Virginia Code 23.1-225: Prohibited acts
A. Without prior Council approval, no person or other entity subject to the provisions of this article shall use in any manner within the Commonwealth the term “college” or “university” or abbreviations or words of similar meaning in its name, in connection with its academic affairs or business, or in any literature, catalog, pamphlet, or descriptive material.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 23.1-225
- Certificate: includes a diploma. See Virginia Code 23.1-213
- Council: means the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia. See Virginia Code 23.1-100
- Degree: means any earned award at the associate, baccalaureate, graduate, first professional, or specialist levels that represents satisfactory completion of the requirements of a program or course of study or instruction beyond the secondary school level. See Virginia Code 23.1-213
- Degree credit: means any earned credits awarded for successful completion of the requirements of a course of study or instruction beyond the secondary school level that may be used toward completion of a certificate or degree. See Virginia Code 23.1-213
- Fraudulent academic credential: means a certificate, academic transcript, or other document issued by a person or other entity that is not an institution of higher education that provides evidence of or demonstrates completion of coursework or academic credit that results in the issuance of a degree. See Virginia Code 23.1-213
- institution: means any person or other entity, other than a public institution of higher education or any other entity authorized to issue bonds pursuant to Chapter 11 (§ 23. See Virginia Code 23.1-213
- Non-college degree school: includes academic-vocational non-college degree schools and vocational non-college degree schools. See Virginia Code 23.1-213
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
This subsection shall not apply to any person or other entity that (i) used the term “college” or “university” openly and conspicuously in its title within the Commonwealth prior to July 1, 1970; (ii) was granted authority to operate in the Commonwealth by the Council between July 1, 1970, and July 1, 2002, and maintains valid authority to so operate in the Commonwealth on or after July 1, 2002; (iii) was exempted from the provisions of former Chapter 21 of Title 23, as such law was in effect prior to July 1, 2002; or (iv) was authorized by the Council to use a name while its request for approval to enroll students is pending before the Council.
B. No person or other entity shall sell, barter, or exchange for any consideration, or attempt to sell, barter, or exchange for any consideration, any degree credit, degree, or certificate.
C. No person or other entity shall:
1. Use or attempt to use, in connection with any business, trade, profession, or occupation, any degree credit, degree, or certificate, including any transcript of coursework that it knows or has reason to know has been fraudulently issued, obtained, forged, materially altered, or purchased;
2. Issue or manufacture a fraudulent academic credential;
3. Physically present a fraudulent academic credential, knowing it is fraudulent, in an attempt to obtain employment, promotion, licensure, or admission to an institution of higher education;
4. In any way represent that it is an institution of higher education that is accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or has the foreign equivalent of such accreditation if the person or entity is not so accredited; or
5. Represent that credits earned at or granted by any institution of higher education or academic-vocational non-college degree school may be applied for credit toward a degree unless such person is exempted from the provisions of this article or granted certification or approval by the Council in accordance with this article and the Council’s regulations.
Code 1950, § 23-272; 1980, c. 658; 2002, c. 178, § 23-276.10; 2004, c. 991; 2008, c. 856; 2016, c. 588.