The Office of Higher Education provides consumer protection for students and prospective students. Two state laws require private and out-of-state public postsecondary educational institutions to meet state standards to operate legally in Minnesota.
Private and out-of-state public institutions should review the standards and application procedures to determine their legal obligations before advertising or offering postsecondary education in Minnesota.
Private Career School Licensure is required for most private schools and training firms that offer occupational programs below the associate level in Minnesota.
Degree-Granting Institutional Registration is required for most postsecondary institutions that are:
If you are a private institution or an out-of-state public institution and you offer degree programs at the associate level or above or use “academy,” “college,” “institute,” or “university” in your name, please proceed to Degree-Granting Institutional Registration to determine whether you are required to obtain registration prior to advertising or offering postsecondary education in Minnesota or online to Minnesota residents.
If you are a student or former student at a registered institution in Minnesota and have complaint, please visit Complaints About Private Colleges and Career Schools on the consumer information page.
Note: documents in Portable Document Format (PDF) require Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher to view.