Florida Commission for Independent Education

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____      Public, in-state degree granting institutions
              *See www.flbog.edu and http://www.fldoe.org/schools/higher-ed/fl-college-system/
__X__    Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions        
              *If they have physical presence in Florida
__X__    Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions 
              *Unless the institution is not under the jurisdiction of the Commission—see s. 1005.06, F.S.
__X__    Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions    
              *Only if they have physical presence in Florida
__X__    Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__    Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
              *Only if they have physical presence in Florida
_____    Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
              *See http://www.fldoe.org/academics/career-adult-edu/
__X__    Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
              *Only if they have physical presence in Florida
__X__    Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
__X__    Non-degree, for-profit institutions
__X__    Religious institutions
              *Religious institution that do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Commission may file an annual affidavit in lieu of licensure—see s. 1005.06, F.S.
_____    Tribally-controlled institutions
_____    Federal Institutions
_____    Municipal institutions

____ Institution   _____ Program   __X___ Both

CIE licenses institutions as a whole but approves programs to ensure proper requirements are met and students are able to graduate and find employment.

No

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Accreditation Required for:
____ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
____ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ 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

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Institutions that do not fall under the purview of the Commission are not required to seek licensure through the Commission. See s. 1005.06, F.S.

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No

Yes, see the definition for "operating in the state"--s. 1005.02(14), F.S.

No

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Yes, see the definition for "operating in the state"--s. 1005.02(14), F.S.
 

(14) “Operating in this state” means any of the following:

(a) Maintaining for any purpose related to offering a degree, diploma, or credit a physical location in this state, a mailing address in this state, a telephone or facsimile number in this state, or a mail forwarding service or telephone answering or relay service in this state or advertising any such presence; or

(b) By any means or device, facilitating in this state any part of a scheme to offer a degree, diploma, or credit, or any activity connected with the administration, promotion, recruitment, placement, instruction, fee collection or receipt, or any other function of a purported independent postsecondary educational institution, other than periodic and customary contact with the institution’s own alumni.

See definition for "operating in the state"--s. 1005.02(14), F.S.

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Students must first go through the institutional complaint procedures.  If the student is not satisfied with the outcome, he/she may appeal the complaint to the Council by sending an email to FLSARAinfo@fldoe.org.

Complaint Requirements

1. Complaint must be filed within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made.
2. Complete the institutional complaint process prior to submission with the Council.
3. Complaint must be a formal assertion in writing that the terms of SARA, or of laws, standards or regulations incorporated by SARA, are being violated by a person, institution, state, agency or other organization or entity operating under the terms of SARA.
4. You are a student of an FL-SARA approved institution.
5. If you are not a student, but have a concern about any of the above, you may submit a complaint.

For all SARA related complaints, the process above is followed.

https://www.fldoe.org/sara/complaint-process.stml

Contact Name: Brady Lyon
Title: Director, Postsecondary Reciprocal Distance Education
Agency: Commission for Independent Education
Address: 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 1414, Tallahassee, FL 32399
Email: brady.lyon@fldoe.org
Phone: 850-245-3212
URL: www.flsara.org

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If it is not a school licensed by the Commission or the online portion is based outside of Florida, our office directs them to the Department of Education for the state where the institution is located as well as to the institution's accrediting agency. 

Complaints are sent to other sectors if they do not involve a CIE licensed institution.

Yes

Contact Name: Michael Santoro
Title: Program Specialist Supervisor
Agency: Commission for Independent Education
Address: 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 1414, Tallahassee, FL 32399
Email: Michael.santoro@fldoe.org
Phone: 850-245-3200
URL: https://www.fldoe.org/policy/cie/

https://www.fldoe.org/policy/cie/

No

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Yes, all institutions must meet refund policy requirements set forth in Rule 6E-1.0032(6)(i), F.A.C. unless the institution's accrediting body has a more strict refund policy and the institution may follow those guidelines.

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No

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N/A—out-of-state institutions are not required to report annual student data to CIE.

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Institutions triggering a physical presence in Florida are required to seek authorization through the Commission.  All relevant applications and forms can be found here.  Institutions are assigned a Program Specialist who will work with them throughout the application process which typically takes 4-6 months.  Once an institution's application for provisional licensure has been deemed complete, the institution is scheduled to appear before the Commission for approval to operate.  Institutions are required to renew their application with the Commission annually.

URL for Application: New Institutional Applications and Forms

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New Institutional Applications and Forms
Fees are dependent on anticipated enrollment, number of programs, degree/non-degree schools, and other factors.  Each form designates whether a fee is required to accompany the form.  See Rule 6E-4.001, F.A.C. for basic fee requirements.

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When a school closes, it is the school’s responsibility to submit records to our office. Some schools choose to use a third party vendor to service their records. Records that are received are stored until they can be scanned by our staff or a contracted vendor. Once records are in digital format and are loaded into our information system, transcripts are available when a student submits a completed and signed Transcript Request form which can be found here: Transcript Request Form. There is no fee for student transcript requests. 

Transcript Request Form

Agency Name: Commission for Independent Education
Contact Person: Tammy Kercher
Contact Phone: 850-245-3200
Contact Address: 325 W. Gaines Street, Suite 1414, Tallahassee, FL 32399
Contact Email: CIEinfo@fldoe.org
Contact website: Transcript Request

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