BILL NUMBER: AB 611	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  JULY 1, 2011
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  MAY 12, 2011
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 22, 2011

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gordon

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2011

   An act to amend Section 94897 of the Education Code, relating to
private postsecondary education.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 611, Gordon. Private postsecondary education: unaccredited
doctoral degree program.
   Existing law, the California Private Postsecondary Education Act
of 2009, provides, among other things, for student protections and
regulatory oversight of private postsecondary schools in the state.
The act prohibits certain types of conduct by regulated institutions.

   This bill would prohibit an institution from offering an
unaccredited doctoral degree program without disclosing to
prospective students prior to enrollment that the degree program is
unaccredited, whether the degree issued is in a field that requires
licensure in California, and any known limitation of the degree,
including, but not limited to, whether the degree is recognized for
licensure or certification in California and other states.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 94897 of the Education Code is amended to read:

   94897.  An institution shall not do any of the following:
   (a) Use, or allow the use of, any reproduction or facsimile of the
Great Seal of the State of California on a diploma.
   (b) Promise or guarantee employment, or otherwise overstate the
availability of jobs upon graduation.
   (c) Advertise concerning job availability, degree of skill, or
length of time required to learn a trade or skill unless the
information is accurate and not misleading.
   (d) Advertise, or indicate in promotional material, without
including the fact that the educational programs are delivered by
means of distance education if the educational programs are so
delivered.
   (e) Advertise, or indicate in promotional material, that the
institution is accredited, unless the institution has been accredited
by an accrediting agency.
   (f) Solicit students for enrollment by causing an advertisement to
be published in "help wanted" columns in a magazine, newspaper, or
publication, or use "blind" advertising that fails to identify the
institution.
   (g) Offer to compensate a student to act as an agent of the
institution with regard to the solicitation, referral, or recruitment
of any person for enrollment in the institution, except that an
institution may award a token gift to a student for referring an
individual, provided that the gift is not in the form of money, no
more than one gift is provided annually to a student, and the gift's
cost is not more than one hundred dollars ($100).
   (h) Pay any consideration to a person to induce that person to
sign an enrollment agreement for an educational program.
   (i) Use a name in any manner improperly implying any of the
following:
   (1) The institution is affiliated with any government agency,
public or private corporation, agency, or association if it is not,
in fact, thus affiliated.
   (2) The institution is a public institution.
   (3) The institution grants degrees, if the institution does not
grant degrees.
   (j) In any manner make an untrue or misleading change in, or
untrue or misleading statement related to, a test score, grade or
record of grades, attendance record, record indicating student
completion, placement, employment, salaries, or financial
information, including any of the following:
   (1) A financial report filed with the bureau.
   (2) Information or records relating to the student's eligibility
for student financial aid at the institution.
   (3) Any other record or document required by this chapter or by
the bureau.
   (k) Willfully falsify, destroy, or conceal any document of record
while that document of record is required to be maintained by this
chapter.
   (l) Use the terms "approval," "approved," "approval to operate,"
or "approved to operate" without stating clearly and conspicuously
that approval to operate means compliance with state standards as set
forth in this chapter. If the bureau has granted an institution
approval to operate, the institution may indicate that the
institution is "licensed" or "licensed to operate," but may not state
or imply either of the following:
   (1) The institution or its educational programs are endorsed or
recommended by the state or by the bureau.
   (2) The approval to operate indicates that the institution exceeds
minimum state standards as set forth in this chapter.
   (m) Direct any individual to perform an act that violates this
chapter, to refrain from reporting unlawful conduct to the bureau or
another government agency, or to engage in any unfair act to persuade
a student not to complain to the bureau or another government
agency.
   (n) Compensate an employee involved in recruitment, enrollment,
admissions, student attendance, or sales of educational materials to
students on the basis of a commission, commission draw, bonus, quota,
or other similar method related to the recruitment, enrollment,
admissions, student attendance, or sales of educational materials to
students, except as provided in paragraph (1) or (2):
   (1) If the educational program is scheduled to be completed in 90
days or less, the institution shall pay compensation related to a
particular student only if that student completes the educational
program.
   (2) For institutions participating in the federal student
financial aid programs, this subdivision shall not prevent the
payment of compensation to those involved in recruitment, admissions,
or the award of financial aid if those payments are in conformity
with federal regulations governing an institution's participation in
the federal student financial aid programs.
   (o) Require a prospective student to provide personal contact
information in order to obtain, from the institution's Internet Web
site, educational program information that is required to be
contained in the school catalog or any information required pursuant
to the consumer information requirements of Title IV of the federal
Higher Education Act of 1965, and any amendments thereto.
   (p) Offer an unaccredited doctoral degree program without
disclosing to prospective students prior to enrollment that the
degree program is unaccredited, whether the degree issued is in a
field that requires licensure in California, and any known limitation
of the degree, including, but not limited to, whether the degree is
recognized for licensure or certification in California and other
states.