NOTE:  As provided in LFC policy, this report is intended only for use by the standing finance committees of the legislature.  The Legislative Finance Committee does not assume responsibility for the accuracy of the information in this report when used for other purposes.

 

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F I S C A L   I M P A C T   R E P O R T

 

 

 

SPONSOR:

Nunez

 

DATE TYPED:

2/27/03

 

HB

622/aHEC

 

SHORT TITLE:

Licensure of NonAccredited Schools

 

SB

 

 

 

ANALYST:

L. Baca

 

APPROPRIATION

 

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY03

FY04

FY03

FY04

 

 

 

NFI

 

 

 

 

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 

Responses Received From

 

Commission on Higher Education (CHE)

 

SUMMARY

 

    Synopsis of HEC Amendment

 

The amendment adopted by the House Education Committee strikes “MAKING AN APPROPRIATION” from the bills title because the bill carries no appropriation.

 

     Synopsis of Original Bill

 

House Bill 622 amends the Post-Secondary Educational Institution Act, which covers private proprietary post-secondary institutions.  The amended statutory changes include:  clarifying definitions in the statute, adding an exemption for brief courses of instruction, requiring degree- granting institutions to obtain accreditation from an agency recognized by the US Dept. of Education, adding proposed wording clarifying the various types of disciplinary action that may be taken and allowing the Commission on Higher Education (CHE) to charge an administrative fee based on actual cost of service.

    

     Significant Issues

 

This bill clarifies and simplifies language regarding private post-secondary schools and reliance on accreditation by a U.S. Department of Education-recognized accrediting body for those private schools offering degrees will help assure academic quality. 

 

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

 

According to the CHE, authorizing the charge of administrative fees will bring fee schedules into line with surrounding states.  The CHE provided the table below showing a sample of fees from surrounding states:

 

 

Arizona

Colorado

Texas

Change of Location

$500

$150

$270

Change of Name

$500

$150

$150

New School Packet

$20

$20

$15

 

TECHNICAL ISSUES

 

The bill’s title contains language “making an appropriation”, but there is no appropriation in the bill.  Consequently, the language should be should be stricken from the title.

 

OTHER SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES

 

This bill appears to strengthen the role of the CHE to establish and monitor guidelines for the licensure of all private post-secondary institutions operating in New Mexico.

 

1.                  Does the CHE support this bill?

2.                  What types of fees are currently charged by the CHE?

3.                  How will the CHE account for the monies collected for services provided?

 

LRB/yr/njw