W. Va. Code R. § 135-20-10

Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024

Section 135-20-10 - Termination, Revocation, Suspension, or Withdrawal of Initial Authorization

10.1. The Council may, for good cause shown, suspend, withdraw, revoke, or terminate the initial authorization of an institution to confer degrees or otherwise operate in this State. The Council also may place an institution on probation, order refunds to students, forfeit a proprietary school's surety bond in accordance with 135 C.S.R. 35, Business, Occupational, and Trade Schools, or take any other appropriate action against an institution violating the provisions of this rule. "Good cause" to take adverse action against an institution's initial authorization status includes, but is not limited to, the following:

10.1.1. Failure to provide the Council with a copy of any notice of warning, suspension, revocation or other adverse action received from any accreditor within five days of receipt of such notice;

10.1.2. The institution is no longer making reasonable and timely progress toward accreditation while assigned Preliminary or Probationary Authorization status;

10.1.3. Loss of accreditation by an accreditor;

10.1.4. Cancellation of a proprietary school's bond by the bonding company and the proprietary school's failure to secure a replacement in accordance with this rule and 135 C.S.R. 35, Business, Occupational, and Trade Schools;

10.1.5. Providing false, misleading, or incomplete information to the Council;

10.1.6. Presenting information or documents about the institution that is false, fraudulent, misleading, deceptive, or inaccurate in a material respect;

10.1.7. Refusal to allow reasonable inspection by or to supply requested information to the Council;

10.1.8. Repeatedly engaging in conduct prohibited by this rule and failure to take corrective action directed by the Council within the required time;

10.1.9. Closing the institution without adequately providing for the completion of students' classes or course work, without refunding students' unearned tuition, or otherwise failing to discharge the institution's contractual or quasi-contractual obligations to the students;

10.1.10. Conviction of the owner of an institution of a felony or crime involving administration of the institution or State or Federal student financial aid programs;

10.1.11. Repeated and/or consistent violations of the guidelines found in this rule, particularly in areas such as advertising, fair consumer practices, or operational standards;

10.1.12. Exclusion from eligibility to participate in State or Federal student financial aid programs based on any of the following:

10.1.12.a. The institution does not have a signed participation agreement in place; or,

10.1.12.b. The institution has been deemed ineligible to participate in Federal student financial aid programs by the United States Department of Education; or

10.1.12.c. The Council has determined, based upon audits and/or administrative site visits, that the institution has mismanaged State financial aid funds or lacks adequate institutional controls to manage such funds properly.

10.1.13. Failure to submit a complete or satisfactory annual report in accordance with Section 7 of this rule.

10.2. The Chancellor may make all necessary audits or surveys of or site visits to all institutions that have been initially authorized by the Council, whether the institution's initial authorization status is Preliminary, Probationary or Full, to ensure the institution's compliance with this rule. The Chancellor may also investigate consumer complaints that an initially authorized institution is, may be, or has been violating this rule. The Chancellor shall note and describe all violations of this rule and report the same to the Council in writing, contemporaneously furnishing a copy to the institution concerned.

10.2.1. Within 10 business days of receiving the Chancellor's report, the institution may schedule a meeting with the Chancellor to discuss the contents of the report and any remedial action the institution plans to take to address the issues outlined therein. If the institution does not request a meeting within the prescribed timeframe, the Chancellor shall furnish the report to the Council, along with a recommendation for what action described in Section 10.1., if any, the Council should take regarding the institution's initial authorization status.

10.2.2. If the institution requests the meeting within the appropriate timeframe, the Chancellor may amend the report based on additional information or documentation provided by the institution that was not provided or available to the Chancellor during the audit, survey, site visit, or investigation described in Section 10.2. Within five business days of the meeting, the Chancellor shall furnish the original or amended report to the Council in accordance with Subsection 10.2.1.

10.2.3. The Council's decision to terminate, withdraw, suspend, or revoke an institution's initial authorization or to take any other action specified in Section 10.1. above, shall be made in a meeting of the Council subject to the West Virginia Open Governmental Proceedings Act, W. Va. Code § 6-9A-1, et seq.

10.3. Within five business days of the Council's decision, the Chancellor shall issue and furnish to the institution a written decision on the action taken, including the specific reasons therefore.

10.4. An institution adversely affected by a decision of the Council pursuant to this Section may file an appeal in accordance with the provisions of Section 11 below within 10 business days after receipt of the written decision. The filing of an appeal does not suspend the effect of the Council's decision.

W. Va. Code R. § 135-20-10