74th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2007 Regular Session
SA to SB 198
LC 430/SB 198-4
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO
SENATE BILL 198
By COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT
March 23
On page 1 of the printed bill, line 2, after '348.594, ' delete
the rest of the line and insert '348.603 and 348.606; and de-'.
Delete lines 5 through 28 and delete pages 2 through 4 and
insert:
' { + 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 Oregon;
' (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) 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. + } { + 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. + } ' .
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