§1030.20. Definitions

Unless otherwise stated, all definitions apply to all terms used in this Part in conjunction with both the 1945 Act and the 1961 Act.

 

"The 1945 Act" means the Private College Act [110 ILCS 1005].

 

"The 1961 Act" means the Academic Degree Act [110 ILCS 1010].

 

"Ability to benefit" means a standard for admission by which a student who does not possess a high school diploma or GED has demonstrated that he or she can profit materially or personally from a certain course of study through passage of an ability to benefit test or alternative pathways that have been approved by the U.S. Department of Education and administered in compliance with U.S. Department of Education guidelines related to ability to benefit policies and procedures outlined in federal financial aid regulations. 

 

"Authorization to Grant Certificates or Degrees" means the letter from the Board giving an institution authorization to grant specific certificates and degrees under the 1961 Act.

 

"Authorization to Operate" means the letter from the Board authorizing an institution to operate under the 1961 Act.

 

"Board" means the Board of Higher Education. In those cases in which the term is used to refer to prior approval or lack of prior approval for either an institution or a certificate or degree program, the term "Board" shall mean either the Board of Higher Education or one of the two previous administrative agencies that administered higher education in Illinois (the Board of Education or the Superintendent of Public Instruction), as appropriate.

 

"Certificate of Approval" means the letter from the Board giving an institution approval to operate under the 1945 Act.

 

"Certificate or degree program" means a formal award that is included in an institution's catalog and completion of which is noted on students' official transcript certifying the satisfactory completion of undergraduate, post-baccalaureate or graduate organized program of study at a Board approved institution.

 

"Certificate program" means a formal award offered by a degree-granting institution that is included in an institutional catalog and on students' official transcripts certifying the satisfactory completion of undergraduate, post-baccalaureate or graduate coursework at a Board approved institution.

 

"Change request" means a written proposal to modify an approved certificate or degree program.  A modification is a change to any of the following:  certificate offered; degrees offered; certificate or degree title or designation; Classification of Instruction Programs code (CIP code); program status; and the admission, retention or graduation requirements of approved programs.

 

"Credit hour" means an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than:

 

One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately 15 weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or 10 to 12 weeks for one quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different period of time; or

 

Documented student learning outcomes and evidence of student achievement resulting from a program provided through an alternative delivery method that demonstrates equivalency to those competencies achieved through traditional classroom delivery; or

 

At least an equivalent amount of student work as required to achieve intended learning outcomes or competencies as verified by evidence of student achievement for other academic activities as established by the institution, including prior learning assessment, laboratory work, internships, practica, studio work and other academic work leading to the award of each credit hour.

 

"Degree" means any designation, appellation, series of letters or words, or other symbol that signifies or purports to signify that the recipient has satisfactorily completed an organized academic program of study beyond the secondary school level. For the purposes of this Part, an "organized academic program of study beyond the secondary school level" shall be defined as:

 

Any academic program, regardless of duration, that offers any designation, appellation, series of letters or words or other symbol known as or labeled as an associate degree, a bachelor's degree, a master's degree, a doctor's degree, a professional degree or a certificate of advanced study; or

 

Any academic postsecondary program, except for a program that is devoted entirely to religion or theology, or a program offered by any institution operating under the authority of the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act [105 ILCS 426].

 

"Degree program" means the standard required course of study, or its equivalent, leading to a degree.

 

"Dual credit" means an instructional arrangement in which an academically qualified student currently enrolled in high school enrolls in a college-level course and, upon successful course completion, concurrently earns both college credit and high school credit.

 

"Faculty" means any individual or group of individuals who are qualified by education and experience to give expert instruction and evaluation in their specialties, to supervise curricular experiences, and to evaluate learning for credit.

 

"General education" provides students with a broad foundation of study upon which to build an undergraduate education.

 

"Home campus" is also known as "in-region".  Both "home campus" and "in-region" are defined as the approval region within which an institution's original operating authority was granted.

 

"Illinois not-for-profit institution" means an institution described in Section 1030.10(a) and (b) that is not otherwise exempted in Section 1030.10(c) and meets the following criteria:

 

Private corporation, limited liability company, or other entity that is initially incorporated or organized in this State, if required by law; and

 

Maintains a place of business within the State; and

 

Holds a current certificate of good standing from the Secretary of State, if required by law to file with the State; and

 

Can demonstrate tax-exempt status; and

 

Conducts business for the benefit of the general public without shareholders and without a profit motive. 

 

"Illinois proprietary institution" means an institution described in Section 1030.10(a) and (b) that is not otherwise exempted in Section 1030.10(c) and meets the following criteria:

 

Private corporation, limited liability company, or other entity that is initially incorporated or organized in this State, if required by law; and

 

Maintains a place of business within the State; and

 

Holds a current certificate of good standing from the Secretary of State, if required by law to file with the State; and

 

Is investor-owned and/or organized for profit. 

