[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 16, Volume 1]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 16CFR254.6]

[Page 173]
 
                     TITLE 16--COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
 
                   CHAPTER I--FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
 
PART 254_GUIDES FOR PRIVATE VOCATIONAL AND DISTANCE EDUCATION 
SCHOOLS--Table of Contents
 
Sec. 254.6  Deceptive use of diplomas, degrees, or certificates.

    (a) It is deceptive for an industry member to issue a degree, 
diploma, certificate of completion, or any similar document, that 
misrepresents, directly or indirectly, the subject matter, substance, or 
content of the course of study or any other material fact concerning the 
course for which it was awarded or the accomplishments of the student to 
whom it was awarded.
    (b) It is deceptive for an industry member to offer or confer an 
academic, professional, or occupational degree, if the award of such 
degree has not been authorized by the appropriate State educational 
agency or approved by a nationally recognized accrediting agency, unless 
it clearly and conspicuously discloses, in all advertising and 
promotional materials that contain a reference to such degree, that its 
award has not been authorized or approved by such an agency.
    (c) It is deceptive for an industry member to offer or confer a high 
school diploma unless the program of instruction to which it pertains is 
substantially equivalent to that offered by a resident secondary school, 
and unless the student is informed, by a clear and conspicuous 
disclosure in writing prior to enrollment, that the industry member 
cannot guarantee or otherwise control the recognition that will be 
accorded the diploma by institutions of higher education, other schools, 
or prospective employers, and that such recognition is a matter solely 
within the discretion of those entities.

[63 FR 42574, Aug. 10, 1998]