.03 Definitions.

A. In this chapter, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

B. Terms Defined.

(1) Academic Credit.

(a) "Academic credit" means the certification of a student's successful completion of a unit of a course of study leading to a formal award granted by an out-of-State institution approved to offer a collegiate degree, such as an associate or higher degree.

(b) "Academic credit" does not include credit that may be awarded for remedial education.

(2) "Associate degree-granting institution" means an institution that awards a degree at the associate level in two or more instructional programs and does not award a higher degree.

(3) Classroom Instruction.

(a) "Classroom instruction" means live instruction for academic credit that allows immediate interaction between student and instructor, such as lectures, laboratory instruction, seminars, colloquia, interactive instructional television, and, if immediate live feedback is available from an instructor, independent study and computer-aided instruction.

(b) "Classroom instruction" does not include instruction through correspondence, non-interactive learning, credit for prior learning, cooperative education activities, practica, internships, externships, apprenticeships, portfolio review, departmental examinations, or challenge examinations.

(4) "Closed site" means a business, organization, educational entity, or government site that offers courses solely for its own employees.

(5) "Commission" means the Maryland Higher Education Commission.

(5-1) “C-RAC guidelines” means the Interregional Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education adopted by the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions.

(6) "Credit for prior learning" means credit granted toward the award of a certificate or degree for experiential learning that can be shown through various means of assessment to be the equivalent of learning gained through formal collegiate instruction.

(7) "Degree-granting institution" means an associate degree-granting institution or an institution offering baccalaureate or higher degrees.

(8) "Distance education" means education that uses one or more of the following technologies to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor, and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously:

(a) Internet;

(b) One-way and two-way transmissions through open broadcasts, closed circuit, cable, microwave, broadband lines, fiber optics, satellite or wireless communication devices;

(c) Audio conferencing; and

(d) Video cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs, if the cassette, DVDs, and CD-ROMs are used in a course in conjunction with a technology listed in §B(8)(a)—(c) of this regulation.

(9) "Formal award" means a certificate or degree that is conferred by the faculty and ratified by the out-of-State institution's governing board in recognition of successful completion of the requirements of a program.

(10) "Full-time faculty member" means an employee:

(a) Whose primary professional responsibility is instruction, research, scholarship, or service;

(b) Who performs those functions normally expected of a full-time faculty member at an institution of higher education, including curriculum development, student advising, and institutional service;

(c) Who is employed on an annual or renewable contract of at least 9 months long that stipulates an annual salary; and

(d) Who is not employed full-time by another employer.

(10-1) “Home state” means the SARA member state in which an institution holds its legal domicile.

(11) "New degree" means a degree level not specified in an out-of-state institution's certificate of approval such as an associate level, bachelor's level, master's level, doctoral level, or first professional level.

(12) “Operate in Maryland” means to:

(a) Establish or provide a physical location in the State for students to receive synchronous or asynchronous instruction for credit leading to a degree or certificate;

(b) Require students to physically meet in a location in the State for instructional purposes more than twice during a full-term (quarter or semester) course for a total of more than 6 hours; or

(c) Have more than ten students, in a single program, placed simultaneously at one site in the State in a supervised internship, practicum, or field experience as a required part of a degree or certificate program, unless the internship, practicum, or field experience:

(i) Is arranged and administered by a national placement center;

(ii) Occurs at the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or another federal agency that, in the determination of the Secretary, recruits students nationwide from eligible academic programs, regardless of the student’s specific institution of higher education; or

(iii) In the determination of the Secretary, has de minimus contacts with Maryland and is subject to the sufficient oversight of another regulatory body or government agency.

(13) "Out-of-State institution" means a degree-granting institution whose primary campus exists outside of Maryland and the authority to grant degrees is conferred by another state.

(13-1) “Out-of-State SARA institution” means an out-of-State institution approved by its home state to participate in SARA.

(14) "Program" means a structured and coherent course of study with clearly defined objectives and intended student learning outcomes, requiring the completion of a specified number of course credits from among a prescribed group of courses, which leads to the award of a certificate or degree.

(15) "Regional higher education center" has the meaning stated in Education Article, §10-101(k), Annotated Code of Maryland.

(16) "Remedial education" means a course or series of courses or services, or both, designed to remedy deficiencies in preparation for college-level work, especially in reading, writing, mathematics, and study skills that cannot be applied to credit for a degree or certificate.

(16-1) “SARA” means a State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement overseen by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements and administered by the Southern Regional Education Board, the New England Board of Higher Education, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, or the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

(16-2) “SARA distance education” means interstate instruction, originating in the U.S. or a U.S. territory, offered by any means where the student and faculty member are in separate physical locations, including, but not limited to, online, interactive video, or correspondence courses or programs.

(17) "Secretary" means the Secretary of Higher Education.

(18) "Segment of higher education" means:

(a) The University System of Maryland;

(b) Morgan State University;

(c) St. Mary's College of Maryland;

(d) The Maryland community colleges;

(e) The Maryland Independent College and University Association; and

(f) The Maryland Association of Private Colleges and Career Schools.