 

Illinois proprietary institutions do not include public institutions authorized under the domestic laws of this State, private not-for-profit institutions permitted to be exempt from taxation under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code (26 USC 501(c)(3)), or religious institutions that have not applied for recognition of tax-exempt status but have filed as a not-for-profit entity with the Illinois Secretary of State. 

 

"Institutional change" means a written notification of a change at an approved institution. These changes may include a change in ownership, address, institution name, leadership or status.

 

"Institution size" is determined by applying the formula for the calculation of FTE students (using fall student headcounts) developed by the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to the data reported by the institution to IPEDS, which is the U.S. Department of Education postsecondary data collection program.

 

"Mediated instruction" means, for the purposes of this Part, the delivery of instruction at a distance facilitated by technology, such as via teleconferencing, video-conferencing, or internet.

 

"New certificate or degree program" means one or more of the following:

 

A certificate or degree program offered at a different educational level from a program already approved at a given institution.

 

A certificate or degree program in a different six-digit CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs taxonomy developed by the National Center for Educational Statistics and used in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) code from that already authorized.

 

A new professional or specialist degree or certificate.

 

"New geographic location" means an additional out-of-region instructional site at which 50 percent or more of a Board authorized certificate or degree program is offered.  Institutions offering less than 50 percent of credit hours for a program that has either been authorized by the Board for delivery in the institution's home region or does not require Board authorization as a result of the exemption for institutions that have been in existence since prior to the 1961 Act as noted in Section 1030.10 does not require additional approval if the institution is authorized in that region.  Any program offered in an initial operating region or a new region for which there is no current Board authorization must receive certificate or degree approval for the program before the 50 percent new geographic location definition applies for additional out-of-region locations.

 

"Notice of intent" or "NOI" means the filing of intent for a new program or unit by the institution that is seeking  operating authority or certificate or degree granting authority, as provided in Sections 1030.30(b) and 1030.60(b).  Notices of intent shall be publicly posted on the Board's website for no less than 30 days prior to any Board action on the application and shall remain active for one year after the public posting period has expired.

 

"Out-of-state institution" means an institution described in Section 1030.10(a) or (b) that is not otherwise exempted in Section 1030.10(c) and meets one of the following:

 

Public institution authorized under domestic laws other than the laws of this State; or

 

Private corporation, limited liability company, or other entity that is initially incorporated or organized under domestic laws other than the laws of this State, if required, and initially operated outside the State; or

 

Not-for-profit corporation, limited liability company, or other entity that maintains its primary place of business or home office outside this State; or

 

Any branch campus, subsidiary or other such affiliate of an out-of-state or international educational institution.

 

"PBVS Act" means the Private Business and Vocational Schools Act of 2012 [105 ILCS 426].

 

"Region" refers to a geographic area within which an institution may operate a unit of instruction and is not limited to the site within the region where the institution initially applied.  A region consists of one or more coterminous community college districts.  The community college districts are also property taxing districts established as provided in 110 ILCS 805/Art. III. The ten regions, described by community college district and community college district numbers, are as follows (see also Illustration A):

 

"North Suburban Region (1)" consists of the Lake County (532), Oakton (535), and William R. Harper (512) community college districts;

 

"Fox Valley Region (2)" consists of the Elgin (509), Kishwaukee (523), McHenry (528), Rock Valley (511), and Waubonsee (516) community college districts;

 

"West Suburban Region (3)" consists of the DuPage (502), Morton (527), and Triton (504) community college districts;

 

"Western Region (4)" consists of the Black Hawk (503), Carl Sandburg (518), Highland (519), John Wood (539), Sauk Valley (506), and Spoon River (534) community college districts;

 

"Central Region (5)" consists of the Heartland (540), Illinois Central District (514), Illinois Valley (513), and Lincoln Land (526) community college districts;

 

"South Metro Region (6)" consists of the Joliet (525), Kankakee (520), Moraine Valley (524), Prairie State (515), and South Suburban (510) community college districts;

 

"Prairie Region (7)" consists of the Danville (507), Lake Land (517), Parkland (505), and Richland (537) community college districts;

 

"Southwestern Region (8)" consists of the Illinois Eastern (529), Kaskaskia (501), Lewis and Clark (536), and Southwestern Illinois (522) community college districts;

 

"Southern Region (9)" consists of the John A. Logan (530), Rend Lake (521), Shawnee (531), and Southeastern (533) community college districts; and

 

"Chicago Region (10)" consists of the City Colleges of Chicago (508) community college district.

 

"State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement" or "SARA" means the voluntary program that implements reciprocity agreements amongst states, institutions and the National Council for SARA for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs, pursuant to the Higher Education Distance Learning Act [110 ILCS 145].

 

"Terminal degree" means the highest level of college degree available in a particular field.

 

"Upper-division instruction" means course content and teaching appropriate for junior- and senior-year students in a baccalaureate program or other students with expertise in the subject.

 

(Source:  Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 66, effective December 19, 2017)