Proprietary School Guidebook for Document Requirements

Proprietary School Guidebook

for Document Requirements

Office of Employment and Training

2024

Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 3

Fire Inspection or Certificate of Occupancy (CofO/COO) ............................................................. 4

Proposed Advertising ....................................................................................................................... 6

Surety Bond ....................................................................................................................................... 8

List of Equipment ............................................................................................................................ 10

Drawing of the Instructional Facility ............................................................................................. 12

Position Descriptions ..................................................................................................................... 13

Proof of Accreditation, if applicable .............................................................................................. 15

Health Inspection, if applicable ..................................................................................................... 17

Medical Waste Producing Facility Registration, if applicable ..................................................... 17

Other, If Applicable ......................................................................................................................... 17

Introduction

After referring to the Decision Tree, if you determine that the school you intend to open meets

the requirements for a proprietary school, the next steps are to familiarize yourself with the

requirements, the application process, and responsibilities associated with operating such a

school. Whether you anticipate conducting education and training in-person or virtually, your

proprietary school must be ready for student instruction prior to applying. To familiarize

yourself with the requirements and application process, you will need to review this

Proprietary School Document Guide, the Proprietary Schools Act, Public Act 148 of 1943 and

corresponding Administrative Rules. The Proprietary Schools Act is the law that governs

proprietary schools in Michigan, and the Administrative Rules provide further clarification.

There will be several documents you will need to submit as a part of the application. Most

documents are required for all schools, but there will be additional documents required for

schools that offer specific programs which may also need to meet the requirements of

another State of Michigan department. You can find this information in the Specialized

Licensing Requirements document on our home page.

While this guide provides basic information about Michigan and federal business laws, you

should not consider it legal advice. If you have specific questions about your business’ legal

compliance, consult an experienced attorney. You may also want to consult a certified public

accountant (CPA). A CPA can assist with choosing a legal structure for your business, advise

you about financial strategies for entrepreneurs, and help make sure you don’t run into

trouble with the IRS.

Fire Inspection or Certificate of Occupancy (CofO/COO)

What is the difference between a Fire Inspection or Certificate of Occupancy?

A Fire Inspection is conducted by fire departments to assess the potential fire safety hazards

in a building. Fire inspectors detect fire hazards, recommend prevention measures, ensure

compliance with state and local fire regulations, and investigate causes of fires. They

evaluate commercial and residential buildings to identify fire hazards and ensure these

structures comply with the necessary local, state, and federal fire codes.

A Certificate of Occupancy is a legal document issued by a local authority certifying that a

building meets building-code requirements and is suitable for occupancy. It is also known as

the use-and-occupancy certificate. It indicates that the building complies with the plans and

specifications that have been submitted to and approved by the local authority. It also

adheres to all safety standards.

Why do I need a Fire Inspection or Certificate of Occupancy?

Pursuant to R390.562 of the Administrative Rules, all housing and facilities shall conform to

standards specified by the appropriate local and state authorities. Beyond being a statutory

requirement, the purpose of requiring a fire inspection or certificate of occupancy is to protect

the school’s students and staff.

How do I obtain a Fire Inspection or Certificate of Occupancy?

Contact your local Fire Department or LARA’s Bureau of Construction Codes Building

Section. We cannot accept fire inspections, COOs with unresolved violations, nor can we

accept fire extinguisher or sprinkler reports, or inspections made by private contractors.

Sample Fire Inspection

Sample Certificate of Occupancy

Avoid Fire Inspection/COO rejections!

What are some common inspection/COO errors?

Error

Guidance

Spelling of the name or

name of the school is

incorrect

The name of the school on the fire inspection or certificate

of occupancy must match the exact legal name of the

school as it appears on the school’s application and the

name filed with the Licensing and Regulatory Affairs

(LARA) Corporations Division

(www.michigan.gov/corporations).

Address does not match

The address on the documentation does not match the

school’s address on the application. This should be the

physical location where the instruction shall occur.

Inspection completed by

Private Company

We cannot accept reports that are completed by private

contractors. You must submit a fire inspection or certificate

of occupancy completed by a local state, city, township,

municipality, or local authority.

Submitted incorrect type of

document

You may have submitted a similar document such as a fire

extinguisher report, sprinkler report, or inspections made

by private contractors. We cannot accept any documents

in place of the fire inspection or certificate of occupancy.

Submitted document with

unresolved violations

You may have uploaded an inspection document with

unresolved violations noted.

Proposed Advertising

Why do I need to provide Proposed Advertising?

Michigan law requires that all advertising for each proprietary school shall convey only true

meaning, relationships, and conditions supported by facts and statistics about the school, its

management, instruction, offerings, and opportunities. The sample advertising confirms that

the school only offers programs submitted for approval on the application at the specific

location listed on the application and are not promising students things the school is not

approved to offer.

