Sec. 13b.01.01.02. Definitions

A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) "Additional location" means a separate facility of an approved school, not in close proximity to the approved school.

(2) "Advertising" means any statement of the school in writing or otherwise, through any media, which is intended to induce an individual to seek admission to or otherwise engage in any contract of admission to the school.

(3) "Applicant" means the individual or individuals, firm, company, corporation, or other organization that is the owner or owners of a school proposed for approval. In the case of an application by a subsidiary of a corporation, "applicant" includes the parent corporation.

(4) "Application fee" means a fee paid by a prospective student to a school to indicate good faith in making application for acceptance.

(5) "Attendance" means:

(a) The time a student is physically present for the delivery of instruction required for the residency requirement or externship portion of a program; or

(b) The active participation of a student in distance education as documented by the submission by the student of lesson assignments required for program completion.

(6) "Bona fide" means made in good faith, without fraud or deceit, and legally valid.

(7) "Catalog" means a printed description of the school, which includes, but is not limited to, its courses or programs, staffing, instructional calendar, costs, and school policies.

(8) "Combined program" means a program that includes distance education and a residency requirement.

(9) "Commission" means the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

(10) "Course" means a portion of a program of study covering specific subject matter.

(11) "Date of withdrawal or termination" means the student's last date of attendance.

(12) Distance Education.

(a) "Distance education" means the formal education process in which the delivery of instruction occurs beyond a school's walls since the student and instructor are in different places.

(b) Distance education may include:

(i) A variety of communication methods for delivering instruction to students; and

(ii) Instruction delivered in real time (synchronous) or delayed (asynchronous).

(13) "Enrollment of a school" means the number of students who are enrolled in a school at the beginning of a given instructional period.

(14) "Enrollment of a student" means the signing of a contractual agreement by a student to attend a private career school.

(15) "Externship" means training, including but not limited to a supervised work experience or practicum, which is an integral part of an approved program and which is conducted off the premises of the school's approved facility.

(16) "Institution of higher education" means an institution of postsecondary education that generally limits enrollment to graduates of secondary schools, and awards degrees at either the associate, baccalaureate, or graduate level.

(17) "Instruction" means any method or procedure used to impart knowledge or develop skills.

(18) "Instructor-student ratio" means the number of instructors responsible for the instruction or supervision of a group of students in relation to the number of students enrolled in the group.

(19) "Last date of attendance" means:

(a) The last date the student attended scheduled instruction required for the residency requirement of a program; or

(b) The last date the student submitted a lesson assignment required for a program or portion of a program delivered by distance education.

(19-1) “Non-Title IV school” means a school that does not participate in federal financial aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

(20) "Official leave of absence" means any leave of absence granted by a school under the terms set out in Regulation .09M of this chapter.

(21) "Private career school" means a privately owned and privately operated institution of postsecondary education, other than an institution of higher education, that furnishes or offers to furnish programs, whether or not requiring a payment of tuition or a fee, for the purpose of training, retraining, or upgrading individuals for gainful employment as skilled or semiskilled workers or technicians in recognized occupations or in new and emerging occupations.

(22) "Program" means a group of courses or a course of study organized to develop a specific knowledge of vocational skills for the purpose of training, retraining, or upgrading individuals for gainful employment.

(23) "Registration fee" means a fee paid at the time of registration to cover the costs of registration.

(24) "Residency requirement" means a mandatory portion of an instructional program that a student is required to take at the school, in the presence of and offered by a qualified instructor of the school offering the program of training and awarding the certification of competence.

(25) "Sales representative" means any person who contacts individuals or groups for the specific purpose of recruiting students for enrollment in the school.

(26) "Scholarship" means a specific gift of money or other grant or gift to help defray the cost of a student's education.

(27) "School" means a private career school.

(28) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Higher Education or the Secretary's designee.

(29) "Separate classroom" means supplemental training space:

(a) Located near an approved school for the purpose of training students who cannot be accommodated in the existing approved facilities of the school or for the purpose of expanding a school's educational offerings; and

(b) The location of which shall provide students convenient, safe, and easy access to the training and services provided at the existing approved facilities of the school.

(30) "Space requirements" means net assignable square feet within buildings available for instruction after deducting noninstructional areas such as corridors, stairways, offices, and lavatories.

(31) "Student" means an individual enrolled in a private career school.

(32) “Title IV school” means a school certified by the U.S. Secretary of Education to participate in federal financial aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

(33) “Total non-Title IV tuition liability” means a school’s total tuition liability minus the amount of Title IV federal financial aid received by the school on behalf of its students.

(34) “Total tuition liability” means the amount of tuition due to a school at its maximum permitted enrollment, which is the sum of each program’s tuition multiplied by the maximum permitted enrollment of that program.