Senate Bill 2410

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-101-241, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE AND CLARIFY THE AUTHORITY OF THE MISSISSIPPI COMMISSION ON COLLEGE ACCREDITATION TO REGULATE THE ADVERTISING, SOLICITATION OR REPRESENTATION BY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OR THEIR AGENTS IN ORDER TO PROTECT STUDENTS AND PREVENT CONSUMER DECEPTION RELATING TO FRAUDULENT OR SUBSTANDARD DEGREES AND TO ESTABLISH TUITION AND FEE REFUND POLICIES; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 37-101-241, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

37-101-241. (1) There is hereby created the Commission on College Accreditation. Said commission shall be composed of the Executive Director of the Mississippi Community College Board, the Commissioner of Higher Education, or their designees, and three (3) additional members, one (1) of whom shall be selected by the foregoing two (2) members and who shall represent the private colleges within the state, and two (2) of whom shall be selected by the Mississippi Association of Colleges. The latter three (3) members shall each serve for a term of three (3) years.

(2) The commission shall meet and organize by electing from among its membership a chairman, a vice chairman and a secretary. The commission shall keep full and complete minutes and records of all its proceedings and actions.

(3) The commission shall have the power and authority, and it shall be its duty, to prepare an approved list of community, junior and senior colleges and universities or other entities which offer one or more postsecondary academic degrees and are domiciled, incorporated or otherwise located in the State of Mississippi. Postsecondary academic degrees include, but are not limited to, associate, bachelor, masters and doctorate degrees. The commission shall adopt standards which are in keeping with the best educational practices in accreditation and receive reports from the institutions seeking to be placed on the approved list.

(4) It is the purpose of this section to provide for the protection and welfare of the citizens of this state, its postsecondary educational institutions, and its students, through regulatory oversight to ensure consumer protections are appropriately maintained, while also acknowledging the heightened standards that institutions may achieve and maintain through academic accreditation. The commission may accomplish the provisions of this section by:

(a) Establishing minimum standards concerning quality of education, ethical business practices, and fiscal responsibility to protect against substandard, transient, unethical, deceptive, or fraudulent institutions and practices;

(b) Utilizing the best practices in postsecondary distance and correspondence education for approval of distance and correspondence education offered in Mississippi or to Mississippi residents;

(c) Providing certain rights and remedies to the consuming public and the commission necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section;

(d) Prohibiting misleading literature, advertising, solicitation, or representation by postsecondary educational institutions or their agents;

(e) Receiving, investigating as it may deem necessary, and acting upon applications for authorization to operate postsecondary educational institutions;

(f) Requiring, as part of the application for authorization of a postsecondary educational institution, criminal background checks for all owners and directors, the results of which shall be confidential and not open to public inspection. No institution or entity shall be granted authorization unless its owners and operators are of good moral character;

(g) Providing formal authorization to higher education institutions in good standing and operating lawfully in compliance with this section and commission regulations;

(h) Authorizing the granting of diplomas of graduation, degrees, or other educational credentials by postsecondary educational institutions and prohibiting the granting of false or misleading educational credentials;

(i) Prohibiting any person, agent, group, or entity of whatever kind, alone or in concert with others from operating in this state as a postsecondary educational institution not exempted from this section, enrolling or offering instruction, or contracting with any person for such purpose unless the institution has a currently valid authorization for such action;

(j) Prohibiting use of "university," "college," or other terminology that could mislead the general public without authorization to do so from the commission;

(k) Ensuring fair and equitable tuition and fee refund policies;

(l) Providing for agent permits and establishing policies for the issuance of agent permits;

(m) Prescribing the conditions of a surety bond requirement for authorized institutions and for their agent(s). In addition to or alternatively to a surety bond, the commission may establish a student protection fund to be funded by fees assessed to authorized institutions. The provisions of this paragraph (m) shall not apply to institutions exempted under subsection (7) of this section;

(n) Investigating as it deems necessary, on its own initiative or in response to a formal complaint lodged with it, any person, group or entity subject to, or reasonably believed by the commission to be subject to, the jurisdiction of this section and taking appropriate action as it deems necessary;

(o) Establishing administrative sanctions and subjecting violators of the provisions of this section and commission standards, rules, policies and procedures to administrative sanctions, civil penalties, and fines;

(p) Requesting the Attorney General, or on the Attorney General's own motion, to bring any appropriate action or proceeding, including injunctive proceedings, in any court of competent jurisdiction for the enforcement of this section;

(q) Requiring that in the event any postsecondary educational institution now or hereafter operating in this state proposes to discontinue its operation, the chief administrative officer, by whatever title designated, of the institution shall notify the commission in writing in a time frame as specified by the commission prior to the anticipated closure, providing for commission approval of its plan for the orderly closure of the institution, including a plan for permanent, safe retention of the original or legible true copies of all academic records of the institution as specified by the commission; and a teach-out plan, acceptable to the commission, by which its educational obligations to its students can be fulfilled; and such other provisions as the commission deems appropriate; and

(r) Exercising other powers and duties implied but not enumerated in this subsection, but in conformity with this subsection that, in the judgement of the commission, are determined necessary in order to carry out this section.

( * * *45) The above-described community, junior and senior colleges and universities or other entities must be approved annually by the commission in order to grant diplomas of graduation, degrees or offer instruction.

( * * *56) The commission shall petition the chancery court of the county in which a person or agent offers one or more postsecondary academic degrees subject to the provisions of this chapter or advertises for the offering of such degrees without having first obtained approval by the commission, for an order enjoining such offering or advertising. The court may grant such injunctive relief upon a showing that the respondent named in the petition is offering or advertising one or more postsecondary academic degrees without having obtained prior approval of the commission. The Attorney General or the district attorney of the district, including the county in which such action is brought, shall, upon request of the commission, represent the commission in bringing any such action.

( * * *67) The provisions of subsection ( * * *56) as well as references to revocation and suspension of authorization shall not apply to community, junior and senior colleges and universities with the main campus in Mississippi that were chartered, authorized or approved by the commission prior to July 1, 1988.

( * * *78) The provisions of this section shall not apply to the proprietary schools and colleges subject to regulation under Section 75-60-1 et seq.

( * * *89) The Commission on College Accreditation may promulgate rules and regulations and establish appropriate fees for the implementation of this section.

( * * *910) The commission shall have the power and authority, and it shall be its duty, to execute site visits when deemed necessary by the commission. The members of the commission and commission-appointed evaluation teams shall receive reasonable traveling expenses and other authorized expenses incurred in the performance of commission duties, together with other expenses of the operation of the commission. The members of the Commission on College Accreditation shall serve without salary compensation but shall receive a per diem and mileage as authorized by law including time of going to and returning from site visits of said commission, together with actual travel and hotel expenses incident to the site visits of the commission, and in the discharge of duties prescribed by the commission.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2019.