(A) No nonpublic educational institution established in South Carolina or offering a course or program in South Carolina has the authority to operate, to solicit students for enrollment, or to confer degrees or other educational credentials unless a license is first secured from the commission. The commission shall approve through licensure the location of and programs offered by the institution. The commission shall promulgate regulations to amend a license for and changes in location and for additional or amended courses or programs. The commission shall not license any institution to offer a degree if the commission determines that the degree adversely affects the goals of the commission’s plan to improve access and equity minority affairs programs in public institutions of higher education. The commission shall promulgate regulations to make the determination.

(B) After a license is issued, it is the institution’s responsibility to notify immediately the commissioner of significant changes in either the course or program offerings, facilities, finances, or personnel.

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Terms Used In South Carolina Code 59-58-50

  • Commission: means the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. See South Carolina Code 59-58-20
  • Commissioner: means the Chief Executive Officer of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, or a person designated by the commissioner to administer the provisions of this chapter. See South Carolina Code 59-58-20
  • Degree: includes , but is not limited to, any academic credential or designation not less than, but including associate, bachelor, master, doctor, or fellow, whether earned or honorary, which signifies, purports, or is generally taken to signify partial or satisfactory completion of the requirements of an academic, occupational, business, or other program of study beyond the secondary school level. See South Carolina Code 59-58-20
  • License: means an agency permit, approval, or some similar form of written permission. See South Carolina Code 59-58-20
  • Nonpublic educational institution: includes , but is not limited to, any educational entity operating or soliciting in South Carolina and is not owned or operated in whole or in part by the State of South Carolina offering resident or correspondence courses beyond the secondary school level to students upon the payment of tuition or fees. See South Carolina Code 59-58-20
  • Program: means an organized unit of subject matter in which instruction is offered within a given time and for which credit is given toward completion of training toward a predetermined occupational or academic credential. See South Carolina Code 59-58-20

(C) In the event of the sale of an institution, the license is not transferable. The new owner must comply with all the requirements of this chapter.

(D) Applications for licenses must be filed in the manner prescribed by the commission. The applications must be signed by the applicants and must contain that information as may be required.

(E) Licenses are restricted to the courses or programs of instruction specifically indicated on the license. Additional courses or programs of instruction may be approved during the effective period of the license if a supplementary approval application is submitted and the license is amended.

(F) Licenses for nondegree-granting institutions shall normally be granted for twelve months, renewable annually from date of issue, or other date in excess of twelve months set by the commission to stagger the renewal dates of all institutions. The commission may issue licenses to nondegree-granting institutions for less than twelve months as circumstances justify. Licenses and renewal of licenses for degree-granting institutions may be granted for periods not to exceed five years. Renewal is contingent upon filing appropriate applications for renewal with the commissioner. The institution and its courses or programs, facilities, faculty, and all other operations must meet the requirements for an original license at the effective date of the renewal.

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