Chapter 325
AN ACT
SB 198
Relating to academic degrees; amending ORS 348.594, 348.597, 348.603,
348.606 and 348.607; and declaring an emergency.
Be It Enacted by the People of
the State of
SECTION 1. ORS 348.594 is amended to read:
348.594. As used in ORS
348.594 to 348.615[,]:
(1)(a) “Diploma mill”
means:
(A) A school against
which a court or public body, as defined in ORS 174.109, has issued a ruling or
finding, after due process procedures, that the school has engaged in
dishonest, fraudulent or deceptive practices related to the award of degrees,
academic standards or student learning requirements; or
(B) An entity without
legal authority as a school to issue degrees valid as credentials in the
jurisdiction that authorizes issuance of degrees.
(b) “Diploma mill” does
not include:
(A) A school operating
legally under ORS 348.604; or
(B) A school that is
actively seeking and able to show evidence of reasonable progress toward
regional accreditation with one of the regional post-secondary accrediting
bodies recognized by the United States Department of Education.
(2) “School” means a person, organization,
school or institution of learning that confers or offers to confer an academic
degree upon a person or to provide academic credit applicable to a degree.
SECTION 2. ORS 348.603 is amended to read:
348.603. (1) The Oregon
Student Assistance Commission, through the Office of Degree Authorization,
shall:
(a) Authorize approved
schools to offer academic degree programs;
(b)
Authorize approved degree-granting schools to offer nondegree programs leading
to a certificate or diploma;
(c) Validate claims of
degree possession;
(d) Terminate
substandard or fraudulent degree activities; [and]
(e) Terminate
activities of diploma mills operating in or from
(f) Except as provided
in subsection (4) of this section, terminate the operation in or from Oregon of
post-secondary accrediting bodies that are not recognized by the United States
Department of Education or by the commission; and
[(e)] (g) Review proposed new publicly funded post-secondary
programs and locations.
(2)(a) Following review
of a proposed new publicly funded post-secondary program or location, the
commission shall recommend resolution to the appropriate governing boards and
mediate between the boards to seek a negotiated resolution if:
(A) There is a
detrimental duplication of programs; or
(B) The program or
location would have a significantly adverse impact on one or more other
segments of education.
(b) If the boards do not
resolve the issue raised under paragraph (a) of this
subsection within 90 days of the date when the issue was recommended to the
boards for mediation, the commission shall have final authority for approval or
disapproval of the program or location. If the boards do not resolve the issue,
the commission shall approve or disapprove the program or location within 180
days of the date when the review began.
(c) If the boards do not
resolve the issue, the commission shall approve the program or location if the
commission finds that the program or location meets an unmet workforce need in
the state.
(d) The commission shall
establish by rule a fair and neutral decision-making process in consultation
with representatives designated by the State Board of Education, the State
Board of Higher Education, associations representing Oregon independent
colleges, associations representing Oregon career colleges, and the governing
boards of otherwise unrepresented post-secondary schools.
(3) The commission, by
rule, may impose a fee on any school or person requesting information from the
commission. The amount of the fee shall be established to recover designated
expenses incurred by the commission in carrying out the administration of ORS
348.594 to 348.615. Any fees collected under this subsection shall be deposited
in the Office of Degree Authorization Account established under ORS 348.601.
(4) Subsection (1)(f) of this section does not apply to a body the role of
which is to accredit schools that offer only associate, bachelor’s or master’s
degrees with titles in theology or religious occupations or, if the schools
also offer doctoral degrees, offer doctoral degrees only in theology or
religious occupations that have been approved by a federally recognized
accrediting organization.
SECTION 3. ORS 348.606 is amended to read:
348.606. (1) A school
may not confer or offer to confer any academic degree upon a person, or provide
services purporting to lead to a degree in whole or in part, without first
obtaining approval from the Oregon Student Assistance Commission through the
Office of Degree Authorization. The commission shall adopt by rule standards
and procedures for the approval of schools.
[(2) The commission shall substitute the standards adopted under
subsection (1) of this section with private accreditation standards for a
school that has conferred degrees under the same control for five years in
Oregon from at least one operationally separate unit accredited as a separate
institution by a regional accrediting association or its national successor,
provided the school submits for arbitration by the commission any unresolved
dispute in which a person alleges detrimental violation of a standard
guaranteed by the accrediting association but which the association has
declined to arbitrate.]
[(3)(a)] (2)(a) The commission, by
rule, may impose a fee on any school applying for approval to confer or offer
to confer a degree upon a person or to provide academic credit applicable to a
degree. The fee is nonrefundable.
(b) The amount of the
fee shall be established to recover designated expenses incurred by the
commission in carrying out the administration of ORS 348.594 to 348.615, and
may not exceed the following amounts adjusted for inflation annually,
beginning on July 1, 2007, pursuant to the increase, if any, from the preceding
year in the U.S. City Average Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (All
Items) as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States
Department of Labor:
(A) For a doctoral
degree, $5,500.
(B) For a master’s
degree, $4,150.
(C) For a bachelor’s
degree, $4,150.
(D) For an associate
degree, $2,750.
(E) For a certificate
or for any partial degree program, $1,000.
(c) In addition to the
base fee described in paragraph (b) of this subsection, the commission may
assess the actual costs related to the use of experts to evaluate programs
leading to professional licensure by the state, if such costs exceed 10 percent
of the base fee.
[(c)] (d) Any fees collected under
this subsection shall be deposited in the Office of Degree Authorization
Account established under ORS 348.601.
SECTION 4. ORS 348.597 is amended to read:
348.597. ORS 348.594 to
348.615 do not apply to:
(1) An
(2) A state institution
of higher education within the Oregon University System;
(3) The
(4) A school that has
conferred degrees under the same control for five years in Oregon from at least
one operationally separate unit accredited as a separate institution by a
regional accrediting association or its national successor;
[(4)] (5) A school that, on the date preceding July 15, 2005,
was a school described in ORS 348.594 (2)(d); or
[(5)] (6) A school that is exempt from
ORS 348.594 to 348.615 under ORS 348.604.
SECTION 5. ORS 348.607 is amended to read:
348.607. (1) The
(a) The actual cost to
the commission of determining the school’s compliance with the requirements for
an exemption under ORS 348.604; or
(b) Fifty percent of the
fee that the commission would impose on the school under ORS 348.606 [(3)] (2) if the school were
applying for approval to offer a bachelor’s degree.
(2) Except as provided
in ORS 348.604 or 348.608 or section 6, chapter 546, Oregon Laws 2005, the
commission may not impose requirements for a religious exemption from ORS
348.594 to 348.615.
SECTION 6. This 2007 Act being necessary for the
immediate preservation of the public peace, health and safety, an emergency is
declared to exist, and this 2007 Act takes effect July 1, 2007.
Approved by the Governor June 11, 2007
Filed in the office of Secretary of State June 13, 2007
Effective date July 1, 2007
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