The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1)        Person. – Any individual, association, partnership or corporation, and includes any director, receiver, referee, trustee, executor, or administrator as well as a natural person.

(2)        Proprietary school. – An educational institution having a physical presence within North Carolina that meets all of the following conditions:

a.         It is privately owned by a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, or corporation.

b.         It is established as a business entity or as a nonprofit charitable organization.

c.         It offers instruction to individuals who (i) have completed their elementary and secondary education or (ii) are beyond the age of compulsory secondary school attendance and have demonstrated an ability to benefit from that instruction for the attainment of educational objectives, vocational objectives, or both.

d.         It charges tuition or receives any consideration from a student for any portion of the instruction in any form, including written or audiovisual material.

e.         It educates, trains, or claims or offers to educate or train students in a program leading toward (i) examinations for licensing in a profession or vocation, (ii) employment at a beginning or advanced level, or (iii) a postsecondary educational credential below the associate degree level.

The term includes a branch or extension of a private postsecondary educational institution of another state that is located in this State or that offers educational services or education at a physical location within this State. Delivery systems employed may include, but are not limited to, (i) correspondence, (ii) classrooms, (iii) hotels or other temporary dwelling units or areas, or (iv) electronic communications such as those used in distance education. Distance education is education, training courses, or programs delivered to a student who is geographically separate from the instructor. It does not include institutions licensed by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 116-15

If a school has physical locations and offers classes in more than one county, the school’s operation in each county shall constitute a separate proprietary school, as defined in this section. ?(1955, c. 1372, art. 30, ss. 1, 2; 1957, c. 1000; 1961, c. 1175, s. 1; 1981, c. 423, s. 1; 1987, c. 442, s. 2; 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 877, s. 1; 1993, c. 553, s. 32.2; 2011-21, s. 1; 2011-326, s. 16(a).)