The following members were present: Anthony Stanziani, John Austin, Michael Hatten, Yerachmiel Barash, Vincent Ferrara, Howard Goldsmith, Cindi Frieder, Anne Curtin, and Dennis Petersen. Mr. Petersen is Deputy Commissioner in the NYS Department of Labor. Mr. Stanziani welcomed Diana Georgia from Senator LaValle’s office, Stephanie Sorrentino from Assemblyman Sullivan’s office, and Claudia Alexander (SED’s Office of Legislation). The following people were absent: Arlene Padone, Arthur Resso, James Devaney, Wayne Wagner, and Val Pilai. As a majority of voting members was not present, the Council could not officially approve the meeting minutes of September 6, 2001.

1. The minutes were reviewed. Mr. Hatten moved to clarify item 3. Guidance counselors do not regard proprietary school attendance as a positive referral. The New York State Education Department rates secondary schools based on the number of student who go to college; there is no incentive to refer graduates. Mr. Hatten will check with David Brieff for information he might have as his follow-up to this issue.
   
2. It was suggested that proprietary schools need to be regarded as institutions of higher education. The Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision will be doing another mailing to state guidance counselors offering our services to talk to students about going to proprietary schools. This is part of the Bureau’s Public Information Campaign (PIC) to provide greater student awareness and knowledge of the sector.
   
3. The benchmarking meeting of September 11, 2001 was obviously never held. Another meeting was set tentatively for January 9, 2002, at the BPSS-NYC office. There is still a need to establish quality assurance measures. The revival of school clusters was suggested as a way to get important student information on the website.
   
4. Chubb Institute, Cortlandt Street location, is not accessible due to asbestos contamination. There is no access to the equipment or student records housed there.
   
5. Matthew Schwartz of Channel 9, NYC, recently interviewed Ed Kramer on unlicensed schools. An interview was conducted at Drake; unlicensed school personnel declined an interview. A student from an unlicensed school was interviewed, expressing her feelings of having been "ripped off."
   
6. ESL school owners have indicated they would like a representative from their sector represented on the Council. One had been nominated, but the name had been withdrawn. It would be inappropriate to invite an ESL representative to the table as no one has been appointed by the Governor’s Office. A letter from James Carr, representing the ESL sector, was sent to all AC members requesting a stay on regulatory change affecting the schools due to the events of September 11, 2001.
   
7. It is anticipated that the suggested regulatory changes will be proposed to the Board of Regents by early spring. It was suggested that a regulatory reform committee be formed to work on regulatory change on an on-going basis to be presented to the Regents as needed. Mr. Goldsmith explained the broad responsibility and authority of the Board, which makes it difficult to go back again and again. Many of the filing requirements for regulatory change are quite burdensome.
   
8. The following agenda items for 2002 were proposed: Continuing improvement of the relationship between schools and SED/Regents, financial assistance for schools affected by the September 11 tragedy, regulatory reform, clock and credit hour, increase of state aid to proprietary schools, the Council’s need to report to the Legislature on statutory changes (special assessments on schools licensed after 1993 and creation of computer-training facility designation) by April 1, 2002. It was noted that this is not a good time to ask for additional state aid. Mr. Goldsmith mentioned that the Governor’s budget would be proposed in early December at which time a clearer picture of the fiscal situation will be available.
   
9. Deputy Commissioner Gerald Patton of the Office of Higher Education will be leaving effective December 31, 2001. Mr. Stanziani will send a letter as Chair of the Council thanking Dr. Patton for his partnership with proprietary schools and the Office of Higher Education.
   
10. A discussion of the proposed regulations followed. Mr. Goldsmith cautioned everyone to be aware that regulations have to be in line with the authorizing statute. The statute is not changing at this time. It was suggested that the definition of gross tuition would be changed to subtract refunds of federal funding. The impact on the operation of the Bureau would have to be determined prior to its consideration. Gross tuition will now include under these changes "grant funding for training purposes." This was added primarily for unlicensed schools, which need to be licensed. Grant funding does not qualify for an exemption. The assessment would apply, however, only to funding for training. The addition of credit hour was defined so that it is used as it was intended, for financial aid. The language hopefully will curtail abuse and foster understanding for potential students. Electronic attendance has been added; the possibility for electronic signatures has to be considered. It is proposed to change satisfactory academic progress from 85% attendance OR satisfactory academic progress to 80% attendance AND satisfactory academic progress. There is concern that this would have a significant impact on students’ ability to complete. It was suggested that "mitigating circumstances" be considered for the attendance portion. Some additional license areas for business teachers have been proposed, eliminating most of the restricted license possibilities. Qualifications for teachers now include 900 hours of study completed at a licensed proprietary school that could be used for up to one year of work experience.
    
11. Comments from the audience were received. Jim Carr from Carr Business Affairs spoke on behalf of private language centers. They are requesting a deferment of the changes. This is not a good time for these schools, as many have lost up to two-thirds of their student body. Mr. Carr stated that they are not vocational schools, and they do not see a reason for parity at this time.

Janice Gillespie, IKON Office Solutions, spoke of distance learning programs and how the approval process works for schools who act as "resellers of products."

Terry Zaleski, New York State Coalition of Career Schools, spoke of the need for rapid review for RFP contracts.

Anthony Fragomeni, representing the New York State Beauty Schools’ Association, asked if there is a "line item veto" for the Regents. Mr. Goldsmith stated that the Regents has the ability to change or delete any item. Mr. Fragomeni expressed concern over the 80% satisfactory academic progress and asked that consideration be given to the deduction of federal refunds from gross tuition.

Sylvester Lewis, Branford Hall, expressed concern over the proposed SAP policy. He said that completion should be based on competency, not on attendance.

Edward Schwartz spoke about problems he has had with the Bureau in its tough stance on negotiating formal disciplinary actions under Section 5003 of the Education Law. Mr. Schwartz admitted that it was his school that was the focus of the recent consumer report on the Channel 9 news.

12. The next meeting will be held on Thursday, January 24, 2002 at BPSS-NYC. Continued discussion on regulatory reform will be the main focus of the agenda.

The meeting was closed at 1:15 p.m.