The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) is a unit of the

California Department of Consumer Affairs The California Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) is a department within the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency. DCA's stated mission is to serve the interests of California's consumers by ensuring a standard of profess ...

charged with regulation of private

postsecondary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

al institutions operating in the state of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. The BPPE is not an

accrediting agency Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

. Its primary purpose is to prevent fraudulent

diploma mills A diploma mill (also known as a degree mill) is a company or organization that claims to be a higher education institution but provides illegitimate academic degrees and diplomas for a fee. The degrees can be fabricated (made-up), falsified (fak ...

. Institutions that are approved to operate in California by the Bureau still need to separately obtain educational accreditation from national or regional accrediting body recognized by the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

for its students to qualify for federal

financial aid Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the p ...

, such as

Pell Grant A Pell Grant is a subsidy the U.S. federal government provides for students who need it to pay for college. Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled ...

Purpose

The California Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education (BPPE) is not an accreditor, but rather approves postsecondary schools to operate in the state that meet "minimum standards established by the Bureau for integrity, financial stability, and educational quality". The BPPE provides "oversight of California's private postsecondary educational institutions by conducting qualitative reviews of educational programs and operating standards, proactively combating unlicensed activity, impartially resolving student and consumer complaints, and conducting outreach". The Bureau conducts announced and unannounced compliance inspections, and investigates complaints about fraud.

History

Private colleges were previously regulated by the

California Department of Education The California Department of Education is an agency within the Government of California that oversees public education. The department oversees funding and testing, and holds local educational agencies accountable for student achievement. Its st ...

. Reforms, including the Maxine Waters School Reform and Student Protection Act were implemented during the late 1980s and 1990s. These laws created the

California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education The California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE) was a unit of the California Department of Consumer Affairs whose purpose was to protect students by establishing academic standards for private institutions of higher ...

(BPPVE). The laws authorizing these reforms expired without immediate replacement, and from the start of 2007 until the end of 2009, California did not have any agency regulating private schools. The Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009, which was signed into law on October 11, 2009,California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education website
accessed September 6, 2010 created the BPPE as part of the Department of Consumer Affairs to regulate private postsecondary educational institutions operating in California.Private Postsecondary Overview
, California Department of Consumer Affairs, accessed June 8, 2008 The BPPE began operation on January 1, 2010.

References

External links

*
Private Postsecondary Education
in the

California Code of Regulations The California Code of Regulations (CCR, Cal. Code Regs.) is the codification of the general and permanent rules and regulations (sometimes called administrative law) announced in the '' California Regulatory Notice Register'' by California state ...

{{authority control Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education Government agencies established in 2010 2010 establishments in California

Purpose

History

See also

References

External links