Responses Last Confirmed:

Colorado Department of Higher Education

Agency Contact

Heather DeLange
303.862.3005
Heather.delange@dhe.state.co.us

Additional Contact

Secretary of State Contact

Jena Griswold
303-894-2200
secretary@sos.state.co.us
Topic

1: Important Agency Information to Note

a.
Provide any important information about your agency.

No response provided

Topic

2: Types of Educational Providers Authorized

a.
Indicate the types of institutions that your agency authorizes. Please provide a short explanation of any ambiguity in the comment section below.

_____    Public, in-state degree granting institutions
__X__    Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions        
__X__    Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions 
__X__    Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions    
__X__    Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__    Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____    Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____    Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____    Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_____    Non-degree, for-profit institutions
__X__    Religious institutions
_____    Tribally-controlled institutions
_____    Federal Institutions
_____    Municipal institutions

b.
Does your agency authorize specific academic programs offered by institutions, only institutions themselves, or both?

__X__ Institution _____ Program ___X__ Both (for educator preparation programs only)

c.
Clarifying comments:

The selected institutions fall under the purview of the Office of Private Postsecondary Education. The Colorado Department of Higher Education oversees public, in-state institutions and the Division of Private Occupational Schools oversees the vocational and non-degree schools in the state.

Topic

3: Accreditation

a.
Is accreditation required for an institution to be authorized in your state?

Yes; private colleges/universities require accreditation but religious training institutions are not required to hold accreditation but there are limitations on what these institutions can offer.

b.
If yes, please check all that apply as appropriate.

Accreditation Required for:
__X__ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
_____ Religious institutions
_____ Tribally-controlled institutions
_____ Federal Institutions
_____ Municipal institutions

c.
Clarifying comments:

Accreditation is required for authorization under the Degree Authorization Act for private colleges and universities. The authorization for Religious Training Institutions is different than from the process for private colleges and universities; the CO Department of Higher Education nor the CO Commission on Higher Education do not make evaluative statement regarding the administration, faculty, business practice, or quality of the offerings by these institutions. The Division of Private Occupational Schools does not require accreditation for approval unless the school offers Associate level degree programs.

Topic

4: Exemptions

a.
Are certain institutions or programs exempt by law or policy from your state authorization requirements?

The Colorado Office of Private Postsecondary Education does not offer exemptions; institutions are either required to seek authorization because they meet the criteria or they do not based on presence. Institutions must seek authorization if they establish a presence in Colorado to offer degrees or credits that may be applied toward a degree.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions? Which types of programs?

Authorization is not required for institutions that do not meet any of the physical presence criteria found on page 6 of the policy.

c.
Web link for exemptions.
d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

5: Authorization of Distance Education

a.
Does your agency require purely online programs offered by out-of-state institutions to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

No

b.
If not, does your agency determine whether an institution must be authorized based on a physical presence (“operating”) standard?

Yes

c.
Does your agency require correspondence study programs to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

No

d.
Clarifying comments:

We utilize the physical presence definition as defined in the SARA manual.

Topic

6: Physical Presence Policy

a.
If your agency uses a physical presence standard, how does your agency define physical presence?

See definition in policy (page 6).

c.
Clarifying comments:

Found on page 6&7, in the definition of physical presence.

Topic

7: Student Complaints - SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about SARA participating Institutions.

The SPE will contact the institution to determine if the student has exhausted the institutional grievance procedure published for its students. The complaint is reviewed to ensure it is warranted and alleges a violation of the C-RAC guidelines.

b.
Is the process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

The process is the same but the complaints are divided among staff members of the various sectors: public, private degree-granting, and private occupational.

c.
Web link for student complaints – SARA participating institutions.
d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?
  • Contact Name: Heather DeLange
  • Title: Director, Office of Private Postsecondary Education
  • Agency: Colorado Department of Higher Education
  • Address: 1600 Broadway, Suite 2200 Denver, CO 80202
  • Email: Heather.delange@dhe.state.co.us
  • Phone: 303-862-3001
e.
Clarifying comments:

All information is same as above.

Topic

8: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about out-of-state postsecondary institutions or programs?

