Florida Commission for Independent Education
Agency Contact
Additional Contact
Secretary of State Contact
1: Important Agency Information to Note
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
- 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
CIE licenses institutions as a whole but approves programs to ensure proper requirements are met and students are able to graduate and find employment.
2: Authorization of Distance Education
- 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
No response provided
3: Accreditation by an Accrediting Agency Recognized by the U.S. Department of Education
No
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
No response provided
4: Physical Presence Policy
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.
See definition for "operating in the state"--s. 1005.02(14), F.S.
Does a virtual clinical / internship trigger the requirement for authorization with your agency?
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
5: Application Process
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.
No response provided
6: Fees Associated with Authorization
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.
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
7: Surety Bonds
No
No response provided
No response provided
8: Student Tuition Recovery Fund
No
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
9: Tuition Refund Policy
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.
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
10: Reporting
N/A—out-of-state institutions are not required to report annual student data to CIE.
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
11: Enforcement
No response provided
No response provided
No response provided
12: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions
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.
No response provided
Complaints are sent to other sectors if they do not involve a CIE licensed institution.
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
URL: https://www.fldoe.org/policy/cie/
No response provided
13: Records Retention
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.
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
No response provided
14: Additional Information
No response provided
No response provided
Please note: There could be additional state agencies with oversight of activities of your institution.