New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 5 - POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
Chapter 100 - PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
Part 5 - EXEMPTION UNDER THE POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION ACT
Section 5.100.5.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Accreditation" means a verified accreditation status with an accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education that accredits institutions, as a means of assuring quality instruction.

B. "Avocation or recreation" means an activity taken up in addition to one's regular work or profession, usually for enjoyment; a hobby.

C. "Career school" means a private post-secondary educational institution offering a formal educational curriculum in New Mexico for a fee to members of the general public beyond compulsory school age, terminating in a certificate, diploma, associate degree, or comparable confirmation of completion of the curriculum.

D. "Charter" means a formal document by which a sovereign authority or a government grants rights, powers, and privileges to a person, business, or the people.

E. "College" or "University" means a private post-secondary educational institution offering a formal educational curriculum in New Mexico for a fee to members of the general public beyond compulsory school age, terminating in a baccalaureate degree, master's degree, or doctoral degree or comparable confirmation of completion of the curriculum.

F. "Continuing education" means only brief courses of instruction designed to teach specific skills that may be applicable in a work setting but are not sufficient in themselves to be considered a program of training for employment. Typically, a student only enrolls for one course rather than a sequence of courses. The continuing education units must meet the criteria set out by the professional organization or authority requiring the continuing education.

G. "Department" means the New Mexico higher education department or its designated employee.

H. "Degree" means any title, designation, mark, abbreviation, appellation, or series of letters or words, including "associate", "bachelor's", "master's", "doctor's" and their equivalents, which are generally taken to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of a program of study designed to be comparable to those provided by institutions accredited by agencies recognized by the United States department of education.

I. "Degree-granting" means a post-secondary educational institution that offers instruction resulting in a credential as defined by "degree."

J. "Exemption" or "exempt"means a written acknowledgment by the department that an institution, organization, or other entity, has met requirements and filed pertinent information as required by the department to provide educational services in New Mexico, and is not subject to the post-secondary educational institution act.

K. "Instruction provided by employer" means only a brief course of instruction designed to teach specific skills that may be applicable in a work setting or as professional development but are not sufficient in themselves to result in a credential.

L. "License", "Licensed" or "Licensure" means a written acknowledgment by the department that a career school or nonregionally accredited college or university has met the requirements of the department to offer a formal educational curriculum within New Mexico;

M. "Physical presence" means the ongoing occupation of a physical location in the state, the ongoing maintenance of an administrative office to support, the provision of higher education instruction, or engaging in one or more of the activities detailed in Paragraph 1 of Subsection A of 5.100.5.6 NMAC.

N. "Post-secondary educational institution" or "Institution" or "post-secondary institution" means an academic, vocational, technical, business, professional, or other school, college, or university or other organization or person offering or purporting to offer courses, instruction, training, or education.

O. "Registration" or "Registered" means a written acknowledgment by the department that a regionally accredited college or university has filed pertinent curriculum and enrollment information, as required by the department, and is authorized to operate and offer a formal educational curriculum within New Mexico.

P. "State Authorization" means a private post-secondary educational institution has been deemed by the department to satisfactorily meet criteria, as determined by the department, for registration or licensure under the Post-Secondary Educational Institution Act. All degree-granting institutions seeking state authorization shall be accredited or be seeking appropriate external accreditation. State authorization does not serve as an endorsement of a particular institution, but confirms that an institution has met the minimum criteria set by the department to operate in New Mexico.