Section 31.04 - False or Misleading Statements or Representations(1)False Advertising. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to make or publish, or cause or permit to be made or published, any false, untrue, or deceptive statement or representation or any statement or representation which has the tendency or capacity to mislead or deceive students, prospective students or any other person, by way of advertising or otherwise, concerning the school, its activities in attempting to enroll students, the character, nature, quality, value, or scope of any course or program offered, the school's influence in obtaining employment for its students, graduation rates, graduation time, program cost, loan amount, repayment amount, transferability of credits, or in any other material respect.(2)Deceptive Language in General. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to use language or make a claim or representation in any form, including but not limited to spoken, electronic, or printed form, which has the tendency or capacity to mislead or deceive students, prospective students, or any other person.(3)False Representation as to Probable Earnings. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to make any false, untrue, unsubstantiated, or deceptive statement or representation or any statement or representation which has the tendency or capacity to mislead or deceive students, prospective students, or any other person regarding actual or probable earnings in any job or occupation of the school's graduates.(4)False Advertising as to Expected Salaries. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to represent or imply in advertising or otherwise that persons employed in a particular position will earn a stated salary or income or that persons completing the training course will earn the stated salary or income or "up to" the stated salary or income unless: (a) the salary or income is equal to or less than the entry level salary of persons employed in the occupation in the Commonwealth; and(b) the advertisement or representation states clearly and conspicuously any limitations, conditions, or other requirements such as union membership or service of an apprenticeship, which must be met before the stated salary or income can be earned; and(c) the advertisement or representation states clearly and conspicuously that no guarantee is made that a person who purchases the advertised services will obtain a job or will earn the stated salary or income, unless the guarantee is actually offered by the school. The words "EARN $...." or "EARN UP TO $...." or words of similar import or meaning constitute a representation that a person who attends the program will earn the stated salary or income within the meaning of 940 CMR 31.00.
(5)False Representation as to Placement Rates or Services. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to make any false, untrue, unsubstantiated, or deceptive statement or representation or any statement or representation which has the tendency or capacity to mislead or deceive students, prospective students, or any other person as to placement, graduate placement rates, total placement rates, or placement services.(6)Failure to Provide Placement Statistics. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to fail to provide, upon request by a student or prospective student, accurate employment data substantiating its graduate and total placement rates. Such data may be deidentified only as necessary for compliance with state or federal law.(7)False or Misleading Statements Regarding Employment Opportunity. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to make any false, untrue, or deceptive statement or representation or any statement or representation which has the tendency or capacity to mislead or deceive students, prospective students, or any other person regarding:(a) any opportunity in any job or occupation, or the likelihood of employment in any job or occupation;(b) the necessity, requirement, or usefulness of any program in obtaining professional licensure, employment in the field of study, admission to a labor union or similar organization;(c) the necessity of or qualification(s) for certification or licensure in any job or occupation, including but not limited to: 1.any cost to obtain or maintain such certification or licensure, if such cost is not included in the school's tuition or fees; and2.any continuing education requirement to obtain or maintain such certification or licensure; andd.any opportunity to qualify for membership in a society or association or union, or to obtain a license, or any opportunity to enroll in a future program or field of study, as a result of the completion of any program, without further education, study, externship, internship, or clinical experience.(8)Government Approval and Accreditation. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to advertise or represent that the school or a program has been:(a) approved by any government agency without clearly and conspicuously indicating the scope, nature, and terms of that approval, and unless true; or(b) accredited by an accrediting body, unless true.(9)Time to Complete Program. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for school to misrepresent the amount of time it takes to finish a program, including a representation that a program can be completed "in weeks" or similar language suggesting that the length of time to complete the program is shorter than the actual median completion time to obtain a certificate, diploma, or degree.(10)Limited Time Offers. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to represent an offer to be limited as to time or otherwise when such is not the fact, or to represent to students, prospective students, or any other person that enrollment in a particular program is only open or available for a particular period of time or until a date certain when enrollment in the program occurs on a rolling, ongoing, or regular basis (including monthly and seasonally).(11)Money-back Guarantee. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to use directly or indirectly any so-called "money back" guarantee, refund agreement, or other similar guarantee, agreement, or contract between school and student which involves deception, misrepresentation, bad faith, or the deceptive concealment of pertinent facts.(12)Misuse of the Word "Free". It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to represent any component or service related to a program as "free" when in fact such component or service is regularly included as part of the program.(13)Faculty Qualifications. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to make a statement or representation through advertising or otherwise that a certain individual or individuals have particular teaching or instructional or professional qualifications, certifications, or degrees, when they do not.(14)Classroom Instruction. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to make a statement or representation through advertising or otherwise concerning the nature or character of classroom instruction provided by the school that is false, untrue, deceptive, or which has the tendency or capacity to mislead students or prospective students. Without limiting the generality of the preceding sentence, it is an unfair or deceptive act or practice to represent that classroom instruction is in-person if instruction is in fact provided by non in-person methods, including instruction via video or computer terminals, and/or through self-guided study.(15)Unapproved or Unlicensed Programs. It is an unfair or deceptive act or practice for a school to:(a) represent that the school offers an occupational program the school is not approved or licensed to offer (unless the program is exempted from licensure or approval by the appropriate Massachusetts authorizing agency);(b) represent that a program is approved or licensed when it is not; or(c) represent that a program teaches a subject, skill, or materials that are not part of the curriculum of a program.Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1263, eff. 6/20/2014.