Complaints are farmed out to the appropriate division within the department for review. For the private degree granting institutions, students must have exhausted all grievance avenues available at the institution prior to coming to our department. Statutorily, we have authority to investigate claims of deceptive practice only.

b.
Is the process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

The complaints are divided up based on the type of institution and even down to the specific program, in some cases (i.e., educator preparation).

c.
Does this complaint process extend to institutions not authorized by the agency that may enroll residents of the state (such as explicitly distance education programs with no physical presence or exempt institutions)?

Yes, but there is a slightly different process. Students enrolled in out-of-state institutions through online instruction may submit a comment to our website specific to the issue they are having and we will work with the home state of the institution for resolution.

d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

Contact Name: Heather DeLange
Title: Director, Office of Private Postsecondary Education
Agency: Colorado Department of Higher Education
Address: 1600 Broadway, Suite 2200 Denver, CO 80202

Email: Heather.delange@dhe.state.co.us
Phone: 303-862-3001
URL: 

f.
Clarifying comments:

Only for the authorized institutions under the degree authorization act. Public institutions have a different staff member as do the private occupational schools.

Topic

9: Surety Bonds

a.
Does your state require a Surety Bond for authorized out-of-state institutions?

Yes but the department only got authorization for surety bonds in 2012. Meaning only new institutions to Colorado since 2012 have been required to post a bond.

b.
Web link for surety bonds.

No response provided

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

10: Tuition Refund Policy

a.
Does your state have a Tuition Refund Policy Requirement?

No

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

c.
Web link for tuition refund policy.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

11: Student Tuition Recovery Fund

a.
Does your state have a Student Tuition Recovery Fund (or similar fund for school closure)?

No response provided

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

c.
Web link for student tuition recovery fund.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

12: Reporting

a.
What kinds of information or data must an institution report to your agency as a condition for continued out-of-state authorization?

At a minimum, institutions must report enrollment and degrees granted on an annual basis. Those institutions that have approved educator preparation programs or those that participate in state financial aid submit data to the respective files.

b.
How frequently do institutions report data?

One submission in February for enrollments from the previous calendar year and one submission in August for degrees granted.

c.
Is this information published or shared publicly?

I don’t think so.

e.
Clarifying comments:

Institutions receive a reminder email to submit their data a month or two before the deadline.

Topic

13: Enforcement

a.
What are possible consequences of institutional non-compliance?

https://cdhe.colorado.gov/sites/highered/files/CCHE%20Policy%20Section%20I%2C%20Part%20J%20May%202022.pdf
Non-compliant institutions may face a probationary authorization or revocation of authorization.

b.
Web link for enforcement information.

No response provided

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

14: Application Process

a.
Please provide a short description of the application process to obtain state authorization.

Institutions must demonstrate compliance with applicable statute and policy through documentation. The review is a paper based review conducted by an external evaluation team hired by me and paid for with the application fee. The team assesses the institution’s compliance with Colorado standards and applicable accreditation criteria and then provides a recommendation on whether the institution should receive authorization.

c.
Clarifying comments:

There is not an application, per se. The requirements/criteria are found in policy and the institution should tailor the documentation to the listed criteria in the policy.

Topic

15: Fees Associated with Authorization

a.
Is there an application fee associated with the authorization process?

Yes

b.
If yes, what is the fee or fee schedule?

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

16: Records Retention

a.
When a school closes, what is the process your state uses to ensure that transcripts/records are kept available?

If the institution still maintains hard copy transcripts, we collect the transcripts from the institution. Ideally, the institution has all transcripts in electronic form which we then maintain on our server. Additionally, we may send copies of the records along to a third party vendor, Parchment, for fulfillment requests.

b.
From what agency do students request their transcripts/records from a closed school?
c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

17: Additional Information

a.
Is there anything else about the authorization process in your state that we and others ought to know about?

There are two divisions that oversee all institutions that are not Colorado public institutions. We have the Division of Occupational Schools; these schools offer diplomas, certificate programs, and associate level programs only.

The Office of Private Postsecondary Education oversees institutions that predominantly serve students at the baccalaureate level and higher.