OAR 583-030-0015: Definitions of Terms

Effective September 10, 2015. The following definitions have particular application to one or more provisions of this division. (1) "Academic year" means approximately nine months, conventionally during fall, winter, and spring. In terms of credit hours, one academic year is equivalent to 30 SCH or 45 QCH. (2) "Accredited" means approved to offer degrees at a specified level by an agency or association recognized as an institutional accreditor in the U.S. by the U.S. Department of Education or having candidacy status with an agency or association whose pre-accreditation category is recognized specifically by the U. S. Department of Education as an assurance of future accreditation. (3) "At risk" means the school demonstrates one or more of the following conditions that the Commission determines may cause potential serious problems for the continued successful operation of the organization: Failure to meet the standards of financial responsibility; Misrepresentation; Frequent substantiated complaints filed with the Commission; Significant decrease in enrollment from the previous reporting year; or Significant staff turnover from the previous reporting year. (4) "Certificate" means a formal academic award that signifies, purports, or may generally be taken to signify completion of a course of instruction for which college or university-level academic credit is given but which is shorter or more limited than that leading to a degree. Certificate includes the term "diploma" if used to mean a similar award. A certificate may be at the undergraduate or graduate level. (5) "Class hour" or "contact hour" means approximately one hour of direct communication between a teacher and one or more students, minus time for rest or change of classes. Conventionally this has been a fifty-minute period. (6) "Confer a degree" means give, grant, award, bestow, or present orally or in writing any symbol or series of letters or words that would lead the recipient to believe a degree had been obtained. (7) "Credit," when the full term is "postsecondary or college credit," means indication or certification by a school that a student has completed a unit of study, demonstrated achievement or proficiency, or manifested measured learning outside of school so as to have satisfied a portion of the requirements for a degree or for any other academic recognition offered by the school. (8) "Credit hour" means one postsecondary credit resulting from at least 2 hours of student work out of class (or in equivalent lab time) for each contact hour in class , totaling. (a) One semester credit hour or “SCH” is 45 hours of student work in a semester ; (b) One quarter credit hour or “QCH” is 30 hours of student work in a quarter ; (c) An equivalent amount of student work under an alternate term calendar schedule approved by the Commission; or (d) Equivalent student work demonstrated by student performance on a nationally recognized examination or evaluation acceptable to the Commission. (9)(a) "Degree" means any academic or honorary title, rank, or status that may be used for any purpose, which is designated by a symbol or series of letters or words such as, but not limited to, associate, bachelor, master, or doctor, and forms or abbreviations thereof that signifies, purports, or may generally be taken to signify: (A) Completion of a course of instruction at the college or university level; (B) Demonstration of achievement or proficiency comparable to such completion; or (C) Recognition for nonacademic learning, public service, or any other reason of distinction comparable to such completion. (b) "Degree" does not refer to a certificate or diploma signified by a series of letters or words unlikely to be confused with a degree, clearly intended not to be mistaken for a degree, and represented to students and the public in ways that prevent such confusion or error. (10) “Executive Director” means the executive director of the Commission, or the executive director’s designee. (11) "External degree" means a degree that can be earned mostly or entirely through correspondence, electronic recordings, or subscription telecommunications, rather than by resident instruction, except that some assistance may be provided for students face-to-face by school adjuncts in capacities such as advisor, mentor, tutor, clinic or practicum supervisor, topical speaker, occasional seminar leader, evaluator, or member of a thesis or study committee. (12) "First-professional degree" means master's or doctor's degree conferred upon completion of a course of study for which admission into some schools may be gained with less than a baccalaureate, but for which pre-admission and professional study together invariably require more time than is required for a bachelor's degree alone, regardless of how many matriculants already have a bachelor's degree. (13) "Full-time equivalent” or “FTE" means the number of students, teachers, or other personnel, any member of which may be engaged in work or study full time or part time, who in combined time expended would be the equivalent of one full-time unit of the kind being described. (14) "Full-time student" means a student who is engaged in academic study as the student’s primary occupation, thus ordinarily requiring 35 to 45 hours per week divided between interaction with teachers and independent preparation. (15) "Graduate degree" or "post-baccalaureate degree" means a master's or doctor's degree conferred upon completion of a course of study for which admission can be gained only through possession of a bachelor's degree satisfactory to the school offering the graduate instruction. (16) "General Education" is a term that includes a selection of Liberal Arts