| (a) General Information for Advertising.
(1) A school shall not make deceptive statements in
attempting to enroll students.
(2) The commission may require a school to furnish
proof of any of its advertising claims.
(b) Advertisement Method.
(1) A school may advertise for prospective students
under "instruction," "education," "training," or a similarly titled
classification.
(2) No school advertisements shall use the word "wanted,"
"help wanted," or "trainee," either in the headline or the body of
the advertisement, nor shall any advertisement indicate, in any manner,
that the school has or knows of employment of any nature available
to prospective students; only "placement assistance," if offered,
may be advertised.
(3) A school shall not use terms to describe the significance
of the approval that specify or connote greater approval. Terms that
schools may not use to connote greater approval by the commission
include, but are not limited to, "accredited," "supervised," "endorsed,"
and "recommended." A school shall not use the words "guarantee," "guaranteed,"
or "free" unless approved in writing by the commission.
(4) Any advertisement that includes a reference to
awarding of credit hours shall include the statement, "limited transferability."
Where a school has an arrangement with a college or university to
accept transfer hours, such information may be advertised, but any
limitations shall be included in the advertisement.
(c) Advertisement Content.
(1) Advertisement content shall include, and clearly
indicate, the full and correct name of the school and its address,
including city, as they appear on the certificate of approval.
(2) Advertisements shall not include:
(A) statements that the school or its programs are
accredited unless the accreditation is that of an agency recognized
by the United States Department of Education;
(B) statements that the school or its courses of instruction
have been approved unless the approval can be substantiated by an
appropriate certificate of approval issued by an agency of the state
or federal government;
(C) statements that represent the school as an employment
agency under the same name, or a confusingly similar name, or at the
same location of the school; or
(D) statements as being commission approved or IFSAC
approved in order to solicit students prior to receiving actual commission
approval. Any such activity by the school, prior to the commission's
approval of the training course, shall constitute misrepresentation
by the training facility and shall entitle each student in the course
to a full refund of all monies paid and a release from all obligations
to the student.
(3) A school holding a franchise to offer specialized
programs or subjects not available to other schools shall not advertise
such programs in such a manner as to diminish the value and scope
of programs offered by other schools not holding such a franchise.
Advertising of special subjects or programs offered under a franchise
shall be limited to the subject or programs offered.
(4) a school shall not use endorsements, commendations,
or recommendations by students in favor of a school except with the
consent of the student and without any offer of financial or other
material compensation. Endorsements shall bear the legal or professional
name of the student.
(5) a school shall not use a photograph, cut, engraving,
illustration or graphic in advertising in such a manner as to:
(A) convey a false impression of size, importance,
or location of the school, equipment, or facilities associated with
the school, or
(B) circumvent any of the requirements of this subchapter
regarding written or oral statements.
(6) Every advertisement must clearly indicate that
training is being offered, and shall not, either by actual statement,
omission, or intimation, imply that prospective employees are being
sought.
(d) Financial Incentives. Advertisements shall not:
(1) state that students shall be guaranteed employment
while enrolled in the school;
(2) state that employment shall be guaranteed for students
after graduation; or
(3) misrepresent opportunities for employment upon
completion of any program; or
(4) contain dollar amounts as representative or indicative
of the earning potential of graduates unless those dollar amounts
have been published by the United States Department of Labor. This
provision shall not be construed as prohibiting the school from providing
earning potential to the student individually on the student's receipt
of enrollment policies or other such commission approved document.
(e) Advertisements for student tuition loans shall:
(1) contain the language "financial aid available,
if qualified";
(2) appear in type no larger than the font used for
the name of the school and in similar color and style; and
(3) does not preclude disclosure of the school's eligibility
under the various state and federal loan programs.
(f) Advertisement Monitoring.
(1) The commission may order corrective action to counteract
the effect of advertising in violation of the Act or rules, including:
(A) retraction by the school of such advertising claims
published in the same manner as the claims themselves; and
(B) cancellation of telephone numbers without an automatic
forwarding message.
(2) As corrective action for violations of the Act
or rules, the commission may require schools to submit all advertisements
to the commission for pre-approval at least 30 days before proposed
submission of the advertisements to the advertising medium.
(3) Nothing in these guidelines shall prohibit release
of information to students as required by a state or federal agency.
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