Section 451.250  School Advertising

a)         The school and its agents shall not make or cause to be made any oral, written, or visual presentation in connection with the offering or publicizing of a subject or course of instruction that is false, deceptive, inaccurate, or misleading.

b)         A school shall submit with its original application all materials designed for direct mailing or media presentation in Illinois to the Superintendent for review for compliance in accordance with standards set forth in this Part.  In its advertising, a school shall:  

1)         limit reference to its approved status to:  "Certificate of Approval To Operate Issued By the Illinois State Superintendent of Education";  

2)         disclose whether it is a distance education, distance education/in-residence, home study or home study/in-residence school if it provides such instruction;

3)         use photographs or other illustrations of school facilities only if these are the facilities being used to provide instruction (in the case of national advertising, the facilities shown must be representative of those that will be used);

4)         use photographs or other illustrations in ways that accurately portray the size and location of the school, its equipment and facilities or the career for which the student is being trained (in the case of national advertising, the school, equipment, and facilities portrayed must be representative of those that will be used or provided);

5)         advertise starting salaries of its former students only if these claims can be documented for the most recent reporting period of July 1 through June 30.

c)         In its advertising, a school shall not:  

1)         describe its courses of instruction and subjects in a manner other than the approved title designations recorded on its current certificate of approval;

2)         represent that it is endorsed by or affiliated with a college or university or other school of higher learning unless such statement is true;

3)         advertise the transferability of its credits to colleges or universities unless it has written evidence on file of current acceptability of such credits from colleges and universities, state approval and accrediting authorities, or the American Council on Education;

4)         advertise it is endorsed by manufacturers, business establishments, or organizations engaged in the line of work for which it gives training unless it has on file written evidence of each such endorsement with the name and address of the endorser and the date of endorsement;

5)         advertise accredited status unless such status has been received from an accrediting body currently listed as recognized by the U.S. Department of Education;

6)         advertise as an employment agency or under the same or similar name as such an agency or knowingly advertise training courses in the "Help Wanted" section of any newspaper;

7)         make statements assuring or guaranteeing membership in a union or other organization as a result of completing the course of instruction unless this fact can be documented;

8)         advertise any tuition, fees, or other charges in amounts other than those currently on file with the Superintendent or advertise them without showing the total cost, including fees;

9)         represent that a course of instruction has been recently revised, that it has a revision system or service, or represent in any manner its ability to keep a course of instruction current unless this can be verified.

d)         A school making original application or seeking approval for a new course of instruction may submit a written petition to the Superintendent requesting permission to advertise prior to receipt of approval.  The school will be authorized to advertise for a period no longer than 90 calendar days prior to its projected starting date.  The authorization will be granted within ten business days after receipt of:  

1)         a completed application; and

2)         the requisite fee, as specified in Section 10 of the Act.

e)         A school approved by the Superintendent that advertises or offers instruction via the Internet or other electronic telecommunication media shall state, both on the home page of its web site, if applicable, and in its catalog/bulletin, that the school is authorized for operation pursuant to the "Certificate of Approval To Operate Issued By the Illinois State Superintendent of Education, 100 North First Street, Springfield, Illinois 62777."  In the case of an Internet site, the required statement must include a picture/button link to the State Board of Education's Private Business and Vocational School's home page that lists all the private business and vocational schools that the State Board of Education has approved for operation.

f)          The school receiving approval to advertise shall adhere to the requirements provided in this Section.  It shall not advise or advertise it is approved until a certificate of approval has been received from the Superintendent.

(Source:  Amended at 24 Ill. Reg. 7229, effective May 1, 2000)