§ 21.4251 - Minimum period of operation requirement for educational institutions.

§ 21.4251 Minimum period of operation requirement for educational institutions.

The provisions of this section do not apply to licensing or certification tests or to the organizations or entities offering those tests. For information on the minimum period of operation requirement that applies to licensing or certification tests, see § 21.4268.

(a) Definitions. The following definitions apply to the terms used in this section. The definitions in § 21.4200 apply to the extent that no definition is included in this paragraph.

(1) Control. The term control (including the term controlling) means the possession, direct or indirect, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract, or otherwise.

(2) Person. The term person means an individual, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3680A(e))

(b) Some educational institutions must be in operation for 2 years. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, when a proprietary educational institution offers a course not leading to a standard college degree, VA may not approve an enrollment in that course if the proprietary educational institution -

(1) Has been operating for less than 2 years;

(2) Offers the course at a branch or extension and the branch or extension has been operating for less than 2 years; or

(3) Offers the course following either a change in ownership or a complete move outside its original general locality, and the educational institution does not retain substantially the same faculty, student body, and courses as before the change in ownership or the move outside the general locality unless the educational institution, after such change or move, has been in operation for at least 2 years.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3680A(e) and (g))

(c) Exception to the 2-year operation requirement. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section, VA may approve the enrollment of a veteran, servicemember, reservist, or eligible person in a course not leading to a standard college degree approved under this subpart if it is offered by a proprietary educational institution that -

(1) Offers the course under a contract with the Department of Defense or the Department of Transportation; and

(2) Gives the course on or immediately adjacent to a military base, Coast Guard station, National Guard facility, or facility of the Selected Reserve.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3680A(e) and (g))

(d) Operation for 2 years. VA will consider, for the purposes of paragraph (b) of this section, that a proprietary educational institution (or a branch or extension of such an educational institution) will be deemed to have been operating for 2 years when the educational institution (or a branch or extension of such an educational institution) -

(1) Has been operating as an educational institution for 24 continuous months pursuant to the laws of the State(s) in which it is approved to operate and in which it is offering the training; and

(2) Has offered courses continuously for at least 24 months inclusive of normal vacation or holiday periods, or periods when the institution is closed temporarily due to a natural disaster that directly affected the institution or the institution's students.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3680A(e) and (g))

(e) Move outside the same general locality. A proprietary educational institution (or a branch or extension thereof) will be deemed to have moved to a location outside the same general locality of the original location when the new location is beyond normal commuting distance of the original location, i.e., 55 miles or more from the original location.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3680A(e))

(f) Change of ownership.

(1) A change of ownership of a proprietary educational institution occurs when -

(i) A person acquires operational management and/or control of the proprietary educational institution and its educational activities; or

(ii) A person ceases to have operational management and/or control of the proprietary educational institution and its educational activities.

(2) Transactions that may cause a change of ownership include, but are not limited to the following:

(i) The sale of the educational institution;

(ii) The transfer of the controlling interest of stock of the educational institution or its parent corporation;

(iii) The merger of 2 or more educational institutions; and

(iv) The division of one educational institution into 2 or more educational institutions.

(3) VA considers that a change in ownership of an educational institution does not include a transfer of ownership or control of the institution, upon the retirement or death of the owner, to:

(i) The owner's parent, sibling, spouse, child, spouse's parent or sibling, or sibling's or child's spouse; or

(ii) An individual with an ownership interest in the institution who has been involved in management of the institution for at least 2 years preceding the transfer.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3680A(e))

(g) Substantially the same faculty, student body, and courses. VA will determine whether a proprietary educational institution has substantially the same faculty, student body, and courses following a change of ownership or move outside the same general locality by applying the provisions of this paragraph.

(1) VA will consider that the faculty remains substantially the same in an educational institution when faculty members who teach a majority of the courses after the move or change in ownership, were so employed by the educational institution before the move or change in ownership.

(2) VA will consider that the courses remain substantially the same at an educational institution when:

(i) Faculty use the same instructional methods during the term, quarter, or semester after the move or change in ownership as were used before the move or change in ownership; and

(ii) The courses offered after the move or change in ownership lead to the same educational objectives as did the courses offered before the move or change in ownership.

(3) VA considers that the student body remains substantially the same at an educational institution when, except for those students who have graduated, all, or a majority of the students enrolled in the educational institution on the last day of classes before the move or change in ownership are also enrolled in the educational institution after the move or change in ownership.

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 3680A(e) and (f)(1))

[65 FR 81741, Dec. 27, 2000, as amended at 72 FR 16974, Apr. 5, 2007]