Responses Last Confirmed:

Florida Commission for Independent Education

Agency Contact

Meredith L. Pelton
850-245-3206
susan.hood@fldoe.org

Additional Contact

Secretary of State Contact

Topic

1: Important Agency Information to Note

b.
What types of institutions are subject to this agency’s authority?

Indicate the types of institutions that your agency authorizes. 

  • Note: Some agencies may refer to out-of-state public institutions as “private colleges” in their law.  If this is the case for your agency, please select “public, out-of-state degree granting institutions” for purposes of this Guide so that the out-of-state public institution will find appropriate information.
  • Note: If your agency is a coordinating board, your agency may have one division with some authority such as program approval over in-state public institutions that are established per statute, which is structured differently than another division of your agency with state authorization authority over non-public institutions that they “license” pursuant to different statute(s).

____      Public, in-state degree granting institutions
              *See www.flbog.edu and http://www.fldoe.org/schools/higher-ed/fl-college-system/ 
__X__    Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions        
              *If they have physical presence in Florida
__X__    Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions 
              *Unless the institution is not under the jurisdiction of the Commission—see s. 1005.06, F.S.
__X__    Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions    
              *Only if they have physical presence in Florida
__X__    Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__    Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
              *Only if they have physical presence in Florida
_____    Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
              *See http://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/ 
__X__    Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
              *Only if they have physical presence in Florida
__X__    Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
__X__    Non-degree, for-profit institutions
__X__    Religious institutions
              *Religious institution that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Commission may file an annual affidavit in lieu of licensure—see s. 1005.06, F.S.
_____    Tribally-controlled institutions
_____    Federal Institutions
_____    Municipal institutions

c.
Does your agency authorize specific academic programs offered by institutions, only institutions themselves, or both?
  • For example, an agency may require an institution apply for licensure for institutional approval and also require the institution to apply for specific program(s) approval.

_____ Institution   

_____ Program   

__X__ Both

d.
Clarifying comments:

CIE licenses institutions as a whole but approves programs to ensure proper requirements are met and students are able to graduate and find employment.

Topic

2: Authorization of Distance Education

a.
Does your agency require exclusively online offerings offered by out-of-state institutions to be authorized?
  • Meaning as example, the state regulates an out-of-state institution for merely enrolling a student into a distance education program
  • Meaning as example, a solely online program that does not have any internships and practicums

No

b.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

3: Accreditation by an Accrediting Agency Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education

a.
Is accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education required for an institution to be authorized in your state?

No

b.
If yes, please check all that apply as appropriate.

No response provided

Accreditation by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education required for: 
____ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
____ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
____ Religious institutions
____ Tribally-controlled institutions
____ Federal Institutions
____ Municipal institutions

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

4: Physical Presence Policy

a.
If your agency uses a physical presence standard, how does your agency define physical presence? Include sample triggers.

Yes, see the definition for "operating in the state"--s. 1005.02(14), F.S.
 

(14) “Operating in this state” means any of the following:

(a) Maintaining for any purpose related to offering a degree, diploma, or credit a physical location in this state, a mailing address in this state, a telephone or facsimile number in this state, or a mail forwarding service or telephone answering or relay service in this state or advertising any such presence; or

(b) By any means or device, facilitating in this state any part of a scheme to offer a degree, diploma, or credit, or any activity connected with the administration, promotion, recruitment, placement, instruction, fee collection or receipt, or any other function of a purported independent postsecondary educational institution, other than periodic and customary contact with the institution’s own alumni.

b.
Web link for physical presence definition.

See definition for "operating in the state"--s. 1005.02(14), F.S.

c.
Does a clinical/internship trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

Does a virtual clinical / internship trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency? 

No response provided

d.
Does a faculty member residing in your state and teaching an online course trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

No response provided

e.
Does advertising targeted to residents of your state trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

No response provided

f.
Does having an administrative site in your state trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

No response provided

g.
Does having a recruiter in your state trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?

No response provided

h.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

5: Application Process

a.
Please provide a short description of the application process to obtain state authorization.

