Section 70000 - Definitions(a) "Academic Freedom" means the degree to which faculty at an institution are allowed latitude with respect to their discussions with students and the positions they take. Under such a policy, a faculty member can articulate or even advocate positions or concepts which may be controversial in nature without fear of retribution or reprisal.(b) "Act" means The California Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009.(c) "Chief academic officer" means the person primarily responsible for the administration of an institution's academic affairs including the supervision of faculty, development of educational programs and curricula, and implementation of the institution's mission, purposes and objectives.(d) "Chief executive officer" means the person primarily responsible for the overall administration of an institution, including the supervision of the chief academic officer and the chief operating officer. The chief executive officer is often, but need not be, called the "president."(e) "Chief operating officer" means the person primarily responsible for the administration of an institution's business operation, including finances, management, personnel, and contracting for goods, services, or property.(f) "Code" means the California Education Code.(g) "Credential" means publicly demonstrated skills and experiences whose achievement has been recognized by an official credential or award given by a professional association. This recognition can also be achieved if there is a general acceptance and recognition of those credentials by members of the profession or industry in the field in which the person will teach.(h) "Credit" means a measure of college or university level instruction that is evaluated by duly qualified faculty; it is also the same as "unit" or "unit of credit."(i) "Degree program" means an educational program leading to the award of an academic degree as defined in section 94830 of the Code.(j) "Digital signature" means a signature made pursuant to Government Code section 16.5.(k) "Duly qualified faculty" or "faculty member" means a person or people who satisfy the requirements of section 71720.(l)(1) "Education offered for the purpose of personal entertainment, pleasure or enjoyment" means education offered for purposes of play, amusement or relaxation, including education offered for the purpose of teaching the fundamentals, skills or techniques of a hobby or activity. It does not include education that in any manner does or is any of the following:(A) Assists a student to prepare for a test administered in conjunction with, or for admission to, any undergraduate or graduate educational program, including the TOEFL® brand test, however, "education offered for the purpose of personal entertainment, pleasure, or enjoyment" does include education that assists a student to prepare for a test designed to measure English language proficiency for placing a student within an Intensive English Program, which is a program where English as a second language is the main subject being taught.(B) Is an educational service offered to lead to any employment in any occupation or job title.(C) Is represented to enable a student to use already existing knowledge, training, or skills, other than language skills, in pursuit of an occupation or to develop new or enhance existing knowledge, training, or skills, other than language skills, in connection with any occupation or job title.(2) Notwithstanding subparagraph (1) of this subsection, "Education offered for the purpose of personal entertainment, pleasure or enjoyment" includes education which facilitates the development of learning skills or language proficiency to assist a student to learn English as a second language, if the institution complies with all of the following requirements:(A) Obtains and maintains compliance with mandatory accreditation with an accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education;(B) Maintains a refund policy, which at minimum, is consistent with the mandates of the institution's United States Department of Education-recognized accrediting body;(C) Is certified by the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP);(D) Provides only English language instruction and/or other education offered for the purpose of personal entertainment, pleasure or enjoyment;(E) Does not receive any state or federal student financial aid;(F) Does not provide any financial aid to students;(G) Does not provide any institutional loans to students;(H) Does not facilitate or broker any private loans with third parties for students;(I) Does not offer any degree-granting programs;(J) Does not make any promises or representations that courses lead to employment; and(K) Does not represent that the institution is approved by the Bureau.(m) "Financial aid officer" means any person involved in administering the participation of the institution or any of its students in any federal or state student loan or grant program, including any person who assists students to apply for, disburses the proceeds of, or regularly explains student rights and obligations under, loans or grants subject to any federal or state program.(n) "Full-time study" means the equivalent of, if measured in credit hours, 24 semester or trimester, or 36 quarter hours, or if measured in clock hours, 900 hours, to be completed within 30 weeks of instruction.(o) "Innovative method of instruction" or "unique method of instruction" means a new method of instruction, not previously generally recognized by accredited and approved degree granting institutions, as a reasonable approach to teaching a specific curriculum.(p) "Institution director" means the person who is responsible for administering the daily operations of the institution and has supervisorial authority over all other administrators and instructors.(q) "Instructor" means a person who is responsible to conduct one or more classes or components of an institution's educational program.(r) "Mission" means an institution's stated educational reasons to exist. A mission statement contains all of the following characteristics:(1) The mission includes the institution's broad expectations concerning the education that students will receive, including the acquisition of the body of knowledge presented in the educational program, the development of intellectual, analytical, and critical abilities, and the fostering of values such as a commitment to pursue lifelong learning; and(2) The mission relates to the educational expectations of the institution's students, faculty and community that the institution serves.