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83rd OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2025 Regular Session
House Bill 2320
Sponsored by Representative EVANS (Presession filed.)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject
to consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor’s brief statement of the essential features of the
measure as introduced.The statement includes a measure digest written in compliance with applicable readability
standards.
Digest: The Act permits HECC to cancel its approval of a school to give a degree. (Flesch
Readability Score: 78.8).
Permits the Higher Education Coordinating Commission to cancel the commission’s approval of
a school to confer any academic degree or provide services purporting to lead to a degree in whole
or in part.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to cancellation of approval by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission; amending
ORS348.606.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. ORS 348.606 is amended to read:
348.606. (1)(a) A school may not confer or offer to confer any academic degree upon a person,
or provide services purporting to lead to a degree in whole or in part, without first obtaining ap-
proval from the Higher Education Coordinating Commission.
(b) The commission may rescind, remove or otherwise cancel the commission’s approval
obtained by a school under this subsection.
(c) The commission shall adopt by rule standards and procedures for the approval and
rescission of approval of schools under this subsection.
(2)(a) A school based outside of Oregon may not offer any educational credit or degree within
Oregon, including through the Internet, mail or telephone, without first obtaining approval from the
commission. This subsection does not apply to schools operating as part of an interstate agreement
entered into under ORS 350.075 (3).
(b) The commission may rescind, remove or otherwise cancel the commission’s approval
obtained by a school under this subsection. The commission shall adopt by rule standards
and procedures for the cancellation of approval under this paragraph.
(3)(a) The commission, by rule, may impose fees on any school applying for approval to confer
or offer to confer a degree upon a person or to provide academic credit applicable to a degree. Any
fee imposed under this section is nonrefundable.
(b) The amount of each fee in this section is established to recover designated expenses incurred
by the commission in carrying out the administration of ORS 348.594 to 348.615, and may not exceed
the amounts specified in this section adjusted for inflation annually, beginning on July 1, 2012,
pursuant to the increase, if any, from the preceding year in the U.S. City Average Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (All Items) as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
United States Department of Labor.
(4) For periodic review of a school’s general administrative and academic operations, and con-
NOTE:Matter in boldfaced type in an amended section is new; matter [italic and bracketed] is existing law to be omitted.
New sections are in boldfaced type.
LC 177 HB2320
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tinued oversight and support of the school, the commission may impose the following fee on each
school, to be paid biennially:
(a) $2,000 for a full review and oversight of a school with a complex organizational structure.
(b) $1,000 for a full review and oversight of a school wholly administered and governed at a
single campus in this state.
(5) For periodic evaluation of academic programs offered by schools subject to continued over-
sight, the commission may impose the following fees per program for the following degrees or cer-
tificates:
(a) $2,000 for a nondegree certificate.
(b) $3,000 for an associate degree.
(c) $4,000 for a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree or doctoral degree.
(6) Notwithstanding subsections (4) and (5) of this section, the commission may impose the fol-
lowing fees on each school that is not based in this state, offers distance learning courses or pro-
grams in this state and is not operating as part of an interstate agreement entered into under ORS
350.075 (3):
(a) $7,000, to be paid biennially, for a full review and oversight of a school.
(b) $1,000 for each new program application not offered at the time of the school’s initial appli-
cation to the commission.
(7)(a) In addition to the fees described in subsections (4) to (6) of this section, the commission
may impose on each school that is not based in this state a fee of $1,000 per program that, as part
of the program, places students in a practicum based in this state.
(b) This subsection does not apply to a placement that is part of an online program offered by
a school.
(c) The commission may waive the fee imposed under this subsection for limited placements or
special circumstances that involve Oregon residents who return to this state for a practicum.
(8) In addition to the fees described in subsections (4) to (7) of this section:
(a) The commission may impose a fee of not more than $500 for a change in program, based on
the scope and complexity of the proposed program change.
(b) For review of qualifications of staff prior to hiring, the commission may impose a fee of:
(A) Not more than $50 for each new instructor.
(B) Not more than $100 for each new administrator or senior academic staff person.
(9) In addition to the fees described in subsections (4) to (8) of this section, the commission may
assess:
(a) The actual costs related to the use of experts to evaluate programs leading to professional
licensure by the state, if such costs exceed 10 percent of the base fees.
(b) Costs associated with travel expenses for:
(A) Schools subject to review and oversight under subsection (4) of this section; or
(B) Schools located outside this state that seek authorization to offer degrees without accredi-
tation to residents of this state.
(10) Any fees collected under this section shall be deposited in the Degree Authorization Ac-
count established under ORS 348.601.
(11) As used in this section, “practicum” means a portion of a degree program that involves a
supervised field placement in a professional or workplace environment.
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