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General Assembly Substitute Bill No. 7088
January Session, 2019
AN ACT CONCERNING PR OGRAM APPROVAL AT IN DEPENDENT
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (l) of section 10a-34 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 2
1, 2019): 3
(l) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) to (j), 4
inclusive, of this section and subject to the authority of the State Board 5
of Education to regulate teacher education programs, [up to twelve 6
new programs of higher learning in any academic year and any 7
program modifications proposed by] an independent institution of 8
higher education, as defined in section 10a-173, shall not be [subject to 9
approval] required to apply for licensure of new programs of higher 10
learning or approval of program modifications by the Office of Higher 11
Education, [until July 1, 2020,] provided (1) the institution maintains 12
eligibility to participate in financial aid programs governed by Title IV, 13
Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended from time to 14
time, (2) the United States Department of Education has not 15
determined that the institution has a financial responsibility score that 16
is less than 1.5 for the most recent fiscal year for which the data 17
necessary for determining the score is available, and (3) the institution 18
has been located in the state and accredited as a degree-granting 19 Substitute Bill No. 7088
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institution in good standing for ten years or more by a regional 20
accrediting association recognized by the Secretary of the United States 21
Department of Education and maintains such accreditation status. 22
Each institution that is exempt from program [approval] licensure or 23
approval of program modifications by the Office of Higher Education 24
under this subsection shall file with the office (A) [an application for 25
approval of any new program of higher learning in excess of twelve 26
new programs in any academic year] a new program licensure form, as 27
prescribed by the office, prior to students enrolling in any new 28
program, (B) a program actions form, as [created] prescribed by the 29
office, [prior to students enrolling in any new program of higher 30
learning or] for any existing program subject to a program 31
modification, and (C) not later than July first, and annually thereafter, 32
(i) a list [and brief description of any new programs of higher learning 33
introduced by the institution in the preceding academic year and] of 34
any existing programs of higher learning discontinued by the 35
institution in the preceding academic year, (ii) the institution's current 36
program approval process and all actions of the governing board 37
concerning approval of any new program of higher learning, and (iii) 38
the institution's financial responsibility composite score, as determined 39
by the United States Department of Education, for the most recent 40
fiscal year. [for which the data necessary for determining the score is 41
available]. Nothing contained in this subsection shall be construed to 42
exempt an independent institution of higher education from the 43
requirement of applying to the office for relicensure of any new 44
program of higher learning after a period of three years in accordance 45
with section 10a-34-4 of the regulations of Connecticut state agencies 46
or for accreditation of any new program of higher learning in 47
accordance with section 10a-34-5 of the regulations of Connecticut 48
state agencies. 49
Sec. 2. Section 10a-34 of the general statutes is amended by adding 50
subsection (m) as follows (Effective July 1, 2019): 51
(NEW) (m) An independent institution of higher education that is 52 Substitute Bill No. 7088
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exempt from licensure of new programs of higher learning or approval 53
of program modifications pursuant to subsection (l) of this section may 54
have its exempt status suspended for a period of time to be determined 55
by the office, but not to exceed two years, if the institution (1) fails to 56
meet any of the qualifications or filing requirements of said subsection, 57
or (2) discontinues two or more programs of higher learning in an 58
academic year. An institution may apply to the Office of Higher 59
Education to reinstate its exempt status prior to the expiration of the 60
period of time in which such institution's exempt status is suspended 61
in the form and manner prescribed by the office. 62
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 July 1, 2019 10a-34(l)
Sec. 2 July 1, 2019 10a-34
HED Joint Favorable Subst.