O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 22-123—SB 105
Higher Education and Employment Advancement Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING RE COMMENDATIONS BY THE OFFICE OF
HIGHER EDUCATION AND EXTENDING THE TIME TO CONDUCT A
SEXUAL MISCONDUCT CL IMATE ASSESSMENT AT INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
§ 1 — DEPARTMENT HEA D
Makes the OHE executive director a “department head” appointed by the governor and subject to
legislative approval
§ 2 — INFORMATION ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCA TION
OPPORTUNITIES
Requires OHE to spread information on postsecondary education opportunities throughout the
state
§§ 3-10 — OVERSIGHT OF HIGHER LEARNING PROGRAMS
Makes various changes to OHE’s academic program approval process for independent higher
education institutions
§§ 8, 11-12, 16, 18, 21, 23-25 & 27-42 — PRIVATE CAREER SCHOOLS
Renames “private occupational schools” as “private career schools” in various statutes
§§ 12-14 — APPLICATION PROCESS
Modifies the private career school authorization certificate application requirements and process;
removes the time limit on a private career school's irrevocable letter of credit; and requires a
private career school to provide evidence to OHE that it has the financial resources to serve its
students in order to renew its authorization certificate
§§ 14, 15 & 19-22 — FEES, FINES, AND OTHER PAYMENTS IN
REGULATIONS FOR PRIVATE CAREER SCHOOLS
Requires OHE to establish certain fees, fines, penalties, and other payments in regulations and
eliminates amounts set in statute when the regulations become effective
§ 17 — DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS
Requires private career schools to request authorization to offer existing or new programs
through a distance learning program
§ 26 — PRIVATE CAREER SCHOOL STUDENT BENEFIT ACCOUNT O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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Requires the advisory committee tasked with assisting the OHE executive director in
administering the Private Career School Student Benefit Account to be established only when
there are available funds to award
§ 44 — REPEALER
Eliminates a requirement that hospital-based occupational schools pay annual fees and quarterly
assessments into the Private Career School Student Protection Account
SUMMARY: This act makes various changes in the laws governing private
occupational schools and higher education institutions overseen by the Office of
Higher Education (OHE). It also makes technical and conforming changes.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022, unless otherwise noted below.
§ 1 — DEPARTMENT HEA D
Makes the OHE executive director a “department head” appointed by the governor and subject to
legislative approval
The act adds OHE’s executive director to the statutory list of “department
heads” appointed by the governor and subject to legislative approval. Existing law
already requires the governor to appoint the executive director with confirmation
by the legislature.
§ 2 — INFORMATION ON POSTSECONDARY EDUCA TION
OPPORTUNITIES
Requires OHE to spread information on postsecondary education opportunities throughout the
state
The act requires OHE to spread information throughout the state about
postsecondary education opportunities in the state. By law, OHE regulates the
state’s independent colleges and universities, licenses in-state academic programs
offered by out-of-state institutions, and regulates postsecondary career schools,
among other things. The act eliminates a provision allowing the Board of Regents
for Higher Education to prescribe additional responsibilities for OHE’s executive
director.
§§ 3-10 — OVERSIGHT OF HIGHER LEARNING PROGRAMS
Makes various changes to OHE’s academic program approval process for independent higher
education institutions
The act standardizes various statutory references to OHE’s “licensure,”
“approval,” and “accreditation” of higher education institutions by replacing these
terms with “authorization,” which it defines as OHE’s approval to operate a higher
learning program or higher education institution for subsequent periods and confer
specified degrees. Under existing law, a “program of higher learning” that OHE O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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regulates is any course of instruction for which college- or university-level credit
may be given or received by transfer. The act specifies that this includes any course
offered by dual enrollment.
Appeal of Application Denial (§ 3)
Prior law required OHE to establish academic review commissions to hear each
individual appeal of a denial of an application for a higher learning program’s or
higher education institution’s licensure or accreditation. For each appeal, OHE had
to select a nine-person commission from a panel appointed by legislative leaders
and the governor, which had to review the appeal and decide on it within 30 days.
The act instead requires OHE to conduct a hearing on the appeal under the Uniform
Administrative Procedure Act.
Focused and On-Site Reviews (§ 3)
The act requires the OHE executive director or his designee to conduct a
focused or on-site review of an application for program modifications,
nonsubstantive changes, or authorizations if he determines that further review is
needed due at least in part to the higher education institution’s financial condition
indicating that it is at risk of imminent closure, as determined through the financial
screening required by the act (see § 4). Existing law already requires a focused or
on-site review if further review of an application is needed due to the applicant
offering instruction in a new higher learning program or new degree level.
By law, a “focused review” is one conducted by an out-of-state curriculum
expert and an “on-site review” is a full team evaluation by OHE at the higher
education institution (CGS § 10a-34(e)).
