HCS/HB 1389 - This act grants the Coordinating Board for Higher Education the responsibility to enter into agreements for interstate reciprocity regarding the delivery of postsecondary distance education. The Coordinating Board will have responsibility for approving or disapproving applications from postsecondary education institutions with their principal campus located in Missouri to participate in such agreements. The Coordinating Board must establish standards for institutional approval, including the following: a definition of physical presence for non-Missouri institutions serving Missouri residents consistent with other states' definition of physical presence; establishment of consumer protection policies for distance education addressing recruitment, marketing activities, disclosure of tuition, fees, admission processes and procedures; and student complaints. The Coordinating Board must establish policies for the review and resolution of student complaints.
The Coordinating Board may charge fees to any institution that applies to participate in an interstate reciprocity agreement. Fees cannot exceed the Coordinating Board's cost of reviewing and evaluation the applications.
This act is identical to SB 699 (2014) and provisions contained in SCS/HB 1390 (2014).
MICHAEL RUFF