A) Grounds for
revocation include any of the following:
i)
Violation of any of the conditions governing issuance of the Certificate of
Approval;
ii) Failure to comply
with this Part;
iii) Fraudulent
conduct on the part of any person operating the institution or of any person,
acting within the scope of his/her employment by the institution, on account of
which any student ever enrolled in the institution has been injured or has
suffered financial loss;
iv)
Failure to offer degrees or instruction for one continuous 12-month period;
v) Abandonment of the
institution;
vi) Loss of
accreditation status with an accrediting body with which the institution is or
was affiliated;
vii) Actions of
federal or state regulatory agencies or Offices of Attorneys General, Offices
of Inspectors General, or similar bodies that affect an institution's status
with those bodies;
viii) Pervasive
and substantial student complaints against the institution.
B) Procedures for Revocation
i) Before revoking any certificate to
operate, the Board shall designate a Hearing Officer who shall schedule and
conduct a hearing, as prescribed in Section 6-9 of the 1945 Act. The Board
shall not be required to schedule a hearing and has the option to waive a
hearing if the institution has not operated for one continuous 12-month period
or the institution has been abandoned; even in these cases, however, the Board
shall be required to revoke the certificate at a public meeting at which any
opponent who is injured or impacted by the revocation must be given the
opportunity to be heard.
ii) If the
Board decides to grant a rehearing pursuant to Section 10 of the 1945 Act, it
shall appoint another Hearing Officer, different from the first, who shall
conduct a hearing upon only those grounds for which the rehearing was granted.
The second Hearing Officer shall submit a written report of findings and
recommendations to the Board, which shall make a final determination.
iii) Upon revocation of the Certificate to
Operate, the Certificate of Approval shall be rendered invalid.
iv) At any time after revocation of a
Certificate of Approval, the Board may restore it to the institution.
v) A closed institution shall
arrange for its student records to be maintained in a safe and suitable place
as determined by the Board (such as another like kind of institution or the
Board).
C) Voluntary
Relinquishing of Approval
i) Institutions may
voluntarily relinquish their Certificate of Approval, Authorization to Operate,
or Authorization to Grant Degrees. The voluntary relinquishment shall be in
writing and does not require a hearing or any other Board action to be
effective.
ii) Institutions
relinquishing approval and/or authorization shall be required to provide for an
appropriate repository of records and may be required to provide a student
completion plan that must be approved by the Board.
D) Change of Legal Status of the Institution
i) An institution's Certificate of Approval,
Authorization to Operate and Authorization to Award Degrees are granted to a
specific legal entity based on the conditions under which the institution
and/or its degrees were authorized. A change to the legal status of the entity
shall result in immediate loss of the certificate or authorization.
ii) A change of legal status ends the
exempted status of institutions described in Section
1030.10.
After a change of legal status, institutions previously exempted must seek new
operating and degree granting authority.
iii) Institutions that are planning a change
of legal status shall inform the Board as early as possible. If new approvals
will be sought by the institution, a plan should be developed in consultation
with the Board to facilitate the transition process.
iv) In cases in which a change in
shareholders results in new leadership of an institution, the Board shall
require that the institution submit documentation demonstrating that no change
has occurred in the operation of the institution that would affect the
conditions under which the institution and/or its degrees were authorized.
v) Merger of two institutions
resulting in the creation of a new institution causes both institutions to lose
their approvals and results in the need for new
authorizations.