South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 62 - STATE COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION
Article I - LICENSING NONPUBLIC POSTSECONDARY EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS
Section 62-25 - Deceptive Trade or Sales Practices

Universal Citation: SC Code Regs 62-25

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 3, March 22, 2024

No institution or agent shall use deceptive trade or sales practices in the operation of the institution or in the recruitment of students. For purposes of these regulations, it is a deceptive trade or sales practice for an institution or agent to:

A. Make or cause to be made any statement or representation, oral, written, or visual, about the offering of educational services if such institution or agent knows or should have known the statement or representation to be false, inaccurate, or misleading.

B. Represent falsely, directly or by implication, with a trade or business name or in any other manner, including the use of "help wanted" or other employment columns in a newspaper or other publication, that it is an employment agency or agent, or authorized training facility for another industry or member of industry, or to otherwise deceptively conceal the fact that it is an educational institution.

C. Represent falsely, directly or by implication, that any of its educational services have been approved by a particular industry or that successful completion of it qualifies a student for admission to a labor union or similar organization or for the receipt of a state license to do certain functions.

D. Represent falsely, directly or by implication, that the lack of a high school education, prior training, age, or experience of applicant is not a handicap or impediment to completing successfully a course or program of study and/or for gaining employment in the field for which the educational services were designed.

E. Adopt a name, trade name, or trademark that represents falsely, directly or by implication, the quality, scope, nature, size or integrity of the institution or its educational services.

F. Represent falsely, directly or by implication, that students completing a course or program of instruction successfully may transfer credit to any institution of higher education.

G. Represent falsely, directly or by implication, in its advertising or promotional materials or in any other manner, the size, location, facilities, equipment, the number of years of educational experience, qualifications of its faculty, the extent or nature of any approval received from any state agency, or the extent or nature of any accreditation received from any accrediting agency or association.

H. Provide prospective students with any testimonials, endorsements, or other information that have the tendency to mislead or deceive prospective students or the public regarding current practices of the institution, current conditions for employment opportunities, or probable earnings in the industry or occupation for which the education services were designed or because of the completion of any educational services.

I. Enroll a student when it is obvious that the student is unlikely to complete successfully a program of study or is unlikely to qualify for employment in the field for which the education is designed, unless this fact is affirmatively disclosed to the student and acknowledged, in writing, by the student.

J. Designate or refer to its sales representatives as "counselors," "advisors," or use words of similar import that have the tendency to mislead or deceive prospective students or the public regarding the authority or qualifications of sales representatives or agents.

K. No institution or representative of an institution shall use the terms "approval," "approved," or "approved to operate." A statement that the institution is "Licensed by the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education" is the only acceptable language. There may be no statement or implication that licensing is an endorsement or recommendation by the State or by the Commission. An institution exempt from the Commission's oversight may not claim that it is under authority of the Nonpublic Postsecondary Institution License Act or the Commission. It may not claim that the Commission recognizes it, grants it authority to operate, or use any other misleading language referring to approval, recognition, authority, licensure, accreditation, certification, registration, or oversight.

L. An institution shall not misrepresent the nature or extent of any prerequisites it has established for enrollment in a course or program of instruction. It shall not:

(1) Represent that a program is available only to those having a high school diploma or other specific educational qualifications, unless the sale of a program is limited to persons possessing generally acceptable evidence of a diploma or educational qualifications.

(2) Represent that only those who make an acceptable grade or complete successfully a certain test or examination will be admitted, if enrollments are not thus limited.

(3) Falsely represent that it will accept for enrollment only a limited number of persons or a limited number of persons from a certain geographical area.

(4) Falsely represent that applications for enrollment will be considered for only a limited period, or that they must be submitted by a certain date.

M. Institution personnel may not discredit other schools by falsely imputing to them dishonorable conduct, or disparage or demean the character or quality of their courses or student body. Institution personnel may not knowingly solicit any student to leave another educational institution.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. South Carolina may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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