Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 9, September 1, 2024
(1) An agent shall be a person who has
attained the age of 18 years, is of good moral character and is otherwise
competent and qualified to safeguard and protect the interests of the public.
(2) No person shall act in the
state as an agent for a private career school unless the Superintendent has
received the agent's registration.
(3) Agents shall be considered registered
only when the school notifies the Department in writing of the name, address,
date of employment, and geographic territory for each agent.
(4) For licensing purposes, registered agents
shall be considered employees of the school.
(5) No agent shall begin recruiting students
until completing school-provided training in the areas identified in OAR
715-045-0060(5)(a).
(6) The school
shall be responsible for developing identifying credentials and passport
pictures for each of its agents. The credentials shall remain the property of
the school. The identifying credentials shall include:
(a) The full name and address of the agent;
(b) The full name and address of
the career school to be represented; and
(c) A passport-type picture affixed to the
identifying credentials.
(7) The school shall immediately notify the
Executive Director of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission of the
termination of employment of an agent and demand return of the agent's
credentials.
(8) The school may be
fined for failure to keep its agent files current and accurate.
(9) Agents, when representing more than one
school, shall disclose to each employing institution that they are employed by
more than one school.
(10) Agents,
when representing a school, shall:
(a) Report
first to the administrative offices of any high school or college before
conducting any student interviews or presentations;
(b) Make no statements which are false,
misleading or fraudulent;
(c)
Respond with all facts about the school the prospective student may wish to
know prior to the making of an enrollment decision;
(d) Use only advertising that complies with
OAR 715-045-0033 and 715-045-0034;
(e) Provide a copy of the school's
catalog/brochure to high school administrators or counselors prior to making
any presentation at a high school;
(f) Disclose information on tuition and other
instructional costs upon request by prospective students;
(g) Explain to the student payment
obligations before the student signs the enrollment agreement, and explain the
school's refund policy;
(h) Make
clear the school's academic policies and code of conduct;
(i) Accurately describe the school's
facilities and living accommodations, and explain living costs;
(j) Give a report on current job prospects;
(k) Make available for review
samples of the school's distance learning lessons prior to the signing of the
enrollment agreement;
(l) Explain
the school's placement assistance, and provide placement statistics;
(m) Explain the school's admissions criteria;
(n) Provide a copy of the
enrollment agreement and fully explain all terms and conditions;
(o) Suggest that the prospective student
visit the school to talk with teachers, guidance counselors, employment
counselors and students; and
(p)
Wear identifying credentials at all times when involved in recruitment
activities outside of the school.
(11) Agents shall not:
(a) Make false, inaccurate or misleading
statements concerning any degree, certificate or diploma offered by the school;
(b) State that credits from the
school are transferable unless such claims are supported by documentation in
the school's files and provided to and on file with the commission. The agent
shall, at the time of representation, identify each school or type of school
and program which accepts such credits. The agent shall clearly and
conspicuously disclose all limitations on such transferability; for example, it
is not possible to transfer credits from a certificate program to a degree
program;
(c) Recommend a
prospective student for acceptance if the agent does not have reason to believe
the student has a chance to succeed;
(d) Distribute distance learning lessons if
to do so limits the student's right to cancel the enrollment within five
business days of signing and receive a full refund of all monies paid to the
school;
(e) Collect any fee other
than the application fee prior to the student's official admittance; or
(f) Represent that any commodity
or service is free when, in fact, such commodity or service is regularly
included as part of a course for which tuition or any other fee is paid.
(12) The school shall
monitor its agent's activities and sales and marketing practices and
immediately investigate and resolve complaints about their activities. The
school shall be accountable for the adherence of its agents to ORS Chapter 345
and OAR chapter 581, division 45.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
345.325 &
345.040
Stats. Implemented: ORS
345.040
