An Act To Ensure the Integrity of For-profit Colleges
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §10706-A is enacted to read:
§ 10706-A. For-profit college review
(1) The position is paid. If the position is an entry-level position, the salary must be at least 80% of the entry-level salary for the position;
(2) The position requires at least 32 hours of work per week;
(3) The person has worked in the position for at least 30 days; and
(4) The position is not affiliated with a for-profit college from which the person graduated, its parent company or a subsidiary or affiliate of its parent company.
(1) Included on a list of job titles for which a graduate of a program of study is qualified, as published by the for-profit college, and that is included in the most recent national relational database as a job related to that program of study. If the job title is not in the national relational database, the job may be included as employment in the field of study if the employer's description of the job matches the job description, tasks and work activities for a job that is included in the most recent national relational database as related to the program of study; or
(2) That requires the graduate to use the core skills listed in the school's published program of study taken by the graduate and the employer's written job description provides that the job requires education beyond a high school diploma, that applicants with a postsecondary credential are preferred or that the position is a supervisory or managerial position.
(1) The percentage of those who received such loans who have defaulted; and
(2) The percentage of those who received such loans whose loan balances declined in the 3 years after repayment first became due, excluding those graduates for whom repayment was deferred as a result of military service.
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §10712, as amended by PL 2009, c. 274, §13, is further amended to read:
§ 10712. Termination of degree-granting authority
The authority of an educational institution to confer degrees terminates upon determination by the state board that any of the following has occurred:
Upon termination of its degree-granting authority pursuant to this section upon a determination pursuant to subsection 1, 2, 3 or 4, an educational institution may apply to the state board pursuant to section 10703 for a certificate of temporary approval to use the term "community college," "college" or "university" in its name.
SUMMARY
This bill requires annual review of for-profit colleges by the State Board of Education to ensure that they are meeting adequate educational standards. If the board finds that a for-profit college is not meeting the standards, the board may terminate the degree-granting authority of a for-profit college.