Purpose

In 1978, the Attorney General of Massachusetts promulgated 940 CMR 3.10, relating to Private Home Study, Business, Technological Social Skills and Career Schools, pursuant to the Attorney General's authority in M.G.L. c. 93A, § 2(c). 940 CMR 3.10 was designed to protect Massachusetts consumers seeking to enroll in any course of instruction or educational service offered by certain private business, vocational, and career schools, and to ensure that the private career school industry was operating fairly and honestly by means of legitimate and responsible business acts and practices that are neither unfair nor deceptive. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of for-profit and occupational post-secondary educational institutions that intensively market degree and non-degree programs to students. Many of these schools accept state and federal funds in the form of student grants and loans to finance student enrollment. Certain widespread acts and practices in the for-profit and occupational school industry continue to unfairly harm consumers, frequently leaving students with few career opportunities and significant student debt. The Attorney General, therefore, has updated and amended the 1978 regulations by replacing 940 CMR 3.10 with 940 CMR 31.00, to address problems experienced by consumers when they seek or are enrolled in for-profit schools or occupational programs.