2024 Connecticut General Statutes
Title 10a - State System of Higher Education
Chapter 185 - Administration of State System
Section 10a-34. (Formerly Sec. 10-330). - Authorization of programs of higher learning or institutions of higher education. Authority to confer degrees. Review of requests and applications. Appeal of denials.

(a) For the purposes of this section, (1) “program of higher learning” means any course of instruction for which it is stated or implied that college or university-level credit may be given or may be received by transfer, including any course offered by dual enrollment; (2) “degree” means any letters or words, diploma, certificate or other symbol or document which signifies satisfactory completion of the requirements of a program of higher learning; (3) “institution of higher education” means any person, school, board, association, limited liability company or corporation which is authorized to offer one or more programs of higher learning leading to one or more degrees; (4) “authorization” means the approval by the Office of Higher Education to operate or continue operating a program of higher learning or institution of higher education for subsequent periods, and in such periods to confer specified degrees; (5) “program modification” means (A) a change in a program of higher learning that does not clearly qualify as a new program of higher learning or a nonsubstantive change, including, but not limited to, a new program of higher learning consisting primarily of course work for a previously approved program of higher learning, (B) an approved program of higher learning to be offered at an off-campus location, (C) a change in the title of a degree, or (D) a change in the title of a program of higher learning; and (6) “nonsubstantive change” means (A) a new undergraduate certificate program, within an existing program of higher learning, of not more than thirty semester credit hours that falls under an approved program of higher learning, (B) a new baccalaureate minor of not more than eighteen semester credit hours, (C) a new undergraduate option or certificate program of not more than fifteen semester credit hours, or (D) a new graduate option or certificate program of not more than twelve semester credit hours.

(b) The Office of Higher Education shall establish regulations, in accordance with chapter 54, concerning the requirements for authorization, administration, finance, faculty, curricula, library, student admission and graduation, plant and equipment, records, catalogs, program announcements and any other criteria pertinent thereto, as well as the periods for which authorization may be granted, and the costs and procedures of evaluations as provided in subsections (c), (d) and (i) of this section.

(c) No person, school, board, association or corporation shall confer any degree unless authorized by act of the General Assembly. No application for authority to confer any such degree shall be approved by the General Assembly or any committee thereof, nor shall any such authority be included in any charter of incorporation until such application has been evaluated and approved by the Office of Higher Education in accordance with regulations established by the Office of Higher Education.

(d) The Office of Higher Education shall review all requests and applications for program modifications, nonsubstantive changes and authorizations. The office shall review each application in consideration of the academic standards set forth in the regulations for authorization adopted by said office in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of this section. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 10a-34e, any application that is determined by the office to be for (1) a program modification that meets all such academic standards, (2) a nonsubstantive change, or (3) authorization shall be deemed approved, and the office shall notify the institution of such approval, not later than forty-five days from the date the office receives such application without requiring any further action from the applicant.

(e) If the executive director of the Office of Higher Education, or the executive director's designee, determines that further review of an application is needed due at least in part to the applicant offering instruction in a new program of higher learning or new degree level or the financial condition of the institution of higher education is determined to be at risk of imminent closure as a result of a financial screening conducted pursuant to the provisions of section 10a-34h, then the executive director or the executive director's designee shall conduct a focused or on-site review. Such applicant shall have an opportunity to state any objection regarding any individual selected to review an application on behalf of the executive director. For purposes of this subsection and subsection (f) of this section, “focused review” means a review by an out-of-state curriculum expert; and “on-site review” means a full team evaluation by the office at the institution of higher education.

(f) The executive director of the Office of Higher Education, or the executive director's designee, may require (1) a focused or on-site review of any program application in a field requiring a license to practice in Connecticut, and (2) evidence that a program application in a field requiring a license to practice in Connecticut meets the state or federal licensing requirements for such license.

(g) Any application for authorization of a new institution in this state shall be subject to an on-site review upon a determination by the Office of Higher Education that the application is complete and shall be reviewed at the institutional level for each program as described in subsection (b) of this section. Such process shall be completed not later than nine months from the date said office receives the application.

(h) If the Office of Higher Education denies an application for authorization of a program or institution of higher education, the applicant may appeal the denial not later than ten days from the date of denial. The office shall conduct a hearing in accordance with the requirements of chapter 54 to hear such appeal.

(i) No person, school, board, association or corporation shall operate a program of higher learning or an institution of higher education unless it has been authorized by the Office of Higher Education, nor shall it confer any degree unless it has been authorized in accordance with this section. The office shall accept accreditation recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education, in satisfaction of the requirements of this subsection unless the office finds cause not to rely upon such accreditation. If any institution of higher education provides evidence of programmatic accreditation, the office may consider such accreditation in satisfaction of the requirements of this subsection and deem the program at issue in the application for accreditation to be accredited in accordance with this section.

