As used in the Post-Secondary Educational Institution Act:

A. "career school" means a private post-secondary educational institution offering a formal educational curriculum in New Mexico for a fee to members of the general public beyond compulsory school age, terminating in a certificate, diploma, associate degree or comparable confirmation of completion of the curriculum;

B. "college" or "university" means a private post-secondary educational institution offering a formal educational curriculum in New Mexico for a fee to members of the general public beyond compulsory school age, terminating in a baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degree or comparable confirmation of completion of the curriculum;

C. "department" means the higher education department;

D. "license" means a written acknowledgment by the department that a career school or nonregionally accredited college or university has met the requirements of the department for offering a formal educational curriculum within New Mexico;

E. "post-secondary educational institution" includes an academic, vocational, technical, business, professional or other school, college or university or other organization or person offering or purporting to offer courses, instruction, training or education from a physical site in New Mexico, through distance education, correspondence or in person; and

F. "registration" means a written acknowledgment by the department that a regionally accredited college or university has filed pertinent curriculum and enrollment information, as required by the department, and is authorized to operate a private post-secondary educational institution.

History: 1953 Comp., § 73-40-3, enacted by Laws 1971, ch. 303, § 3; 1975, ch. 148, § 3; 1994, ch. 108, § 4; 2005, ch. 223, § 1; 2013, ch. 59, § 2.

The 2013 amendment, effective June 14, 2013, changed terms to assign administration of the Post-Secondary Educational Institution Act to the higher education department; deleted former Subsection A, which defined "commission"; added Subsection C; in Subsections D and F, deleted "commission" and added "department"; in Subsection F, after "acknowledgment by the" deleted "commission" and added "department" and after "as required by the", deleted "commission" and added "department, and is authorized to operate a private post-secondary educational institution".

The 2005 amendment, effective June 17, 2005, defined "license" in Subsection D to include a written acknowledgment that a non-regionally accredited college or university has met the requirement of the commission; defined "post-secondary educational institution" in Subsection E to mean an institution that offers courses, instruction, training or education, which may include distance education, from a physical site in New Mexico; and defined "registration" in Subsection F to mean an acknowledgment that a regionally accredited college or university has filed the information required by the commission.

The 1994 amendment, effective July 1, 1994, rewrote the section to the extent that a detailed comparison is impracticable.