(s) "Objectives" are the goals and methods by which the institution fulfills its mission and transforms it into measurable student learning outcomes for each educational program.(t) "Pre-accreditation" or "candidacy" as used in sections 94885.1 and 94885.5 of the Code means that an institution has submitted a completed application for initial accreditation with the required fee, which was accepted by the accreditor.(u) "Prior experiential learning" or "college level learning experience" means learning of a postsecondary nature as documented learning from a related profession, college level equivalent tests, military training or other college level equivalent experience.(v) "Provisional approval" means approval of a degree program or the institution for no more than a five-year period while the owner of a Bureau-approved institution seeks to satisfy the requirement for institutional accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education pursuant to section 94885(b) of the Code.(w) "Quarter" means at least 10 weeks of instruction or its equivalent as described in subdivision (w)(2) of this section.(x) "Quarter unit" means either of the following:(1) At least ten (10) hours of college or university level instruction during a quarter plus a reasonable period of time outside of instruction which an institution requires a student to devote to preparation for planned learning experiences, such as preparation for instruction, study of course material, or completion of educational projects; or(2) Planned learning experiences equivalent to the learning and preparation described in paragraph (1) as determined by duly qualified faculty responsible for evaluating learning outcomes for the award of unit credits.(y) "Recreational Education" means education offered for the purpose of teaching the fundamentals, skills or techniques of sports or games.(z) "Semester" means at least 15 weeks of instruction or its equivalent as described in subdivision (z)(2) of this section.(aa) "Semester unit" means either of the following:(1) At least fifteen (15) hours of college or university level instruction during a semester plus a reasonable period of time outside of instruction which an institution requires a student to devote to preparation for planned learning experiences, such as preparation for instruction, study of course material, or completion of educational projects; or(2) Planned learning experiences equivalent to the learning and preparation described in paragraph (1) as determined by duly qualified faculty responsible for evaluating learning outcomes for the award of unit credits.(ab) "Significant equipment" means equipment that is necessary for achieving the stated educational objectives.(ac) "Tuition" means the cost for instruction normally charged on a per unit or per hour basis. It does not include itemized fees paid to the Bureau or the cost of textbooks, supplies, transportation, or equipment.(ad) "Unit" or "unit of credit" means a measure of college or university level instruction that is evaluated by duly qualified faculty.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 5, § 70000
Note: Authority cited: Sections 94803, 94877, 94885 and 94885.5, Education Code. Reference: Sections 94818, 94830, 94844, 94874, 94885, 94885.5 and 94923, Education Code.
Note: Authority cited: Sections 94803, 94877, 94885, 94885.1 and 94885.5, Education Code. Reference: Sections 94818, 94830, 94844, 94874, 94885, 94885.1, 94885.5 and 94923, Education Code.
1. New section filed 3-12-92 as an emergency; operative 3-12-92 (Register 92, No. 13). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL 7-10-92 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
2. Certificate of Compliance as to 3-12-92 order transmitted to OAL 9-1-92 and filed 10-14-92 (Register 92, No. 42).
3. New subsections (f)-(f)(5) and amendment of Note filed 7-3-96 as an emergency; operative 7-3-96 (Register 96, No. 27). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 12-30-96 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
4. Editorial correction ofHistory3 (Register 97, No. 14).
5. Reinstatement of section as it existed prior to 7-3-96 emergency amendment by operation of Government Code section 11346.1(f); operative 12-31-96 (Register 97, No. 14).
6. New subsections (f)-(f)(5) and (g) and amendment of Note filed 4-4-97; operative 5-4-97 (Register 97, No. 14).
7. Amendment of chapter heading, section and Note filed 2-1-2010 as an emergency; operative 2-1-2010 (Register 2010, No. 6). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 8-2-2010 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
8. Amendment of chapter heading, section and Note refiled with addition amendments 7-30-2010 as an emergency; operative 7-30-2010 (Register 2010, No. 31). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-28-2010 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
9. Certificate of Compliance as to 7-30-2010 order, including further amendment of section, transmitted to OAL 10-7-2010 and filed 11-18-2010 (Register 2010, No. 47).
10. Editorial correction of subsection (k)(2)(A) (Register 2011, No. 27).
11. New subsections (s) and (u), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsections (v) and (y) and amendment of Note filed 1-30-2015 as an emergency; operative 2-1-2015 (Register 2015, No. 5). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 7-31-2015 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
12. New subsections (s) and (u), subsection relettering, amendment of newly designated subsection (v) and amendment of Note refiled 7-30-2015 as an emergency; operative 7-31-2015 (Register 2015, No. 31). A Certificate of Compliance must be transmitted to OAL by 10-29-2015 or emergency language will be repealed by operation of law on the following day.
13. Certificate of Compliance as to 7-30-2015 order, including amendment of subsection (s), transmitted to OAL 10-9-2015 and filed 11-23-2015; amendments effective 11-23-2015 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2015, No. 48).
14. Amendment of subsections within subsection (k) and amendment of Note filed 3-30-2021; operative 7/1/2021 (Register 2021, No. 14). Filing deadline specified in Government Code section 11349.3(a) extended 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-40-20 and an additional 60 calendar days pursuant to Executive Order N-71-20.
15. New subsection (j), subsection relettering and amendment of NOTE filed 8-1-2024; operative 10/1/2024 (Register 2024, No. 31).