Iowa Code r. 283-21.3 - Registration approval criteria
The college student aid commission will approve an applicant school that completes a registration application provided by the commission and meets all of the following criteria:
(1) The applicant school is accredited by an
agency recognized by the United States Department of Education or its successor
agency. The applicant school shall certify to the commission the school's
status with the accrediting agency at the time of the application and provide
information about any pending or final action that may affect the school's
status with its accrediting agency.
As applicable, the applicant school shall provide the commission the name of any programmatic accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education that accredits the specific programs the applicant school proposes to offer under its registration.
(2) The applicant school certifies to the
commission that the applicant school's approval to operate in a state has not
been revoked by the state, the school has not been sanctioned by a state within
a year prior to the date of its application, and the school is not under
investigation or bound by the terms of a judgment issued by a state's attorney
general or other enforcement authority.
(3) The applicant school certifies that it is
not subject to a limitation, suspension or termination order issued by the
United States Department of Education or its successor agency. The applicant
school shall provide the commission with a copy of the school's current program
participation agreement with the United States Department of
Education.
(4) The applicant school
complies with Iowa Code section
261B.7, which prohibits a school
from advertising that the school is approved or accredited by the commission or
the state of Iowa. However, an applicant school must demonstrate the method by
which it will disclose that the school is registered with the commission and
provide the commission's contact information for students who wish to inquire
about the school or file a complaint.
(5) The applicant school provides the
commission with institutional policies adopted by the school that comply with
the requirements of Iowa Code section
261.9(1)
"e" to "h."
a. For a program in which a student's
academic progress is measured only in clock hours, the school shall provide a
full refund of tuition and mandatory fees to a student who withdraws and who
requests that benefit under Iowa Code section
261.9(1)
"g" for the payment period in which the student withdrew. The
payment period is determined under rules promulgated by the United States
Department of Education for the disbursement of federal Stafford loan
funds.
b. The employee policy for
reporting suspected incidents of child physical or sexual abuse required by
Iowa Code section 261.9(1)
"h" shall apply to individuals the school compensates to
conduct activities on the school's behalf at an Iowa
location.
(6) If required
by the commission, the applicant school files annual reports that the
commission also requires from all Iowa colleges and universities.
(7) The applicant school demonstrates
financial viability by providing a copy of the institution's most recent audit
that was prepared by a certified public accounting firm no more than 12 months
prior to the date of the application and that provides an unqualified opinion.
An applicant school must provide the auditor's report as an attachment to the
registration application, which is posted on the commission's Internet site.
However, the school may provide financial statements associated with the audit
in a separate electronic file that is marked "confidential." Financial
statements that a school identifies as "confidential" will not be treated as
public records under Iowa Code chapter 22.
(8) The applicant school provides a
description of the learning resources it offers to students, including
appropriate library and other support services the school provides to its
students.
(9) The applicant school
provides evidence that faculty within an appropriate discipline are involved in
developing and evaluating curriculum for the program(s) being registered in
Iowa.
(10) The applicant school
provides documentation or information posted on its Internet site that
describes the educational and experiential qualifications of all faculty or
instructors who teach in the programs the school proposes to offer under its
registration and the general subject matter in which faculty members or
instructors teach. The applicant school shall also provide the number of
full-time and part-time faculty and instructors who will teach the courses
offered to Iowans.
(11) The
applicant school provides documentation demonstrating that a program which
prepares a student for an occupation that requires professional licensure in
Iowa and which the school proposes to offer under its registration:
a. Has been approved by the appropriate state
of Iowa licensing agency and accrediting agency, if such approval is required,
or
b. Meets curriculum standards of
the appropriate state of Iowa licensing agency such that the state of Iowa
licensing agency does not require the student to complete additional coursework
or practicum hours that the school did not offer in its professional licensure
preparation program.
(12)
The school submits a request for amendment of its registration subject to
commission approval in the event the school makes a substantive change in
location, program offering, or accreditation during its registration term. A
substantive change in program offering occurs when a school proposes to
initiate a program that requires the approval of the state board of education
or any other program that prepares a student for an occupation that requires
professional licensure in this state.
(13) During its registration term, the school
notifies the commission within 90 days after adding a program that does not
require the school to seek the commission's amendment approval under subrule
21.3(12).
(14) The applicant school
certifies that it will immediately notify the commission of any pending or
final sanction issued by the school's accrediting agency, another state agency
that registers or licenses the school during its registration term, or a state
attorney general's office or other enforcement authority.
(15) The applicant school provides a
statement, signed by its chief executive officer, demonstrating the applicant
school's commitment to the delivery of programs offered in Iowa and agreeing to
provide alternatives for students to complete their programs at the same or
other schools if the applicant school discontinues a program, the applicant
school closes, or the applicant school closes an Iowa site before students have
completed their courses of study.
Notwithstanding any limitations on student eligibility for a teach-out plan approved by a school's accrediting agency, the alternatives that the school provides under this agreement with the commission shall ensure that all academically eligible students attending the programs the school offers under its registration are provided with a viable option(s) to finish the program(s).
(16) If the
applicant school is for profit, the applicant school provides evidence that its
most recently calculated percentage of revenue derived from funds received
under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, does not exceed
the threshold established by the United States Department of
Education.
(17) If the applicant
school is nonpublic, the applicant school provides evidence of its official
financial responsibility composite score, as calculated using the method
prescribed by the United States Department of Education.
a. A school demonstrates that its financial
responsibility composite score is official by providing written confirmation of
its composite score from the United States Department of Education.
b. A school that does not participate in the
postsecondary student financial aid programs authorized by the United States
Department of Education demonstrates that its financial responsibility
composite score is official by providing written confirmation of its composite
score from its accrediting agency. If the school's accrediting agency does not
independently verify the school's composite score, the school must submit
written confirmation from its independent auditor.
(18) A nonpublic school that does not have a
legal governing body, such as a board of directors or board of trustees, shall
provide the names, titles, and educational and experiential qualifications of
the persons holding key academic and operational leadership positions at the
school.
(19) A nonpublic school
that is a subsidiary of another organization provides all of the following:
a. The name of the parent
organization.
b. The names and
titles of the members of the parent organization's legal governing body, such
as a board of directors or board of trustees. In the absence of a legal
governing body, the school provides the information described in subrule
21.3(18).
c. The name(s) of any
other school(s) that is a subsidiary of the same parent organization.
(20) The school posts a list of
required and suggested textbooks for all courses and corresponding
international standard book numbers for such textbooks at least 14 days before
the start of each semester or term at the locations where textbooks are sold on
campus and on the school's Internet site.
(21) The school provides any additional
information the commission requires to evaluate the school.
Notes
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