Responses Last Confirmed:

Hawaii Postsecondary Education Authorization Program (HPEAP)

Agency Contact

Jayson Horiuchi
808-586-7327
jhoriuch@dcca.hawaii.gov

Additional Contact

Secretary of State Contact

Contact: Commissioner of Securities at the Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs
808.586.2727
breg@dcca.hawaii.gov
Topic

1: Important Agency Information to Note

a.
Provide any important information about your agency.

HPEAP authorizes accredited, degree-granting post-secondary institutions with physical presence. HPEAP also serves as the complaints review agency for these institutions.

Topic

2: Types of Educational Providers Authorized

a.
Indicate the types of institutions that your agency authorizes. Please provide a short explanation of any ambiguity in the comment section below.

_____     Public, in-state degree granting institutions
_X___    Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions        
_X___    Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions 
_X___    Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions    
_X___    Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_X___    Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____      Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
____      Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
____      Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
____      Non-degree, for-profit institutions
_X___    Religious institutions
____      Tribally-controlled institutions
_____    Federal Institutions
_____    Municipal institutions

b.
Does your agency authorize specific academic programs offered by institutions, only institutions themselves, or both?

_X___ Institution   _____ Program   _____ Both

c.
Clarifying comments:

Public in-state degree-granting institutions are already authorized per statute. Regarding religious institutions: Those which offer more than just religious degrees are authorized by HPEAP.

Topic

3: Accreditation

a.
Is accreditation required for an institution to be authorized in your state?

Yes

b.
If yes, please check all that apply as appropriate.

Accreditation Required for:
_X___ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
_X___ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
_X___ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
_X___ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_X___ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
_____ Religious institutions
_____ Tribally-controlled institutions
_____ Federal Institutions
_____ Municipal institutions

c.
Clarifying comments:

Institutional accreditation is required, whether regional or national.

However, religious institutions are not required to be accredited.

Topic

4: Exemptions

a.
Are certain institutions or programs exempt by law or policy from your state authorization requirements?

Yes.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions? Which types of programs?
d.
Clarifying comments:

Accredited, degree-granting institutions with no physical presence are allowed to offer distance education without authorization.

Topic

5: Authorization of Distance Education

a.
Does your agency require purely online programs offered by out-of-state institutions to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

No

b.
If not, does your agency determine whether an institution must be authorized based on a physical presence (“operating”) standard?

Yes

c.
Does your agency require correspondence study programs to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

No

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

6: Physical Presence Policy

a.
If your agency uses a physical presence standard, how does your agency define physical presence?
c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

7: Student Complaints - SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about SARA participating Institutions.
b.
Is the process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

All within the program

c.
Web link for student complaints – SARA participating institutions.
d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

Contact Name: Jayson Horiuchi

Title: Program Administrator

Agency: Hawaii Post-Secondary Education Authorization Program (HPEAP)

Address: 335 Merchant Street, Room 310, Hon., HI 96813

Email: hpeap@dcca.hawaii.gov 

Phone: (808) 586-7327

URL: http://cca.hawaii.gov/hpeap/

e.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

8: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about out-of-state postsecondary institutions or programs?

For institutions not authorized by HPEAP, the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) will take in complaints. OCP is a different agency from HPEAP although we are in the same department. OCP takes in complaints about unfair and deceptive acts or practices.

b.
Is the process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

For institutions not authorized by HPEAP, the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) will take in complaints. OCP is a different agency from HPEAP although we are in the same department. OCP takes in complaints about unfair and deceptive acts or practices.

c.
Does this complaint process extend to institutions not authorized by the agency that may enroll residents of the state (such as explicitly distance education programs with no physical presence or exempt institutions)?

Yes, for institutions not authorized by HPEAP, the Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) will take in complaints. OCP is a different agency from HPEAP although we are in the same department. OCP takes in complaints about unfair and deceptive acts or practices.

d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

Contact Name: No response provided

Title:  No response provided

Agency: Office of Consumer Protection

Address: http://cca.hawaii.gov/ocp/contact/

Email  ocp@dcca.hawaii.gov

Phone: http://cca.hawaii.gov/ocp/contact/

URL:  http://cca.hawaii.gov/ocp/ 

e.
Web link for the complaint form.

https://web2.dcca.hawaii.gov/ocpcomplaint/

f.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

9: Surety Bonds

a.
Does your state require a Surety Bond for authorized out-of-state institutions?

Yes, if it has not been accredited or has not been operating in Hawaii for at least 10 years.

c.
Clarifying comments:

Surety bond is required unless they have been continuously operating in Hawaii for at least 10 years and have been accredited for at least 10 years.

Topic

10: Tuition Refund Policy

a.
Does your state have a Tuition Refund Policy Requirement?

No, institutions must meet or exceed the refund policies required by the U.S. Dept. of Education or the requirements of its accrediting body if they do not participate in federal financial aid programs.

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

c.
Web link for tuition refund policy.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

11: Student Tuition Recovery Fund

a.
Does your state have a Student Tuition Recovery Fund (or similar fund for school closure)?

No

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

c.
Web link for student tuition recovery fund.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

12: Reporting

a.
What kinds of information or data must an institution report to your agency as a condition for continued out-of-state authorization?

Institutions must report in writing any disciplinary decision issued against the institution or the applicant in another jurisdiction within 30 days of the disciplinary decision. Institutions must report in writing any change in accreditation status by any accrediting agency. If its ownership changes, institutions must provide material information concerning the transaction at least 30 days prior to the transaction.

b.
How frequently do institutions report data?

No response provided

c.
Is this information published or shared publicly?

No response provided

d.
Web link for reporting.

No response provided

e.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

13: Enforcement

a.
What are possible consequences of institutional non-compliance?

Fines, orders of restitution, orders directing correction, revocation, suspension, probation, or conditions on authorization, orders relating to cessation of operations, payment of costs of investigation and legal action.

b.
Web link for enforcement information.
c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

14: Application Process

a.
Please provide a short description of the application process to obtain state authorization.

ESTABLISHING A LOCATION IN HAWAII:

If you are accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education, please review the information on our website and do a preliminary consultation with HPEAP (hpeap@dcca.hawaii.gov). You should allow at least 90 days for your application to be reviewed. You should not be enrolling students in a new program to be held in Hawaii until you obtain approval.

http://cca.hawaii.gov/hpeap/

http://cca.hawaii.gov/hpeap/forms/institution-forms/

If you are not accredited, you must be in compliance with the provisions of HRS Chapter 446E. Please visit http://cca.hawaii.gov/ocp/udgi/ and consult with the Office of Consumer Protection (ocp@dcca.hawaii.gov). If you are in compliance with HRS Chapter 446E and have begun the accreditation process with an accrediting agency, you may consult with HPEAP about applying for provisional authorization.

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

15: Fees Associated with Authorization

a.
Is there an application fee associated with the authorization process?

Yes

b.
If yes, what is the fee or fee schedule?

$10,000 biennially for institutions with enrollment of 100 or less

$19,000 biennially for all other institutions

c.
Web link for fee information.
d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

16: Records Retention

a.
When a school closes, what is the process your state uses to ensure that transcripts/records are kept available?
b.
From what agency do students request their transcripts/records from a closed school?

HPEAP only has records from closed institutions it had authorized. Students should carefully read the information provided in the following link to make sure that HPEAP has those records before submitting an online request form.

Contact website: https://dccabreg.force.com/transcripts/s/

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

17: Additional Information

a.
Is there anything else about the authorization process in your state that we and others ought to know about?

No response provided