Bill Text: TX HB2784 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the refund policy for courses and programs at career schools and colleges.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-06-17 - Effective on 9/1/11 [HB2784 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HB2784-Enrolled.html
H.B. No. 2784 |
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relating to the refund policy for courses and programs at career | ||
schools and colleges. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Sections 132.061(b), (f), and (g), Education | ||
Code, are amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (g), as a condition for | ||
granting certification each career school or college must maintain | ||
a policy for the refund of the unused portion of tuition, fees, and | ||
other charges in the event the student, after expiration of the | ||
72-hour cancellation privilege, fails to enter a program in which | ||
the student is enrolled or withdraws or is discontinued from the | ||
program at any time prior to completion, and such policy must | ||
provide: | ||
(1) refunds for resident programs and synchronous | ||
distance education courses or programs will be based on the period | ||
of enrollment computed on the basis of course or program time; | ||
(2) the effective date of termination for refund | ||
purposes in residence programs and synchronous distance education | ||
courses or programs [ |
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earliest of the following: | ||
(A) the last date of attendance, if the student | ||
is terminated by the school or college; | ||
(B) the date of receipt of written notice of | ||
withdrawal from the student; or | ||
(C) 10 school days following the last date of | ||
attendance; | ||
(3) if tuition and fees are collected in advance of | ||
entrance, and if, after expiration of the 72-hour cancellation | ||
privilege, the student does not enter the residence career school | ||
or college, not more than $100 shall be retained by the school or | ||
college; | ||
(4) for the student who enters a residence program or a | ||
synchronous distance education course and who [ |
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terminated, the school or college may retain not more than $100 of | ||
any administrative [ |
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refund of the remaining tuition and fees will be the pro rata | ||
portion of tuition, fees, and other charges that the number of hours | ||
remaining in the portion of the course or program for which the | ||
student has been charged after the effective date of termination | ||
bears to the total number of hours in the portion of the course or | ||
program for which the student has been charged, except that a | ||
student may not collect a refund if the student has completed 75 | ||
percent or more of the total number of hours in the portion of the | ||
program for which the student has been charged on the effective date | ||
of termination[ |
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(5) [ |
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student, such as instructional supplies, books, student | ||
activities, laboratory fees, service charges, rentals, deposits, | ||
and all other such ancillary miscellaneous charges, where these | ||
items are separately stated and shown in the data furnished the | ||
student before enrollment, will be made in a reasonable manner | ||
acceptable to the commission; | ||
(6) [ |
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synchronous distance education courses or programs [ |
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effective date of termination; | ||
(7) [ |
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courses or programs will be computed on the basis of the number of | ||
lessons in the course or program; | ||
(8) [ |
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purposes in asynchronous distance education courses or programs | ||
will be the earliest of the following: | ||
(A) the date of notification to the student if | ||
the student is terminated; | ||
(B) the date of receipt of written notice of | ||
withdrawal from the student; or | ||
(C) the end of the third calendar month following | ||
the month in which the student's last lesson assignment was | ||
received unless notification has been received from the student | ||
that the student wishes to remain enrolled; | ||
(9) [ |
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any courses [ |
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after expiration of the 72-hour cancellation privilege, the student | ||
fails to begin the program, not more than $50 shall be retained by | ||
the school or college; | ||
(10) [ |
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after the student has begun the asynchronous distance education | ||
course or program, the school or college may retain $50 of tuition | ||
and fees, and the minimum refund policy must provide that the | ||
student will be refunded the pro rata portion of the remaining | ||
tuition, fees, and other charges that the number of courses | ||
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the total number of courses [ |
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(11) [ |
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asynchronous distance education schools or colleges will be totally | ||
consummated within 60 days after the effective date of termination. | ||
(f) A career school or college shall record a grade of | ||
"incomplete" for a student who withdraws during the portion of a | ||
course or program for which the student is not eligible to collect a | ||
refund under Subsection (b)(4) [ |
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the time the student withdraws and the student withdraws for an | ||
appropriate reason unrelated to the student's academic status. A | ||
student who receives a grade of incomplete may re-enroll in the | ||
course or program during the 12-month period following the date the | ||
student withdraws and complete those incomplete subjects without | ||
payment of additional tuition for that portion of the course or | ||
program. | ||
(g) A program that is 40 hours or less of course time, or a | ||
seminar or workshop, is exempt from the 72-hour rule provided by | ||
Subsection (a). The career school or college shall maintain a | ||
policy for the refund of the unused portion of tuition, fees, and | ||
other charges in the event the student fails to enter the program or | ||
withdraws or is discontinued from the program at any time before | ||
completion of the program as provided by this section. The policy | ||
must provide that: | ||
(1) refunds are based on the period of enrollment | ||
computed on the basis of course or program time; | ||
(2) the effective date of termination for refund | ||
purposes is the earlier of: | ||
(A) the last date of attendance; or | ||
(B) the date the school or college receives | ||
written notice from the student that the student is withdrawing | ||
from the class; and | ||
(3) the student will be refunded the pro rata portion | ||
of tuition, fees, and other charges that the number of hours [ |
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for which the student has been charged after the effective date of | ||
termination bears to the total number of hours in the portion of [ |
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SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act to Section | ||
132.061, Education Code, applies only to the refund policy of a | ||
career school or college to which a certificate of approval is | ||
granted or for which a certificate of approval is renewed on or | ||
after the date this Act takes effect. | ||
(b) The refund policy of a career school or college to which | ||
a certificate of approval is granted or for which a certificate of | ||
approval is renewed before the date this Act takes effect is | ||
governed by the law in effect on the most recent date the | ||
certificate of approval was granted or renewed until the | ||
certificate of approval expires or is renewed on or after the date | ||
this Act takes effect, and the former law is continued in effect for | ||
that purpose. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I certify that H.B. No. 2784 was passed by the House on May 5, | ||
2011, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 1 present, not | ||
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B. | ||
No. 2784 on May 25, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 144, Nays 0, | ||
2 present, not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
I certify that H.B. No. 2784 was passed by the Senate, with | ||
amendments, on May 23, 2011, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays | ||
0. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
APPROVED: __________________ | ||
Date | ||
__________________ | ||
Governor |