Accreditation by Another Entity (§ 3)
Prior law required OHE to accept, unless it found cause not to, (1) regional
accreditations that satisfied its requirements and (2) national accreditation for
Connecticut institutions accredited before July 1, 2013. The act instead requires
OHE to accept accreditation recognized by the U.S. Department of Education
secretary unless it finds cause not to accept it.
Financial Conditions (§ 3)
The act allows OHE, for any program or institution accredited or authorized to
award degrees granted under the law before July 1, 1965, to discontinue the
accreditation or authority if OHE finds the institution is at risk of imminent closure,
as determined through a financial screening conducted under the act (see § 4).
Financial Screenings and Imminent Risk of Closure Determinations (§ 4)
The act requires OHE to enter into a memorandum of understanding with one O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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or more accrediting agencies (i.e., accrediting associations recognized by the U.S.
Department of Education secretary) to conduct an annual financial screening of
each independent higher education institution. If the institution does not annually
complete a financial screening with an accrediting agency, then OHE must conduct
the screening, in a form and way OHE’s executive director prescribes.
Under the act, OHE may determine that an independent higher education
institution is at risk of imminent closure through (1) an OHE-conducted financial
screening (i.e., a review and evaluation of financial information to determine
whether the institution’s financial status puts it at risk of imminent closure) or (2)
OHE’s acceptance of an accrediting agency’s determination.
Under the act, an independent higher education institution is “at risk of
imminent closure” if OHE determines it is at risk of being unable to continue
operations or substantially fulfill its obligations to enroll and admit students for the
balance of the current and subsequent academic year.
The act requires OHE, upon determining that an independent higher education
institution is at risk of imminent closure, to submit a summary of the reasons for
the determination to the institution. Once an institution receives the summary, it
must submit to the office, in a form and manner prescribed by OHE’s executive
director, (1) notice of any known financial liability or risk, (2) any information
needed to accurately determine and monitor the institution’s financial status and
risk of imminent closure, and (3) an updated closure plan approved by the
institution’s governing board.
Under the act, if an independent higher education institution fails to comply
with the above requirements, the OHE executive director may (1) request to
suspend state funding designated for the institution, (2) establish a date to suspend
or revoke the institution’s degree-granting authority, or (3) impose other penalties
he deems appropriate.
The act exempts financial information and records submitted to OHE for this
purpose from disclosure under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Closure Plan Updates (§ 6)
Beginning July 1, 2023, when an independent higher education institution
receives a summary from OHE indicating risk of imminent closure, the act requires
the institution’s governing board to update the institution’s closure plan to include
plans for the following actions:
1. providing notice of impending closure to the institution’s relevant
stakeholders (e.g., enrolled students, applicants, recent graduates, faculty,
staff, and surrounding communities);
2. disseminating information on student borrowers’ rights and responsibilities;
3. managing the institution’s finances, accreditation status, and any
compliance issues with federal or state financial aid programs; and
4. refunding student deposits and paying the cost of student record
maintenance through means such as providing a surety bond or a letter of
credit in an amount to meet these costs.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022, except provisions on OHE’s memo of O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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understanding for financial screenings, related notice requirements, and suspension
requests (§ 4) are effective July 1, 2023.
§§ 8, 11-12, 16, 18, 21, 23-25 & 27-42 — PRIVATE CAREER SCHOOLS
Renames “private occupational schools” as “private career schools” in various statutes
The act renames “private occupational schools” as “private career schools” and
makes related conforming changes throughout the statutes. As under prior law,
these schools are postsecondary career schools operated by a person, board,
association, partnership, limited liability company, or other entity offering
instruction in any trade or industrial, commercial, service, professional, or other
occupation for a renumeration, consideration, reward, or fee. These schools do not
offer (1) publicly supervised and controlled instruction, (2) employee or member
training offered by a firm or organization, (3) instruction from a school authorized
by the legislature to confer degrees, or (4) instruction offered in the arts or
recreation.
Under the act, when the term “private occupational school” appears in any 2022
public or special act, it must be substituted with the term “private career school.”
The act requires the Legislative Commissioners’ Office (LCO) to make technical,
grammatical, and punctuation changes as necessary in codifying this section’s
provisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2022, except the provision requiring LCO to make
related changes is effective upon passage.
§§ 12-14 — APPLICATION PROCESS
Modifies the private career school authorization certificate application requirements and process;
removes the time limit on a private career school's irrevocable letter of credit; and requires a
private career school to provide evidence to OHE that it has the financial resources to serve its
students in order to renew its authorization certificate
Application Requirements, Fees, and Evaluation Teams (§ 12)
Application Requirements. The act eliminates requirements for specific
information on the application for a certificate of authorization, including the names
and addresses of all school stockholders and the proposed student enrollment
agreement and school catalog. The act instead requires OHE to prescribe forms for
the application.
