21-18-226. State authorization reciprocity agreements; administration; requirements; fees; rules and regulations.

(a) The commission shall enter into an agreement with the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education to participate, on behalf of the state of Wyoming, with all other states legally joining in the state authorization reciprocity agreement.

(b) The requirements of the agreement shall be sufficient to protect the integrity of Wyoming post secondary education, but shall also allow authorized institutions complying with the agreement the ability to reach as many potential students as possible.

(c) The commission shall review applications from any public or private post secondary institution seeking admission under the state reciprocity agreement if the institution has a physical presence in Wyoming and is organized under the laws of the state of Wyoming. The commission shall:

(i) Admit to the state authorization agreement any qualified public or private applicant that meets the requirements of the state authorization reciprocity agreement pertaining to institutional quality, consumer protection and fiscal viability as defined by subsection (d) of this section;

(ii) Monitor compliance of admitted institutions for institutional quality, consumer protection and fiscal viability;

(iii) Notify, in a timely manner, the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education of those post secondary institutions admitted to the reciprocity agreement under paragraph (i) of this subsection and any action taken against an authorized institution pursuant to paragraph (iv) of this subsection; and

(iv) Take appropriate action against any authorized institution upon failure to comply with requirements of the state authorization reciprocity agreement, including an investigation, citation, suspension or expulsion from the reciprocity agreement.

(d) For purposes of paragraph (c)(i) of this section, an institution may satisfy:

(i) The institutional quality standard through evidence of current accreditation;

(ii) The consumer protection standard through evidence that information required under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1070 et seq.), as amended, is provided to current and prospective students, and evidence of a procedure for addressing student complaints both internally and through an outside state agency as required by that act;

(iii) The fiscal viability standard for public institutions through evidence of adequate public funding, or for a private institution, through evidence that the United States department of education, in its most recent fiscal year report, assigned the institution a financial responsibility composite score of one and five-tenths (1.5) or greater, or a financial responsibility composite score of not less than one (1) if the report covers the most recent two (2) consecutive fiscal years.

(e) The commission may adopt rules and regulations to implement this section.

(f) For purposes of administrating this section, the commission may establish and collect fees from authorized institutions to pay necessary administrative expenses incurred under this section. Any fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the general fund.

(g) As used in this section:

(i) "Accredited" or "accreditation" means the status of public recognition that an accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of education pursuant to Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. § 1070 et seq.), as amended, grants to an institution or educational program that meets the department's established requirements;

(ii) "Educational program" means a program of organized instruction or study beyond secondary education that leads to an academic professional degree, vocational degree or certificate or other recognized educational credential;

(iii) "Physical presence" means the ongoing occupation of a physical location in Wyoming for instructional purposes or the maintenance of an administrative office in Wyoming to facilitate instruction. For purposes of this section, the following activities do not constitute a physical presence in Wyoming:

(A) Delivery of distance education courses online;

(B) Advertising;

(C) Recruiting;

(D) Courses delivered on military installations by an accredited institution limited to active and reserve military personnel, dependents of military personnel and civilian employees of the military installation;

(E) Operation of a server or other electronic service device; or

(F) Experiential learning opportunities such as a clinical practicum residency or internship.

(iv) "Post secondary institution" means a person, business entity, nonprofit corporation or governmental entity that operates educational programs beyond secondary education;

(v) "State authorization reciprocity agreement" means an agreement, as published by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education on November 1, 2013, or substantially similar to the version published on that date, which allows post secondary institutions that meet federal criteria to recruit, advertise, market and conduct distance education across state lines with as few restrictions as possible.