and Sciences courses and other nonvocational courses outside a student's major field. (17) "Liberal Arts and Sciences courses" means courses in the following subjects: (a) The humanities, such as language, literature, philosophy, religious thought, and fine arts (not emphasizing performance skills); (b) The social sciences, such as anthropology, cultural geography, general history, religious history and culture, economics, political science, general psychology, and sociology; and (c) The natural sciences, such as biology, biological psychology, chemistry, physics, geology and physical geography, mathematics. (18) "Limited resident instruction" means instruction by an accredited school consisting of less than 50 percent of a degree or certificate program offered to more than one student at a physical site in Oregon, when the providing school is not otherwise authorized to offer degrees in Oregon. (19) "Lower-division instruction" means course content and teaching at a level appropriate for first- and second-year postsecondary students generally (including all community college and associate degree instruction), but available to more advanced students who have no prior experience in the subject. (20) "Non-Oregon school" means any school controlled from outside the state. (21) "Offer a degree" means announce, advertise, declare, or imply orally or in writing the willingness or intention to confer a degree directly or to cause a degree to be conferred by agreement or arrangement with any person or school. (22) "Oregon school" means any postsecondary school or organized group of postsecondary schools that has its principal executive offices in Oregon or is otherwise controlled effectively from within this state, regardless of the number of students served in various locations. (23) "Practicum" means that portion of a degree program that involves a supervised field placement in a professional or workplace environment. For purposes of these rules, also includes "internship." (24) "Professional and vocational courses" include, but are not limited to, courses in the following subjects: agriculture and forestry (or wildlife management), architecture and design, business and public administration, broadcasting or journalism, computer technology, education, engineering and related technologies, health professions, home economics, law, library science, military science, parks and leisure studies, physical education and recreation, protective services, religious services, artistic performance or physical activity courses, or practical and general information courses such as personal health, career planning, human relations, public speaking, elementary writing, elementary mathematics, and computer fundamentals. (25) “Probation” means that a school has been officially notified by the Commission that it has deficiencies that must be corrected within a specified time based upon an inspection or other investigation that reveals lack of compliance with ORS 348.606 to 348.612 or the standards of OAR chapter 583, division 30, or when the school fails to meet the requirements set forth by the Commission while on “at risk” status. (26) "Quarter" means one third of an academic year, typically 9-12 weeks in length and divided among fall, winter and spring. (27) "Religious degree" means a degree with a title in theology or religious occupation(s). (28) "Residential degree" means a degree earned primarily through resident instruction. (29) “Resident instruction” means face-to-face teaching and learning at a school's main campus or other major facility with a regularity designed to accommodate full-time students and others who need continuous access to teachers and related resources on site. (30)(a) "Restricted degree" means an external or semi-residential degree offered exclusively to employees or members of contracting organizations, which receive on their own premises services that may include direct or televised teaching by regular or adjunct faculty members of the school. (b) “Restricted degree” does not mean a degree program that is open to all members of the general public who are qualified for admission. (31) "School" means any person or persons and any organization or group of organizations, whether incorporated or not, engaging or appearing to engage in the activities of an educational entity or institution of learning, whether or not naming itself a school, college, university, institute, academy, seminary, conservatory, or similar term. The activities attributable to a school include but are not limited to teaching, measurement of achievement or proficiency, or recognition of educational attainment or comparable public distinction. (32) "Semester" means half an academic year, typically 15-16 weeks in length, conventionally including a fall semester from September through December and a spring semester from January through May. (33) "Semi-residential degree" means a degree that can be earned through a combination of residential and external methods but requires a substantial portion of learning from structured face-to-face teaching at a school's main campus or other major facility, or at a temporary instructional site where students meet in groups. (34) "State academic standards" for Oregon means the standards provided in OAR 583-030-0035. (35) "Term" means a segment of an academic year, ordinarily a semester or quarter but sometimes less. Term is the preferred descriptor for degree program courses using a nontraditional calendar. (36) "Upper-division instruction" means course content and teaching appropriate for third- and fourth-year students or others with a strong background in the subject. Upper-division instruction is not offered in associate degree programs or by community colleges.