What advertising should I include with the initial application?

You must provide the content of all proposed advertising, illustrations, diagrams, and

pictures, signage, and copy of all pages of school’s website. These shall convey only true

meaning, relationships, and conditions supported by facts and statistics about the school, its

management, instruction, offerings, and opportunities pursuant to R 390.566 of the

Administrative Rules.

How should the Proposed Advertising look?

The advertising and signage can be as simple or elaborate as you would like. However, the

signage must be visible at the entrance of facility or classroom where training is located. The

information on all advertising must exactly match the name and address on the application,

including the suite or unit number, and only offers programs listed on the application that

have been approved by our office.

Sample Advertising

Avoid advertising rejections!

What are some common advertising errors?

Error

Guidance

Spelling of the name or name of the

school is incorrect

The name of the school on the application

and advertising must match the exact legal

name of the school as it appears on the

application and on the school’s corporate

papers filed with the Licensing and

Regulatory Affairs (LARA) Corporations

Division (www.michigan.gov/corporations).

Address does not match

The address on advertising does not match

what is on the application. This should be

the physical location where the instruction

shall occur. The address listed on the

application must match.

Information in advertising is incorrect or

misleading

The address on advertising does not match

what is on the application. This should be

the physical location where the instruction

shall occur. The address listed on the

application must match.

Claims without evidence

All information on the advertising and

website should be backed by facts or

evidence in addition to not being misleading.

If you make a claim about your school or the

programs, and you cannot produce

evidence to support your claim.

Surety Bond

What is a surety bond?

A surety bond is a legal document that guarantees a proprietary school will deliver on its

obligations. It is written to provide a financial guarantee to protect students in case their

education is interrupted due to a school closure.

Why do I need to obtain a surety bond?

Michigan law requires that each proprietary school must obtain a surety bond before being

licensed and while legally operating in the state. Failure to have a valid surety bond voids the

license.

How do I obtain a surety bond?

Contact your insurance agent to see if they can write surety bonds or if they can refer you to

a company that does.

Sample Surety Bond

Surety Bond Tips

Avoid surety bond rejections!

What are some common surety bond errors?

Error

Guidance

Spelling of school name or

name of the school is

incorrect

The name of the school must match the exact legal name

of the school as it appears on the school’s application as

well as the corporation name, assumed name, or doing

business as (d.b.a.) name filed with the Licensing and

Regulatory Affairs (LARA) Corporations Division

(www.michigan.gov/corporations).

Name of school/owner is

incorrect

When a school includes “Inc.” or “LLC” in their name, the

owner is automatically the corporation or limited liability

corporation (LLC) rather than an individual.

Address is incorrect

The address listed on the application is the physical

location where the instruction shall occur.

Period of surety bond is

incorrect

State law requires all licenses be renewed by July 1st

annually. The surety bond period therefore should reflect

the active year of July 1 through June 30

each year.

Signature or date not

provided

Either the Principal (provider/ applicant) or Surety

(representative of the surety company) did not sign, the

name is not typed, and/ or the date was not provided for

either field.

One bond for multiple

schools

Each school must obtain and upload a bond for that

school and campus. If schools have multiple campuses,

each campus must have a separate bond written for that

school.

List of Equipment

What items should be included in this list?

This list will vary depending on the type of programs you intend to offer. You will need to

provide a list of all equipment that will be supplied by the school for the students’ use, which

may include desks, chairs, tables, white boards, or components the students will practice on.

If any portion of your training is conducted online, the training platform must be listed (e.g.

Blackboard, Google Classroom, D2L).

Why do I need to provide a list of equipment?

Pursuant to R 390.566 of the Administrative Rules requires that you must provide a complete

list of the available training equipment supplied by the school.

How should I provide list of the equipment?

List all equipment on a word document or similar file type. You will also need to collect photos

of the equipment to include with your application.

Sample List of Equipment

Avoid equipment list rejections!

What are some common equipment list errors?

Error

Guidance

List of equipment was not

provided

Pursuant to R 390.566 of the Administrative Rules,

Michigan law requires that you must provide a complete

list of the available training equipment supplied by the

school.

Equipment List in

incomplete

The list may be determined to be insufficient based on the

modality of training and type of program. You should

procure appropriate equipment to offer instruction that

meets standards of trade and business practices.

List does not match pictures

The list you provided has items missing from the pictures

of the equipment uploaded.

Drawing of the Instructional Facility

Why do I need to submit a drawing of the facility?

Pursuant to R 390.566 of the Administrative Rules requires that you must provide illustrations,

diagrams, and pictures of the school facilities if any instruction or training takes place in-

person.