(j) No person, school, board, association or corporation shall use in any way the term “junior college” or “college” or “university” or use any other name, title, literature, catalogs, pamphlets or descriptive matter tending to designate that it is an institution of higher education, or that it may grant academic or professional degrees, unless the institution has been authorized by the office, nor shall it offer any program of higher learning without authorization of the Office of Higher Education.

(k) Authorization of any program or institution or authority to award degrees granted in accordance with law prior to July 1, 1965, shall continue in effect unless the Office of Higher Education determines that an institution is at risk of imminent closure as a result of a financial screening conducted pursuant to the provisions of section 10a-34h.

(l) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (b) to (j), inclusive, of this section and subject to the authority of the State Board of Education to regulate teacher education programs, an independent institution of higher education, as defined in section 10a-173, shall not require approval by the Office of Higher Education for any new programs of higher learning or any program modifications proposed by such institution, provided (1) the institution maintains eligibility to participate in financial aid programs governed by Title IV, Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended from time to time, (2) the United States Department of Education has not determined that the institution has a financial responsibility score that is less than 1.5 for the most recent fiscal year for which the data necessary for determining the score is available, and (3) the institution has been located in the state and accredited as a degree-granting institution in good standing for ten years or more by a regional accrediting association recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education and maintains such accreditation status. Each institution that is exempt from program approval by the Office of Higher Education under this subsection shall (A) on or before the last date of each semester, but not less frequently than annually, update the credentials database, established pursuant to the provisions of section 10a-35b, with any new programs of higher learning that were introduced or any existing programs of higher learning that were modified or discontinued during such semester, and (B) not later than July 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, file with the office (i) the institution's current program approval process and all actions of the governing board concerning approval of any new program of higher learning, and (ii) the institution's financial responsibility composite score, as determined by the United States Department of Education, for the most recent fiscal year for which the data necessary for determining the score is available.

(February, 1965, P.A. 330, S. 13; 1967, P.A. 751, S. 12; 1969, P.A. 344; P.A. 73-408; P.A. 77-573, S. 24, 30; P.A. 82-218, S. 37, 46; P.A. 84-241, S. 2, 5; P.A. 92-126, S. 10, 48; P.A. 95-79, S. 20, 189; P.A. 07-90, S. 1; P.A. 11-48, S. 245; P.A. 12-156, S. 56; P.A. 13-118, S. 1; 13-247, S. 187; 13-261, S. 12; P.A. 16-36, S. 1; P.A. 17-56, S. 5; 17-191, S. 2; P.A. 18-33, S. 1; P.A. 19-26, S. 1; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2, S. 265; P.A. 22-123, S. 3; P.A. 23-204, S. 96.)

