§ 38–1307. Higher Education Licensure Commission — Functions.

In addition to those duties specified in other sections of this chapter, the Commission shall:

(1) Advise the Mayor and the Council with respect to the postsecondary educational needs of the District of Columbia;

(2) File with the Mayor and the Council quarterly reports relating to:

(A) The educational institutions granted or denied licenses under this chapter during the reporting period; and

(B) Other matters that come under the Commission's purview;

(3) Receive, and cause to be maintained, copies of student academic records in conformity with the following provisions:

(A) If an educational institution operating in the District, or any educational institution licensed under this chapter operating outside of the District, proposes to discontinue its operation and has no other repository for its records, the chief administrative officer, by whatever title designated, of the institution shall cause to be filed with the Commission the original or legible true copies of all records of the institution specified by the Commission. The records shall include, at a minimum, the academic records of each former student;

(B) The Commission shall maintain and dispose of the records in accordance with Chapter 17 of Title 2. Academic records shall be maintained for at least 50 years from the date the student attended the institution; and

(C) The Commission may charge an institution for all costs involved in the transfer of records;

(4)(A) If it appears to the Commission that the records of an institution discontinuing its operations are in danger of being destroyed, secreted, mislaid, or otherwise made unavailable to the Commission, the Commission may apply to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for an order authorizing the Commission to seize and take possession of the records;

(B) Any chief officer or member of a governing board of an institution who willfully fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection or willfully aids and abets any person in a scheme to avoid the requirements of this subsection may be held personally liable for all costs and damages resulting from the conduct, in addition to other penalties provided by this chapter.

(5) Have the authority to enter into reciprocity agreements with other jurisdictions that relate to the authorization of postsecondary educational institutions that provide degree-granting or non-degree-granting online instruction to residents of the District; and

(6) Have the authority to enter into agreements with degree-granting educational institutions operating in the District of Columbia that are otherwise conditionally exempt pursuant to § 38-1310 for the purpose of ensuring consistent consumer protection in interstate distance education delivery of higher education.