Applying for Maryland Higher Education Commission

In brief, private career schools offer career training to adults. PCS are also variously known as trade or technical schools or occupational training schools. The legal definition of a private career school in Maryland is a privately owned and operated institution of postsecondary education, other than an institution of higher education, that furnishes or offers to furnish programs, whether requiring a payment or a fee, for the purpose of training, retraining, or upgrading individuals for gainful employment as skilled or semiskilled workers or technicians in recognized occupations or in new and emerging occupations. (See Approved PCS​ for information about currently approved schools.)​​​​

Generally, yes. However, not all educational institutions or training providers are required to have Commission approval to operate in Maryland. Some education or training offered by churches or religious institutions, as well as various workshops or seminars, continuing education programs, apprenticeships, and instruction offered by businesses for the exclusive use of their employees might not be subject to Commission approval.

To determine whether Commission approval is required for your education or training to be offered in Maryland, complete and submit this questionnaire and program description form according to the instructions: Private Career School Training Questionnaire (MS Word Document Form) and Private Career School Training Program Description Form (MS Word Document Form)​.

Training providers offering training to the public who are neither approved nor have received notice otherwise from the Commission, will be directed to cease and desist operation or be subject to legal action including closure and fines or both.​​

Please be aware that the application procedure to become approved to operate a private career school in Maryland and to operate a successful business venture requires resources, planning, and commitment. For those not experienced with starting a business or a school, developing a comprehensive, written business plan before completing the application is recommended. The Small Business Administration provides a number of useful resources such as the Small Business Readiness Assessment Tool​ to help you determine if you are ready to start a small business.

Sometimes applicants are so focused on the requirements of the application that they fail to think through the actual demands of running the school. Keep in mind that a successful school has strong plans for student record keeping including tracking students’ grades and daily attendance, placement, managing personnel including making sure that classes always have qualified instructors in place, and having a sound financial plan to start a school when expenses are high and income is not yet established.​​

Generally, one must submit a complete ap​plication (including a financial guarantee, detailed training curriculum, detailed school catalog, enrollment agreement, student transcript), application fee, Student Guarantee Fund payment, copy of facility lease and related permits, and instructor and staff personnel forms.

1. Applications are reviewed by Commission staff within 30 days of receipt and returned if any part of the application is found to be incomplete;
2. Once the curricular materials are found to be complete, they are typically reviewed by independent subject matter experts and noted deficiencies are addressed by the applicant;
3. A site visit of the training facility is required to ensure that it and any related equipment meet minimum requirements;
4. The Secretary’s Advisory Council (SAC) must review the completed application and make recommendation to the Secretary of Higher Education. The SAC meets on an ad hoc basis and no more than once a month.
5. If the SAC recommends approval, the application is forwarded to the Secretary of Higher Education for determination as to whether a certificate of approval will be issued.

(See TIPS​ for additional information)​​

The need for graduates of your occupational training program must be evidenced according to various factors including labor market data, the number of local employers, their annual projected job openings, and the existence of other local providers of the training, which may include the employers, existing private career schools, community colleges, and public and private four-year collegiate institutions.

In some locations, existing training providers may already be supplying sufficient numbers of graduates for an occupation. In such situations, there would be no need for another provider for the occupation as the market is already saturated and graduates would likely not be able to obtain training-related employment.​​​

The critical components of the application which require a great deal of careful planning are:

• The CURRICULUM including detailed daily lesson plans, outline, and full description of the delivery of the training program to students.
• The CATALOG including admission requirements, attendance, satisfactory progress and grading policies.
• The FACILITY including the lease, permits and inspections, liability and workers' compensation insuran

In general, interim approval may only be given in the event of the death of an already MHEC-approved school certificate holder.​​​​​

There are several initial cost considerations when deciding whether to apply for approval to open a Private Career School.

• Application fee: A minimum cost of $300 dependent upon the number of programs being proposed. This fee is nonrefundable.
• Guaranty Student Tuition Fund payment: A minimum cost of $2,500 dependent upon the planned enrollment of the proposed school.
• Financial Guarantee: There will be costs involved when obtaining a performance bond or letter-of-credit to cover the school’s financial guarantee.
• Facility: Costs may include the lease or purchase of a facility, initial utility fees, construction or build-out costs, county or city permits and inspections.
• Equipment: Sufficient furniture and equipment for offices, classrooms and laboratories.
• Other: Other expenses may include books; supplies; liability and workers’ compensation insurance; possible fees from consultants, accountants and attorneys; and corporation or business registration. Once the school is approved to operate in the State, there will be all of the usual ongoing expenses of running a business (salaries/benefits, utilities, rent/mortgage, supplies, taxes, etc.).