§305J-5 Powers and duties of the director. (a) The director shall:

(1) Unless otherwise provided by law, adopt, amend, and repeal rules pursuant to chapter 91 to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

(2) Adopt policies and procedures as necessary, without regard to chapter 91, for reauthorization pursuant to section 305J-10;

(3) Issue declaratory rulings or informal, nonbinding interpretations and conduct contested case proceedings pursuant to chapter 91;

(4) Grant, deny, confirm, forfeit, renew, reinstate, or restore authorizations, including provisional, conditional, probationary, or qualified authorizations;

(5) Revoke, suspend, condition, or otherwise limit the authorization of an institution for any violation of this chapter, applicable rules, or the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended;

(6) Establish requirements for authorization in accordance with this chapter;

(7) Investigate and conduct hearings regarding any violation of this chapter, applicable rules, or the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended;

(8) Create fact-finding committees, including the appointment of one or more advisory committees, which may assist the department and make recommendations for consideration;

(9) Contract with qualified persons, including investigative and legal staff, who may be exempt from chapter 76, to assist the director in exercising the director's powers and duties;

(10) Subpoena witnesses and documents, administer oaths, and receive affidavits and oral testimony, including communications through electronic media;

(11) Establish the types and amounts of fees that the department may assess in order to carry out the purposes of this chapter;

(12) Establish policies to require authorized institutions to submit to the department, upon request, data that is directly related to student enrollment and degree completion and, if applicable, student financial aid and educator preparation programs, which policies shall include a determination as to whether data received may be disclosed to the public;

(13) Establish policies and procedures for the handling of proprietary information;

(14) Enter into any post-secondary education authorization reciprocity agreement with other post-secondary educational authorizers of schools whose home state is not Hawaii pursuant to section 305J-16;

(15) Grant a temporary waiver of the requirement for accreditation if the director finds there is good cause and it is necessary for the protection of students facing imminent financial hardship; and

(16) Do any and all things necessary or incidental to the exercise of the director's powers and duties.

(b) The director may cooperate with the federal government to qualify the State to receive funds made available under the Higher Education Act of 1965, P.L. 89-329, as amended from time to time. In addition, the department may serve as the state agency for the receipt of federal funds when federal legislation dealing with higher education or post-secondary education requires, as a condition of the receipt of federal funds, the designation of a state agency that is broadly representative of the general public and of post-secondary education in the State and when agencies other than the department may not qualify.

(c) No funds appropriated by the legislature may be used to aid a person attending an institution not owned or exclusively controlled by the State or a department of the State or to pay for any staff work distributing federal or private funds to students attending such schools. The maximum amount of any grant awarded under the Hawaii state incentive grant program shall be equal to the maximum allowed by federal law.

(d) The department, when appropriate and necessary, may be assisted by other state agencies, including but not limited to the University of Hawaii system and the department of education.

(e) The director, acting through the department of the attorney general, may proceed by injunction against any violation of this chapter, but an injunction proceeding or an order issued therein or as a result thereof shall not bar the imposition of any other penalty for a violation of this chapter. [L 2013, c 180, pt of §2; am L 2017, c 4, §3]