It also requires (1) OHE to adopt regulations specifying the nonrefundable
initial application fee amount and (2) each initial authorization application
submitted to be accompanied by the fee once the regulations become effective. By
law, anyone seeking to offer occupational instruction must submit an application to
the OHE executive director or designee.
Evaluation Team. By law, OHE must appoint an evaluation team for applicants
seeking to offer occupational instruction. Existing law establishes the team’s
membership, procedures for challenging membership, and its duties, which include O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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(1) conducting on-site inspections, (2) submitting noncompliance reports, (3)
giving the school 30 days to provide evidence of compliance, and (4) submitting a
final recommendation within 120 days after the inspection. Existing law also
requires the evaluation team to consider certain factors (e.g., whether the school
has adequate space, equipment, instructional materials, and personnel for the
instruction offered).
The act requires OHE to appoint evaluation teams under this existing law until
new regulations become effective. Then OHE must appoint an evaluation team in
accordance with the regulations, and the evaluation team must submit a written
report to the OHE executive director recommending authorization or
nonauthorization after an on-site inspection.
Hospitals and Barbering or Hairdressing Schools. The act eliminates
provisions that required hospitals offering postsecondary career instruction to
obtain a certificate of authorization and OHE to prioritize hospitals based on the
size and scope of instruction offered.
The act also eliminates provisions that required schools offering postsecondary
career instruction in barbering or hairdressing to get a certificate of authorization.
Credit Requirement (§ 13)
By law and unchanged by the act, a private career school must file with the
OHE executive director an irrevocable letter of credit, issued by a bank with its
main office or branch in Connecticut, guaranteeing the school’s payments to the
Private Career School Student Protection Account. Under prior law, the letter of
credit was for $40,000. Under the act, OHE must set the amount in regulations.
The Private Career School Student Protection Account is used to refund tuition
to students unable to complete a course at a private career school because the school
goes bankrupt or closes (CGS § 10a-22u).
The act removes the time limit on the irrevocable letter of credit and requires
OHE to set the associated penalty amount in regulations. Under prior law, the letter
of credit was released 12 years after the date of initial approval.
Renewal Application (§ 14)
The act also requires a private career school to provide evidence to OHE, as
part of its renewal application and at the executive director’s discretion, that it has
adequate financial resources to serve its current students for OHE to renew its
certificate of authorization to operate.
§§ 14, 15 & 19-22 — FEES, FINES, AND OTH ER PAYMENTS IN
REGULATIONS FOR PRIVATE CAREER SCHOOLS
Requires OHE to establish certain fees, fines, penalties, and other payments in regulations and
eliminates amounts set in statute when the regulations become effective
The act sunsets certain fee, fine, and payment amounts set in statute and instead
requires OHE to set them in regulations. Prior law set the following fines, fees, and O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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other payments for private career schools:
1. renewing a certificate: $200 for each school and $200 for each branch;
2. changing ownership: $2,000, plus $200 for each in-state branch;
3. violating laws or regulations governing private career schools: $500 per
day;
4. operating without a certificate of operation: $500 per day; and
5. failing to comply with school closure requirements: $500 per day.
Existing law requires OHE to make regulations to carry out its duties. The act
specifies that the regulations may prescribe fines, fees, or penalties instead of the
amounts established under prior law. Under the act, the statutory amounts described
above are only effective until OHE regulations setting amounts for these payments
become effective. After the regulations become effective, applicants must submit
nonrefundable application fees in the amounts established in regulations.
§ 17 — DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS
Requires private career schools to request authorization to offer existing or new programs
through a distance learning program
The act requires an OHE-authorized private career school to request
authorization to offer existing or new programs through a distance learning program
at least 60 days before establishing the program. Existing law already requires an
OHE-authorized private career school to request authorization to establish and
operate additional classroom sites or branch schools at least 60 days before
establishing the new location.
By law, a “distance learning program” is a program of study in which lectures
are broadcast or classes are conducted by correspondence or over the internet,
without requiring a student to attend in person (CGS § 10-22h).
§ 26 — PRIVATE CAREER SCHOOL STUDENT BENEFIT ACCOUNT
Requires the advisory committee tasked with assisting the OHE executive director in
administering the Private Career School Student Benefit Account to be established only when
there are available funds to award
The act requires the advisory committee tasked with assisting the OHE
executive director in administering the Private Career School Student Benefit
Account to be established only when there are funds available in the account. By
law, the account awards financial aid grants to benefit students.
§ 44 — REPEALER
Eliminates a requirement that hospital-based occupational schools pay annual fees and quarterly
assessments into the Private Career School Student Protection Account
The act eliminates a requirement that hospital-based occupational schools pay
(1) a $200 annual fee to the Private Career School Student Protection Account for
each year after the school’s initial authorization period, (2) quarterly assessments O L R P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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on tuition revenue, and (3) a $200 certificate renewal fee.