Section 20.17.070. Advertisement and solicitation.

	(a)  Institutions and agents may not engage in solicitation of students by making claims concerning the training, instruction, course content, facilities, instructor qualifications, or placement that are not truthful and demonstrable and based on actual services rendered.  
	(b)  Institutions and agents must clearly disclose full charges and fees to a prospective student and, if the student is not emancipated, to the student's parent or guardian. Claims as to the availability of scholarships or fee reductions may not be made unless they are, in fact, scholarships or fee reductions and are clearly stated and described.  
	(c)  An institution may not falsely represent, directly or indirectly, by use of a name or in any other manner, that it is a part of or connected with an agency of the federal or state government, that it is an employment agency or authorized training facility for an industry, or otherwise attempt to conceal the fact that it is a school.  
	(d)  A postsecondary educational institution that conducts its instruction or otherwise offers a program substantially by distance education must make a clear and conspicuous disclosure in immediate conjunction with its trade, business, or program name that it is a distance education school or program. For purposes of this subsection, a program is offered substantially by distance education if greater than 20 percent of the clock or credit hours are delivered by distance education.  
	(e)  An institution may not represent that it is accredited unless it is accredited as that term is defined in 20 AAC 17.900(a)(8).  
	(f)  An institution which represents that students completing a course or program of instruction may transfer credit to an accredited institution of higher education must be able to factually document the transferability.  
	(g)  In recruiting students, a postsecondary educational institution may not use advertisements or promotional material that is classified, designated, or captioned "Wanted to train for. . . ," "Help Wanted," "Employment," "Business Opportunities," or by words or terms of similar import, so as to represent directly or by implication that employment is being offered. Postsecondary educational institution advertisements must clearly state that the service being advertised is instruction for which the student must pay tuition or a fee, if a fee is charged.  
	(h)  If a postsecondary educational institution represents that it offers a placement service to its graduates or will otherwise secure or assist them to find employment, a detailed and explicit description of the extent and nature of this service or assistance must be contained in its catalog, including the most recently completed placement rate calculated under (j) of this section.  
	(i)  A postsecondary educational institution may not, except as authorized by federal or state regulations, offer material gifts or services of a retail value greater than $50 as incentives or inducements for enrollment or retention in a program of training. Tools or equipment customarily owned by practitioners in the field of training and necessarily used during the training course and subsequent employment are exempt from this prohibition so long as their value does not exceed 10 percent of the price of instruction.  
	(j)  If an institution uses placement information or statistics in advertising or recruitment of potential students or offers placement services, the institution must calculate placement rates using a standard methodology approved by the commission for both program and institution placement. The institution shall keep placement records for all programs except if a program is primarily a review or refresher program or short skill enhancement program. Placement records and statistics must be readily available to prospective students upon request.  
	(k)  An institution may not advertise that it will provide or offer collegiate instruction or degree programs unless the institution is accredited as a collegiate level institution and the degree advertised is within the scope of the institution's accreditation. An institution whose degree programs were specifically exempted under 20 AAC 17.015(a)(6) before March 1, 2002 may continue to offer the exempted degrees only.  
	(l)  An institution may not advertise that it will open, offer a new or continuing program, accept deposits, or solicit applications unless the institution maintains documentation of access to financial, academic, and administrative resources sufficient to offer the program at the time of advertisement or solicitation.  
	(m)  An institution may not indicate by use of an appellation, abbreviation, or similar designation that the institution's administrators or instructors have academic degrees unless those degrees were earned through successful completion of a required curriculum from an accredited institution.  

Authorities

14.42.030;14.48.050;14.48.060

Notes

Authority

AS 14.42.030 AS 14.48.050 AS 14.48.060

History

Eff. 12/30/77, Register 64; am 3/25/90, Register 113; am 5/4/90, Register 114; am 10/11/95, Register 136; am 4/24/98, Register 146; am 3/1/2002, Register 161; am 12/29/2010, Register 196; am 10/3/2011, Register 200; am 2/21/2014, Register 209