What should be included in drawing of the facility?

You will need to obtain a floor plan detailing each room of the training facility including

instructional areas, classrooms, common areas, clinical areas, and laboratories. Each room

must display measurements and dimensions, such as square footage.

Sample Drawing of the Instructional Facility

Avoid facility drawing rejections!

What are some common facility drawing errors?

Error

Guidance

Drawing did not include all

areas

If the drawing is missing a room or area, you will need to

include the missing area(s).

Drawing did not include

measurements

The drawing should include the measurements of all

instructional areas, including dimensions, such as square

footage.

Purpose of rooms was not

identified

The purpose of each room may not be included on the

floor plan.

Position Descriptions

What information should the Position Description include?

The Position Descriptions must include the following five items for each position:

1. Name of position.

2. Main duties of position.

3. Minimum type and amount of education required for position.

4. Minimum type and amount of work experience required for position.

5. Whether a license or certification is required for the position.

How should the Position Description be formatted?

The format and information should be comparative to job postings you would find on any job

board website like Indeed, LinkedIn, or ZipRecruiter; the position description should be

general enough that if the person originally hired for that position leaves, the position

description would still be valid for the next person you hire for that position. Instructors who

prepare students for an occupation that requires a license or certification must also possess

the same credential.

Why do I need to provide Position Descriptions?

Per the Administrative Rules, your school must meet certain Standards of Operation.

Evidence of information ensuring the education, training, and experience of administrative,

supervisory, and instructional staff must be submitted.

Sample Position Descriptions

Avoid position description rejections!

What are some common position description errors?

Error

Guidance

Submitted a personal

resume

You must submit general position descriptions for each

administrative, supervisory, and instructional position at the

school. We cannot accept individual resumes, personalized

position descriptions, or internally specific information. The

position description needs to be generalized.

Position Description is

too vague

The position description should include the 5 items

mentioned previously.

Position Description did

not contain all required

information

The position description should include the 5 items

mentioned previously.

Proof of Accreditation, if applicable

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is an extensive peer review evaluation process, known as recognition,

conducted by a third-party organization known as an accrediting agency recognized by the

United States Department of Education (USDE) to determine whether a school and/or its

programs have met required criteria to be considered accredited.

Does my school have to be accredited?

No, your school does not have to be accredited.

How do I become accredited?

You will need to contact an accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department

of Education. In most instances, you will need to be in operation for at least 2 years before

you are able to start the accreditation process. To find out more about accreditation visit

College Accreditation in the United States-- Pg 1.

Sample Proof of Accreditation

Avoid proof of accreditation rejections!

What are some accreditation errors?

Error

Guidance

Accredited was selected but

school is not accredited

You will have to start the application again to access the

correct application. You must notify our unit that a

correction is needed via PSS@michigan.gov.

Incorrect document was

submitted

A document may have been provided stating that the

institution has accreditation but was provided by a non-

USDE agency approved or certifying body.

Agency not recognized by

USDE

You may have misunderstood and thought that a certifying

body or some other agency would be considered an

accrediting agency. Only schools accredited by

accrediting agencies recognized by the USDE can be

considered as an accredited school.

Health Inspection, if applicable

You must obtain this documentation if the school you are opening plans to offer programs

including, but not limited to: tattooing, microblading, food preparation, or has a swimming

pool. You can obtain this documentation from the local county health department.

Sample Health Inspection

Medical Waste Producing Facility Registration, if applicable

You will obtain this documentation if the school you are opening plans to offer programs such

as phlebotomy, dental assisting, paramedic, tattooing, microblading, and food preparation as

well as others. The Medical Waste Producing Facility License must be issued by the Michigan

Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE). Please reference MCL

333.138 and R 325.154.

Sample Waste Producing Facility Registration

Other, If Applicable

You will obtain this documentation in this section if your school needs to submit any

supplemental documentation or approvals. Some instances include:

Selling Goods and Services: Schools applying will provide verification the school is

providing written notification to the customer purchasing goods or services that the individual

producing the goods or providing the services is a student at the school. This is often

required of schools that offer massage therapy programs or animal grooming programs,

where students must practice on individuals from the public to obtain adequate experience to

complete their program and graduate.

Secondary Agency Approval: If additional approval is required by another office for

specialized training programs, you will provide documentation like an approval letter or

document stating the other agency has approved your program or school to offer a

specialized program. You may find a list of schools on our website, LEO - Postsecondary

Schools (michigan.gov), under the “Proprietary Schools - Trade & Career” section titled

School Licensing Requirements (michigan.gov).

Congratulations!

You are now prepared to access the MIPSS system to apply for your proprietary school

license. Should you have any further questions, contact our office at PSS@michigan.gov.