New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 5 - POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION
Chapter 100 - PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
Part 6 - REGISTRATION UNDER THE POST-SECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION ACT
Section 5.100.6.7 - DEFINITIONS
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A. "Accreditation" means a verified accreditation status with an accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education that accredits degree granting institutions, as a means of assuring quality instruction.
B. "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.
C. "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.
D. "Department" means the New Mexico higher education department or its designated employee.
E. "Enrollment agreement" means an agreement, instrument or note executed before a person begins coursework that creates a binding obligation between the person and the post-secondary educational institution.
F. "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.
G. "Institution" means a regionally accredited college or university.
H. "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.
I. "Manager" or "Managers" means the chief executive officer, chief operations officer, chief financial officer, senior business or finance officer, senior financial aid administrator, and senior or chief academic officer of a New Mexico private post-secondary educational institution.
J. "Management plan of action" means a plan that has been developed, reviewed and implemented by managers of the institution which details specific steps the institution will commit to taking in order to remediate an identified weakness, shortcoming or insufficiency.
K. "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 5.100.6.6 NMAC.
L. "Post-secondary educational institution" or "post-secondary institution" includes 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 from a physical site in New Mexico, through distance education, correspondence or in person.
M. "Private post-secondary educational institution" means a non-publicly funded post-secondary educational institution that offers post-secondary education for a fee to members of the general public.
N. "Prospective student" means a person who demonstrates interest in signing an enrollment agreement with a post-secondary educational institution.
O. "Regional accreditation" means a verified accreditation status with an accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education that accredits degree granting institutions operating in a designated geographic region.
P. "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.
Q. "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 through application for registration or licensure 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.
