Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education
How to Start a Private Career School in California
The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education is responsible for enforcing the statutes and rules relating to private postsecondary education in California. In this capacity, the BPPE is charged with licensing and regulating persons and organizations operating vocational programs and granting degrees within the State of California. Private Postsecondary schools operating in California come under the jurisdiction of the the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education and are subject to the requirements of the Private Postsecondary Education Act of 2009.
BPPE
The application for licensure form can be found on the Bureau’s website. It is called “Application for Approval to Operate for an Institution Non Accredited”.
The Bureau uses the same form for both non-degree and degree granting institution. It is divided into some 24 sections and requires information about the following.
1. Institution
2. Form Of Business Organization
3. Owner(s)
4. Agent For Service Of Process Within California
5. Organization And Management
6. Governing Board
7. Mission And Objectives
8. Institution Representative
9. Exemplars Of Student Agreements
10. Financial Aid Policies, Practices, And Disclosures
11. Advertising And Other Public Statements
12. Instruction And Degrees Offered
13. Description Of Educational Program
14. Instruction In Languages Other Than English
15. Financial Resources And Statements
16. Faculty
17. Facilities And Equipment
18. Libraries And Other Learning Resources
19. Job Placement Assistance
20. Copy Of Catalog
21. Graduation Or Completion Documents
22. Record keeping; Custodian Of Records
23. Self Monitoring Procedures
24. Additional Information
The time it takes to submit the application to the BPPE depends on the speed at which you/the client respond to our inquiries and the time it takes to gather the exhibits required.
There are several issues that you should be aware of.
You will be required to submit a current audited financial statement prepared by a C.P.A. in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. This can cost anywhere between $4,500 to $7,000 depending on the complexity of the financials. We can recommend an knowledgeable CPA with experience working in the educational sector should you need one.
The non refundable application fee which needs to paid to BPPE is $5,000.
If licensure is a goal of an education program, like Nursing Assistant or Cosmetology a copy of the approval from the appropriate licensing agency will be required. A copy of the intent to approve conditioned solely upon institutional approval from the Bureau will also meet this requirement.
Our services would include writing the application to the BPPE that describes the school’s mission, management, programs, coursework, admissions, academic policies, and quality measures along with plans for the school’s continued improvement and growth. As a BPPE application consists of many different components we expect our client/ you to agree to coordinate the production of several of the items needed to assure a successful application.
We usually bid by project and email a contract out to our prospective client that outlines the various tasks that would be involved in order to accomplish that project just as we have done here. We include in the bid a timeline and a pay schedule broken into two payments that makes the cost manageable for our prospective client.
Feel free to contact us and we can discuss your vision.