Institutions triggering a physical presence in Florida are required to seek authorization through the Commission.  All relevant applications and forms can be found here.  Institutions are assigned a Program Specialist who will work with them throughout the application process which typically takes 4-6 months.  Once an institution's application for provisional licensure has been deemed complete, the institution is scheduled to appear before the Commission for approval to operate.  Institutions are required to renew their application with the Commission annually.

b.
Web link for application.
c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

6: Fees Associated with Authorization

a.
Is there an application fee associated with the authorization process?

New Institutional Applications and Forms
Fees are dependent on anticipated enrollment, number of programs, degree/non-degree schools, and other factors.  Each form designates whether a fee is required to accompany the form.  See Rule 6E-4.001, F.A.C. for basic fee requirements.

b.
If yes, what is the fee or fee schedule?

No response provided

c.
Web link for fee information.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

7: Surety Bonds

a.
Does your agency require a Surety Bond for authorized out-of-state institutions?

No

b.
Web link for surety bonds.

No response provided

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

8: Student Tuition Recovery Fund

a.
Does your agency have a Student Tuition Recovery Fund (or similar fund for higher education institution closure)?

No

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

c.
Web link for student tuition recovery fund.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

9: Tuition Refund Policy

a.
Does your agency have a Tuition Refund Policy Requirement?

Yes, all institutions must meet refund policy requirements set forth in Rule 6E-1.0032(6)(i), F.A.C. unless the institution's accrediting body has a more strict refund policy and the institution may follow those guidelines.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

c.
Web link for tuition refund policy.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

10: Reporting

a.
What kinds of information or data must an institution report to your agency as a condition for continued institutional state authorization?

N/A—out-of-state institutions are not required to report annual student data to CIE.

b.
How frequently do institutions report data?

No response provided

c.
Is this information shared publicly?

No response provided

d.
Web link for reporting.

No response provided

e.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

11: Enforcement

a.
What are possible consequences of institutional non-compliance?

No response provided

b.
Web link for enforcement information.

No response provided

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

12: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about non-SARA out-of-state postsecondary institutions or programs? (34 CFR 600.9(a))

If it is not a school licensed by the Commission or the online portion is based outside of Florida, our office directs them to the Department of Education for the state where the institution is located as well as to the institution's accrediting agency. 

b.
Web link for the non-SARA complaint form.
c.
How does your agency handle a non-SARA complaint from a resident of its state that is against an out-of-state institution that the agency does not authorize?

No response provided

d.
Is the non-SARA process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

Complaints are sent to other sectors if they do not involve a CIE licensed institution.

e.
Who is the contact person or entity for your state for receiving non-SARA student complaints?

Contact Name: Michael Santoro
Title: Program Specialist Supervisor
Agency: Commission for Independent Education
Address: 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 1414, Tallahassee, FL 32399
Email: Michael.santoro@fldoe.org
Phone: 850-245-3200
URLhttps://www.fldoe.org/policy/cie/

f.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

13: Records Retention

a.
When a higher education institution closes, what is the process your state uses to ensure that transcripts/records are kept available?

When a school closes, it is the school’s responsibility to submit records to our office. Some schools choose to use a third party vendor to service their records. Records that are received are stored until they can be scanned by our staff or a contracted vendor. Once records are in digital format and are loaded into our information system, transcripts are available when a student submits a completed and signed Transcript Request form which can be found here: Transcript Request Form. There is no fee for student transcript requests. 

b.
From what agency or entity do students request their transcripts/records from a closed higher education institution?

Transcript Request Form

Agency Name: Commission for Independent Education
Contact Person: Tammy Kercher
Contact Phone: 850-245-3200
Contact Address: 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 1414, Tallahassee, FL 32399
Contact Email: CIEinfo@fldoe.org
Contact website: Transcript Request

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

14: Additional Information

a.
Is there anything else about the state authorization process in your state that institutions and others ought to know about?

No response provided

b.
What is your preferred method of communication?

No response provided

 

Please note: There could be additional state agencies with oversight of activities of your institution.