Responses Last Confirmed:

Louisiana Board of Regents, Proprietary Schools

Agency Contact

Courtney Britton
225-219-7150
courtney.britton@laregents.edu

Additional Contact

Secretary of State Contact

Kyle Ardoin
225-922-2880
admin@sos.la.gov
Topic

1: Important Agency Information to Note

a.
Provide any important information about your agency.

LA Board of Regents licenses proprietary schools (non-academic, privately owned occupational schools) and academic degree granting institutions, not part of a system.

Topic

2: Types of Educational Providers Authorized

a.
Indicate the types of institutions that your agency authorizes. Please provide a short explanation of any ambiguity in the comment section below.

_____    Public, in-state degree granting institutions
__X__    Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions        
__X__    Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions 
__X__    Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions    
__X__    Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__    Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____    Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____    Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
__X__    Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
__X__    Non-degree, for-profit institutions
__X__    Religious institutions
_____    Tribally-controlled institutions
_____    Federal Institutions
_____    Municipal institutions

b.
Does your agency authorize specific academic programs offered by institutions, only institutions themselves, or both?

____ Institution   _____ Program   ___X__ Both

c.
Clarifying comments:

Non, degree granting institutions are considered proprietary schools and licensed under that law.

Academic degree granting institutions, not part of one of our existing systems are regulated by the Act 129.

Act 129 also allows for registration of religious institutions, but they are exempt from licensure.

Topic

3: Accreditation

a.
Is accreditation required for an institution to be authorized in your state?

Yes and No

b.
If yes, please check all that apply as appropriate.

Accreditation Required for:
__X__ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
_____ Religious institutions
_____ Tribally-controlled institutions
_____ Federal Institutions
_____ Municipal institutions

c.
Clarifying comments:

Out of state academic degree granting institutions are required to be accredited. In-state academic degree granting institutions can operate on a conditional license as they pursue accreditation.

Proprietary schools are not required to be accredited.

Topic

4: Exemptions

a.
Are certain institutions or programs exempt by law or policy from your state authorization requirements?

Yes.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions? Which types of programs?

See above.

c.
Web link for exemptions.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

For proprietary - RS 3140.1.6.i-xvii

https://regents.la.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Westlaw-17-full-text-items-for-Superbrowse.pdf

For Act 129, Religious institutions and 100% online education without a physical presence in Louisiana.

Topic

5: Authorization of Distance Education

a.
Does your agency require purely online programs offered by out-of-state institutions to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

No

b.
If not, does your agency determine whether an institution must be authorized based on a physical presence (“operating”) standard?

Yes

c.
Does your agency require correspondence study programs to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

No

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

6: Physical Presence Policy

a.
If your agency uses a physical presence standard, how does your agency define physical presence?

Physical presence is defined as an address, phone, agent, or clinical/internship/practicum site.

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

7: Student Complaints - SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about SARA participating Institutions.
b.
Is the process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

No response provided

d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

Contact Name: LeAnn Detillier
Title:
Agency: The Louisiana Board of Regents
Address: P.O. Box 3677, Baton Rouge, LA 70821-3677
Email: leann.detillier@laregents.edu
Phone:
URL:

e.
Clarifying comments:

LeAnn Detillier still handles all NC-SARA registration and complaints.

Topic

8: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about out-of-state postsecondary institutions or programs?

Student complaint processes are outlined in our regulations.

b.
Is the process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

They are divided by Proprietary and Act 129. And it is an internal process.

c.
Does this complaint process extend to institutions not authorized by the agency that may enroll residents of the state (such as explicitly distance education programs with no physical presence or exempt institutions)?

No

d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

Contact Name: Courtney Britton
Title: Program Administrator
Agency: LA Board of Regents, Proprietary Schools Section
Address: P.O. Box 3677, Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Email: courtney.britton@laregents.edu
Phone: 225-219-7150
URL: https://www.laregents.edu/proprietaryschools/

f.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

9: Surety Bonds

a.
Does your state require a Surety Bond for authorized out-of-state institutions?

No, for academic institutions. Yes, for proprietary schools.

c.
Clarifying comments:

In-state proprietary schools are required to be bonded also.

Conditionally licensed in-state academic intuitions are also required to be bonded.

Topic

10: Tuition Refund Policy

a.
Does your state have a Tuition Refund Policy Requirement?

Yes

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

All licensed institutions. Details found in regulations.

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

11: Student Tuition Recovery Fund

a.
Does your state have a Student Tuition Recovery Fund (or similar fund for school closure)?

Yes.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

For proprietary schools, only for closed institutions.

c.
Web link for student tuition recovery fund.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

12: Reporting

a.
What kinds of information or data must an institution report to your agency as a condition for continued out-of-state authorization?

Financials, student data, program and location updates, instructor information, proof of bond continuation, enrollment data.

b.
How frequently do institutions report data?

Annually, though not all data is required annually.

c.
Is this information published or shared publicly?

Not at this time.

d.
Web link for reporting.

(La. R.S. 17:3140.3.D)

e.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

13: Enforcement

a.
What are possible consequences of institutional non-compliance?

Fines, license suspension or revocation. Barred from future licensure.

b.
Web link for enforcement information.

See Rule and Regs.

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

14: Application Process

a.
Please provide a short description of the application process to obtain state authorization.

Processes vary widely based on the type of institution. All process are a multi-month process, and require submission of various materials, fees and approval by the Board. (Proprietary schools must also be recommended to the board by the Advisory Commission on Proprietary Schools.) Both types of institutions will soon be required to submit application materials via an online portal.

b.
Web link for application.

No response provided

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

15: Fees Associated with Authorization

a.
Is there an application fee associated with the authorization process?

Yes

b.
If yes, what is the fee or fee schedule?

For Act 129 schools, $1500 annually.

For Proprietary schools: Initial $2000 fee, and $1000 fee contribution to the student protection fund.

Renewal fees, vary based on the previous year's gross tuition, but start at a minimum of $500.

c.
Web link for fee information.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

16: Records Retention

a.
When a school closes, what is the process your state uses to ensure that transcripts/records are kept available?

No process for academic degree granting institutions. For proprietary schools, schools should submit to the Board of Regents, who is the recordkeeping body for those school’s records. (La. R.S. 17:3140.15) Records that are transmitted electronically are uploaded and stored as needed. Paper records are digitized and microfilmed prior to destruction.

b.
From what agency do students request their transcripts/records from a closed school?

Agency Name: LA Board of Regents, Proprietary Schools Section
Contact Person:
Contact Phone:
Contact Address: P.O. Box 3677, Baton Rouge, LA 70821
Contact Email: transcripts@laregents.edu
Contact website:

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

17: Additional Information

a.
Is there anything else about the authorization process in your state that we and others ought to know about?

No response provided