas Workforce Commission.
10. (10) Coordinating Board--The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
11. (11) Correspondence course--Distance education, either a seminar or a program, that is offered to non-residence school students via correspondence or other media from a remote site on a self-paced schedule, excluding programs using interactive instruction.
12. (12) Correspondence school--A school that offers only correspondence courses.
13. (13) Course of instruction--A program or seminar.
14. (14) Employment--A graduating or graduate student's employment in the same or substantially similar occupation for which the student was trained.

15. (15) Good reputation--A person is considered to be of good reputation if the person:

    1. (A) has never been convicted of a felony related to the operation of a school, and the person has been rehabilitated, including completion of parole or probation, from any other convictions that would constitute risk of harm to the school or students as determined by the Commission;
    2. (B) has never been successfully sued for fraud or deceptive trade practices within the last 10 years;
    3. (C) does not own a school currently in violation of legal requirements, has never owned a school with repeated violations, and has never owned a school that closed with violations including, but not limited to, unpaid refunds; and
    4. (D) has not knowingly falsified or withheld information from the Commission.
16. (16) Job placement--An affirmative effort by the school to assist the student in obtaining employment in the same or substantially similar stated occupation for which the student was trained.
17. (17) Master student registration list--A comprehensive list with an entry made for any person who signs an enrollment agreement, makes a payment to attend the school, or attends a class. The entry shall be made on the date the first of these events occurs.
18. (18) Program--A sequence of approved subjects offered by a school that teaches skills and fundamental knowledge required for employment in the stated occupation.
19. (19) Reimbursement contract basis--A school operating, or proposing to operate, under a contract with a state or federal entity in which the school receives payment upon completion of the training.
20. (20) Residence school--A school that offers at least one program that includes classroom instruction or synchronous distance education.
21. (21) School--A "proprietary school," as defined in the Act, that includes each location where courses of instruction shall be offered.
22. (22) Secondary education--Successful completion of public, private, or home schooling at the high school level or obtainment of a recognized high school equivalency credential.
23. (23) Seminar--A course of instruction that enhances a student's career, as opposed to a program that teaches skills and fundamental knowledge required for a stated occupation. A seminar may include a workshop, an introduction to an occupation or cluster of occupations, a short course that teaches part of the skills and knowledge for a particular occupation, language training, continuing professional education, and review for postsecondary examination.
24. (24) Seminar school--A school that offers only seminars.
25. (25) Small school--A "small school" as defined in the Act.

26. (26) Stated occupation--An occupation for which a program is offered that:

    1. (A) is recognized by a state or federal law or by a state or federal agency as existing or emerging;
    2. (B) is in demand; and
    3. (C) requires training to achieve entry-level proficiencies.
27. (27) Student--Any individual solicited, enrolled, or trained in Texas by a school.
28. (28) Subject--A component of a program that includes specific content designed to advance the practical skills and knowledge necessary to prepare a student for employment in the stated occupation. A subject in a school is similar to a course at a community or technical college.
29. (29) Suspension of enrollments--A Commission sanction that requires the school to suspend enrollments, re-enrollments, advertising, and solicitation, and to cease, in any way, advising prospective students, either directly or indirectly, of the available courses of instruction.

30. (30) Synchronous distance education--The Commission may determine distance education to be synchronous under the following conditions:

    1. (A) The training is conducted simultaneously in real time, or the training is conducted so that the manner of delivery ensures that even if the instructor and student are separated by time, the clock hours of instruction that the student experiences can be determined; and
    2. (B) There is consistent interaction between the student(s) and the instructor on a schedule that includes a definite time for completion of the program and periodic verifiable student completion/performance measures that allow the application of the progress standards of Subchapter K and attendance standards of Subchapter L of this chapter.
31. (31) Tour--An inspection of the facilities and equipment pertaining to a course of instruction.
32. (32) Week--Seven consecutive calendar days.

Source Note:The provisions of this §807.2 adopted to be effective August 16, 1998, 23 TexReg 8479; amended to be effective February 24, 2003, 28 TexReg 1651.