Definitions

As used in this chapter: "Degree" means a post-secondary credential, earned or honorary, conferring on the recipient the title or designation of "associate", "bachelor", "baccalaureate", "master", "doctor", or "doctorate", or any designation, mark, appellation, series of letters or words, or other symbol which signifies, purports, or is generally taken to signify satisfactory completion of the requirements of an academic or professional program of study beyond the secondary school level. "Degree granting institution" means a school, academy, institute, junior college, college, university, agency, individual, partnership, company, firm, society, trust, association, corporation, or any combination thereof that meets the following criteria: (1) Provides a post-secondary instructional program or course leading to a degree; (2) Uses in its name the term "college", "academy", "institute", "institution", or "university" or a similar term which implies that the organization or person is primarily engaged in the education of students at the post-secondary level; and (3) Charges a fee for its services. "Director" means the director of commerce and consumer affairs. "Employee" means a person who is hired on an hourly or salaried basis for twenty or more hours per week. "Office" means space within a structure that is leased, subleased, rented, or owned by the unaccredited institution or one or more of its officers or directors for the exclusive use by the unaccredited institution, as evidenced by a written lease agreement, sublease agreement, rental agreement, or conveyance document, and shall not include an arrangement for mail forwarding services or mailbox rental. "Presence" means offering courses, programs, or degrees or maintaining a campus, or an administrative, corporate, or other address in this State. "Student" means a person who enrolls in or seeks to enroll in a course of instruction offered or conducted by an unaccredited institution. "Unaccredited institution" means a degree granting institution that is not accredited or a candidate for accreditation by at least one nationally recognized accrediting agency that is listed by the United States Secretary of Education.