OAR 715-045-0060: Standards Governing Recruitment for Private Career Schools and their Agents

All agents and schools will be subject to the following conditions of this rule: (1) A school shall provide training to admissions staff that includes: (a) Knowledge of the Oregon Private Career School laws, and rules; and (b) Detailed understanding of the school's catalog, admission standards, application fee if charged, enrollment agreement/contract, refund policy, other written school policies, and code of ethical conduct when dealing with prospective students and parent(s) or guardian(s). (2) As the recruitment of prospective students relates to admissions policies and practices: (a) The school or agent shall clearly explain to each applicant for enrollment the nature of the course under consideration and what the training can reasonably be expected to do for the student in preparation for or furtherance of a trade or occupation; (b) The school shall not enroll, and no agent or any person involved in recruitment or admission shall recommend for enrollment, any person without having reason to believe that the person is likely to succeed in and benefit from the proposed training or course of instruction; (c) Where a school or agent enrolls a person who does not meet regular basic admission qualifications of the school, the school must have a written record of the reasons why the enrollee was permitted to enroll, and be prepared to justify its action in accepting the enrollment; (d) No school or agent may accept an enrollment from a person of compulsory school age, nor one attending a school of elementary or secondary level, until the agent has written assurance from the enrollee's parent, guardian, or principal of the elementary or secondary school attended, that pursuit of the course would not be detrimental to enrollee's regular school work; and (e) The school must produce, upon demand of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission, documents attesting to completion of subsection (1)(a) and (b) of this rule and, when applicable, subsection (1)(c) and (d) of this rule. (3) As recruitment of prospective students relates to enrollment agreements or contracts: (a) The enrollment agreement or contract must clearly outline obligations of both school and student, and a copy of the enrollment agreement or contract must be furnished the student by the agent before payment is made; (b) The school or agent must inform each applicant of the nature of the obligation entered into and the responsibilities and rights of the student under the enrollment agreement or contract before the student signs the document. Evidence of compliance with this will be the student's signature on file at the school verifying receipt of a copy of the contract as well as other documents required in OAR 715-045-0018; (c) The total tuition for any specific course must be the same for all persons enrolling at a specific time, except that a group-training contract showing lower individual rates may be negotiated; (d) Tuition changes in courses shall be effective on specific dates and applicable to all who enroll thereafter; and (e) All charges and costs incidental to training must be revealed by the school or agent to the prospective student before any enrollment agreement or contract is signed. (4) As recruitment of prospective students relates to advertising and promotional literature: No bonus or other incentive may be given a prospective student for the purpose of enticing the student to sign an enrollment agreement other than that which is offered to all students in a special promotional effort. This rule does not prohibit a school from establishing a bona fide program with clearly identified criteria. (5) As recruitment of prospective students relates to the school's responsibility for its agents: (a) The school is responsible for ensuring that the agent has been provided training and is knowledgeable about the school's: (A) Beginning, history, and owners; (B) Program of studies; (C) Refund policy; (D) Admission and assessment requirements; (E) Graduation requirements; (F) Rules and regulations; (G) Financial policies and procedures; (H) Governance by Oregon private career school law and rules; (I) Relationship to applicable consumer protection laws; and (J) Code of ethical conduct when dealing with prospective students and parent(s) or guardian(s). (b) The school is responsible for all advertising or promotional literature used by its agents; (c) The school or agent must provide the student a receipt for all money collected and a copy of the enrollment agreement; (d) No person who has any responsibility for the recruitment of students shall use the title of counselor, advisor, or any term of similar import, as determined by the Commission. Persons responsible for student recruiting may use the titles of admissions representative, career consultant, or other similar titles. The use of such titles shall be allowed so long as neither the school nor any such titled person represents, either directly or by implication, that they are acting on behalf of the prospective student rather than on behalf of the school; (e) No school or agent may discredit other schools or agents in any manner that may influence a student to leave another school or discourage a student from signing an enrollment agreement with another school; and (f) All schools and their agents shall comply with all standards set forth in OAR 715-045-0033 and 581-045-0034 concerning advertising and promotional material.