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Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

1In this Act

“degree” means any recognition in writing of academic achievement that is called a degree and includes the degrees of associate, bachelor, master and doctorate;(grade universitaire)

“educational institution” means any person who(institution d’enseignement)

(a) grants degrees,

(b) provides a program of post-secondary study leading to a degree,

(c) advertises a program of post-secondary study leading to a degree, or

(d) sells, offers for sale or provides by agreement for a fee, reward or other remuneration, a diploma, certificate, document or other material that is, or that indicates or implies the granting or conferring of, a degree,

and includes a natural person, an association of natural persons, a partnership or a corporation that carries on any activity referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d);

“inspector” means an inspector appointed under section 4;(inspecteur)

“Minister” means the Minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour and includes any person designated by the Minister to act on the Minister’s behalf;(Ministre)

“records” includes computerized records.(dossiers)

2006, c.16, s.50; 2007, c.10, s.24

Authority to grant degrees

2(1)No educational institution located in the Province shall directly or indirectly

(a) grant a degree,

(b) provide a program of post-secondary study leading to a degree,

(c) advertise a program of post-secondary study leading to a degree, or

(d) sell, offer for sale or provide by agreement for a fee, reward or other remuneration, a diploma, certificate, document or other material that is, or that indicates or implies the granting or conferring of, a degree,

unless the educational institution, having made application to the Minister and having met the requirements set out in the regulations,

(e) is designated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council as a degree-granting institution, or

(f) is authorized by an Act of the Legislature to grant degrees.

2(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to an educational institution subsisting on the commencement of this Act that was established under an Act of the Legislature.

2(3)An educational institution subsisting on the commencement of this Act that is located in the Province and that was not established under an Act of the Legislature must, within six months after the commencement of this Act, comply with the requirements of this Act.

Designation

3(1)The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may designate an educational institution as a degree-granting institution for the purposes of this Act and may attach to the designation such terms and conditions as the Lieutenant-Governor in Council considers necessary to give effect to this Act.

3(2)The Regulations Act does not apply to a designation under subsection (1).

Appointment of inspectors

4The Minister may appoint one or more persons as inspectors for the purpose of ensuring compliance with this Act and the regulations.

Inspections

5(1)An inspector may, at any reasonable time and upon presentation of proof of identification on a form provided by the Minister, enter the premises of an educational institution, or any other premises in which the inspector has reason to believe there might be relevant information, and make an inspection for the purpose of determining compliance with this Act and the regulations.

5(2)An inspector may, for the purpose of determining compliance with this Act and the regulations, inspect the records, books of account, bank accounts, vouchers, correspondence or other documents of an educational institution, and make copies of them.

5(3)An inspector shall not enter a private dwelling under subsection (1) unless the inspector

(a) has the consent of the occupier, or

(b) has obtained a warrant under the Entry Warrants Act.

5(4)Before or after attempting to effect entry under subsection (1), an inspector may apply to a judge for an entry warrant under the Entry Warrants Act.

5(5)An inspector may request the assistance of a peace officer for the purposes of subsection (1).

Removal of documents

6(1)An inspector may, for the purpose of determining compliance with this Act and the regulations, remove records, books of account, bank accounts, vouchers, correspondence or other documents from a premises referred to in subsection 5(1) and may make a copy or extract of them or any part of them and shall give a receipt for the records, books of account, bank accounts, vouchers, correspondence or other documents so removed.

6(2)Where records, books of account, bank accounts, vouchers, correspondence or other documents are removed from a premises referred to in subsection 5(1), they shall be returned as soon as possible after the making of the copies or extracts.

6(3)A copy or extract of any record, book of account, bank account, voucher, correspondence or other document related to an inspection under this Act and purporting to be certified by an inspector is admissible in evidence in any action, proceeding or prosecution as proof, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, of the original without proof of the appointment, authority or signature of the person purporting to have certified the copy or extract.

Obstruction

7(1)No person shall obstruct or interfere with an inspector in the carrying out of an inspection under this Act, or withhold, destroy, conceal or refuse to furnish any record, book of account, bank account, voucher, correspondence or other document required by the inspector for the purposes of the inspection.

7(2)A refusal of consent to enter a private dwelling is not and shall not be deemed to be obstructing or interfering within the meaning of subsection (1), except where an entry warrant has been obtained.

Offences and penalties

8(1)An educational institution, or an officer, employee or agent of an educational institution, who

(a) knowingly furnishes false information in any application made for the purposes of this Act or the regulations or in any statement or return made or furnished for the purposes of this Act or the regulations, or

(b) violates or fails to comply with any provision of this Act,

commits an offence punishable under Part II of the Provincial Offences Procedure Act as a category E offence.

8(2)An educational institution, or an officer, employee or agent of an educational institution, who violates or fails to comply with any provision of the regulations commits an offence punishable under Part II of the Provincial Offences Procedure Act as a category B offence.

Order by court

9Where any provision of this Act or the regulations is contravened, notwithstanding any other remedy or penalty imposed, the Minister may apply to a judge of The Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick for an order prohibiting the continuation or repetition of the contravention or the carrying on of any activity in the order that, in the opinion of the judge, will or will likely result in the continuation or repetition of the contravention, and the judge may make the order and it may be enforced in the same manner as any other order or judgment of The Court of Queen’s Bench of New Brunswick.

Administration of Act

10The Minister is responsible for the administration of this Act and the regulations and may designate persons to act on the Minister’s behalf.

Regulations

11The Lieutenant-Governor in Council may make regulations

(a) respecting applications for the purposes of subsection 2(1);

(b) respecting, for the purposes of subsection 2(1), the requirements to be met by an educational institution before the educational institution may be designated by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council as a degree-granting institution or authorized by an Act of the Legislature to grant degrees;

(c) respecting periodic program assessment audits to ensure that educational institutions that have, for the purposes of subsection 2(1), met the requirements referred to in paragraph (b) continue to meet those requirements;

(d) respecting the period of time for which a designation referred to in section 3 is valid;

(e) respecting the renewal of a designation referred to in section 3 including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the terms and conditions upon which a renewal may be made;

(f) respecting the revocation of a designation referred to in section 3 including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the circumstances under which a revocation may be made;

(g) respecting the reinstatement of a designation referred to in section 3 that has been revoked including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the terms and conditions upon which a reinstatement may be made;

(h) respecting fees for the purposes of this Act and the regulations;

(i) respecting forms for the purposes of this Act and the regulations;

(j) defining any word or expression used in but not defined in this Act for the purposes of this Act, the regulations or both.

Commencement

12This Act or any provision of it comes into force on a day or days to be fixed by proclamation.

N.B. This Act was proclaimed and came into force March 1, 2001.

N.B. This Act is consolidated to September 1, 2011.

D-5.3 - Degree Granting Act

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