History: 1967 act amended Subsec. (d) to allow commission to accept regional or national accreditation; Sec. 10-6 transferred to Sec. 10-330 in 1969; 1969 act prohibited operation of program or institution of higher learning “unless it is operated on a nonprofit basis …” in Subsec. (d); P.A. 73-408 deleted requirement that programs and institutions be operated on nonprofit basis; P.A. 77-573 replaced commission for higher education with board of higher education; P.A. 82-218 replaced board of higher education with board of governors pursuant to reorganization of higher education system, effective March 1, 1983; Sec. 10-330 transferred to Sec. 10a-34 in 1983; P.A. 84-241 added “of higher education” to board of governors' title; P.A. 92-126 amended Subsec. (d) to require the board to accept national accreditation, where appropriate, unless the board finds cause not to rely upon such accreditation; P.A. 95-79 redefined “institution of higher learning” to include a limited liability company, effective May 31, 1995; P.A. 07-90 made a technical change in Subsec. (b), deleted former Subsec. (g) re fine for violation and redesignated existing Subsec. (h) as Subsec. (g), effective January 1, 2008; P.A. 11-48 amended Subsec. (a) to replace “Board of Governors of Higher Education” with “State Board of Education”, amended Subsec. (b) to replace “Board of Governors of Higher Education” with “Office of Financial and Academic Affairs”, amended Subsec. (c) to replace “Board of Governors of Higher Education” with “State Board of Education” and “the Office of Financial and Academic Affairs for Higher Education”, and amended Subsecs. (d) and (e) to replace “Board of Governors of Higher Education” with “State Board of Education”, effective July 1, 2011; pursuant to P.A. 12-156, “Office of Financial and Academic Affairs for Higher Education” was changed editorially by the Revisors to “Office of Higher Education” in Subsecs. (b) and (c), effective June 15, 2012; P.A. 13-118 amended Subsec. (a) to add Subdiv. (1) to (5) designators, replace references to State Board of Education with references to Office of Higher Education in Subdivs. (4) and (5), make technical changes in Subdivs. (3) and (5), and add Subdivs. (6) and (7) re definitions of “program modification” and “nonsubstantive change”, amended Subsec. (b) to replace provision re advisory council for accreditation with provisions re academic review commissions and make technical changes, amended Subsec. (c) to replace “State Board of Education” with “Office of Higher Education”, added new Subsec. (d) re review of all requests and applications for program modifications, nonsubstantive changes, licensure and accreditation, added new Subsec. (e) re further review of an application, added new Subsec. (f) re focused or on-site review of any program application in a health-related field, added new Subsec. (g) re on-site review of application for licensure of a new institution, added new Subsec. (h) re denial of an application for licensure or accreditation, redesignated existing Subsec. (d) as Subsec. (i) and amended same to replace references to State Board of Education with references to Office of Higher Education, authorize Office of Higher Education to consider evidence of programmatic accreditation and accept national accreditation and make technical changes, redesignated existing Subsec. (e) as Subsec. (j) and amended same to replace references to State Board of Education with references to Office of Higher Education and make technical changes, redesignated existing Subsec. (f) as Subsec. (k), and deleted former Subsec. (g) re temporary licensure, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 13-247 amended Subsec. (b) to change “twenty-five” to “thirty-five” re members, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 13-261 amended Subsec. (b) to add new Subdivs. (2) and (3) re appointments for the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate, redesignate existing Subdivs. (2) to (5) as Subdivs. (4) to (7) and make a technical change, effective July 1, 2013; P.A. 16-36 added Subsec. (l) re new programs of higher learning and program modifications by independent institutions of higher education not subject to approval until July 1, 2018, effective July 1, 2016; P.A. 17-56 amended Subsec. (l) to make technical changes, effective June 20, 2017; P.A. 17-191 amended Subsec. (f) by designating existing provision re focused or on-site review of program application as Subdiv. (1) and amending same to replace “health-related field where a license in Connecticut is required to practice in such field” with “field requiring a license to practice in Connecticut”, and adding Subdiv. (2) re evidence that program application requiring license meets state or federal licensing requirements, effective July 1, 2017; P.A. 18-33 amended Subsec. (l) by replacing “new programs of higher learning and program modifications proposed” with “up to twelve new programs of higher learning in any academic year and any program modifications proposed”, replacing “2018” with “2020”, and substantially revising provision re exempt institutions to file with office including by adding new Subparas. (A) and (B), designating existing provisions as Subpara. (C) and redesignating existing Subparas. (A) to (C) as clauses (i) to (iii), effective July 1, 2018; P.A. 19-26 amended Subsec. (l) by deleting “until July 1, 2020,”, effective July 1, 2019; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 21-2 amended Subsec. (l) by deleting allowance for independent institutions of higher education to establish up to 12 new programs and any program modifications without approval of Office of Higher Education, adding allowance for any new programs or modifications without approval until June 30, 2023 and up to 15 new programs and any modifications without approval on and after July 1, 2023, adding “on and after July 1, 2023,” and changing 12 to 15 in Subpara. (A), adding “until June 30, 2024,” in Subpara. (C)(i), and making a technical change, effective July 1, 2021; P.A. 22-123 amended Subsec. (a) by redefining “program of higher learning” in Subdiv. (1), deleting former Subdiv. (4) re the definition for “license”, redesignating existing Subdivs. (5) to (7) as Subdivs. (4) to (6) and redefining and changing “accreditation” to “authorization” in new Subdiv. (4), amended Subsec. (b) by removing the requirement for academic review commissions to hear appeals and denials, amended Subsec. (e) by adding provisions re financial screening and making a technical change, amended Subsec. (h) to require appeal hearings in accordance with Ch. 54, amended Subsec. (i) to change “regional” to “recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of Education” and removing the requirement to accept national accreditation, amended Subsec. (k) by adding provisions re financial screening, and changed references to approval, licensed or accredited to “authorized” throughout, effective July 1, 2022; P.A. 23-204 amended Subsec. (l) by deleting “until June 30, 2023, and for up to 15 new programs of higher learning in any academic year or any program modifications proposed by such institution on and after July 1, 2023”, deleting former Subdiv. (3)(A) to (3)(C)(i) re requirement to file application for new program approval for programs in excess of 15, program actions form and list of new and discontinued programs, respectively, adding new Subdiv. (3)(A) re annually updating credentials database and redesignating existing Subdivs. (3)(C)(ii) and (3)(C)(iii) as Subdivs. (3)(B)(i) and (3)(B)(ii), respectively, effective July 1, 2023.