A. A person shall not:

(1) operate a career school or nonregionally accredited college or university within the state until that school has been licensed by the department;

(2) operate a regionally accredited college or university within the state until that college or university has registered with the department;

(3) deny enrollment to or make any distinction or classification of students in the program or practices of any post-secondary educational institution under the jurisdiction of the department on account of race, color, culture, ancestry, national origin, sex, age, religion or disability; or

(4) solicit, directly or through an agent or employee, the enrollment of any person in a post-secondary educational institution within the state by the use of fraud, misrepresentation or collusion.

B. Whoever violates any provision of this section may be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) per day per violation. Civil penalties shall be credited to the current school fund as provided in Article 12, Section 4 of the constitution of New Mexico.

C. After an investigation, the department may take any one or a combination of the following disciplinary actions against a post-secondary educational institution registered or licensed in accordance with the Post-Secondary Educational Institution Act:

(1) revoke a license;

(2) revoke the registration, if the institution has had its regional accreditation revoked by its accrediting agency;

(3) assess a civil penalty as provided in Subsection B of this section; or

(4) impose probation requirements.

History: 1953 Comp., § 73-40-9, enacted by Laws 1971, ch. 303, § 9; 1975, ch. 148, § 10; 1994, ch. 108, § 13; 2005, ch. 223, § 8; 2013, ch. 59, § 12.

Cross references. — For misrepresenting permit or certificate as approval or accreditation, see 21-23-14 NMSA 1978.

The 2013 amendment, effective June 14, 2013, changed terms to assign administration of the Post-Secondary Educational Institution Act to the higher education department; authorized the higher education department to revoke an institution's registration if its regional accreditation is revoked; in Subsections A and C, deleted "commission" and added "department"; in Subsection C, in the introductory sentence, after "educational institution", added "registered or"; and added Paragraph (2) of Subsection C.

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, provided in Subsection A(1) that a person shall not operate a non-regionally accredited college or university without a license from the commission; provided in Subsection A(2) that a person shall not operate a regionally accredited college or university without registration with the commission; provided in Subsection B that civil penalties shall be credited to the current school fund; and added Subsection C to provide the disciplinary action the commission may take against post-secondary educational institutions.

The 1994 amendment, effective July 1, 1994, added "Civil" to the section heading; rewrote the introductory paragraph, which read: "It is a misdemeanor for any person, firm or corporation to"; and rewrote Subsections A, B, and C and the final undesignated paragraph to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.

Law reviews. — For note, "Human Rights Commission v. Board of Regents: Should a University Be Considered a Public Accommodation Under the New Mexico Human Rights Act"? see 12 N.M.L. Rev. 541 (1982).

Am. Jur. 2d, A.L.R. and C.J.S. references. — 73 Am. Jur. 2d Statutes § 294.

36A C.J.S. Fines § 4.