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Virginia Administrative Code
Title 8. Education
Agency 40. State Council of Higher Education For Virginia
Chapter 31. Regulations Governing Certification of Certain Institutions to Confer Degrees, Diplomas, and Certificates
11/2/2025

8VAC40-31-150. Certification criteria for  non-college degree schools.

A. The course, program, curriculum, and instruction must be of quality, content, and length to adequately achieve the stated objective.

B. Faculty, if teaching technical courses for non-college degree programs not leading to a degree and not offered as degree credit, must either (i) hold an associate degree from an accredited college or university in the discipline being taught or (ii) possess a minimum of two years of technical or occupational experience in the area of teaching responsibility or a related area. The instructor must hold the appropriate certificate or license in the field if certification or licensure is required to work in the field.

C. In addition to the instructor qualifications in subsection B of this section, the non-college degree school must certify that:

1. Courses of study conform to standards of training for the occupational fields in which such standards have been established or conform to recognized training practices in those fields.

2. A plan is in place that ensures interaction between student and faculty, and among students.

D. Administrators must demonstrate qualifications for the administrator's particular responsibilities through educational background and relevant work experience. Owners and administrators must be of good reputation and character. A person is considered of good reputation and character if:

1. The person has no felony convictions related to the operation of a school;

2. The person has not been convicted or pleaded guilty to a crime of fraud or theft under state or federal law within the previous 10 years and has not had a judgment entered against him in his individual capacity in a civil action based upon any theory of fraudulent activity within the previous 10 years;

3. The person has not controlled or managed a postsecondary educational institution that has ceased operation during the past five years without providing for the completion of programs by its students or without providing refunds; and

4. The person has not knowingly falsified or withheld information from the council.

Statutory Authority

§ 23.1-215 of the Code of Virginia.

Historical Notes

Derived from Virginia Register Volume 22, Issue 23, eff. August 24, 2006; amended, Virginia Register Volume 30, Issue 8, eff. February 3, 2014; Volume 41, Issue 25, eff. September 11, 2025.

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