Overview of Private & Proprietary Schools Division

Purpose of the Private & Proprietary Schools (PPS) Division

The PPS Division is charged with the oversight function of laws such as  the Post-Secondary Educational Institution Act, which was created to improve the quality of private post-secondary education, to prevent misrepresentation, fraud and collusion in offering educational programs to persons over the compulsory school attendance age and to protect consumers enrolled in private post-secondary educational institutions when those schools cease operation or fail to meet standards of quality established by the department. [Section 21-23-2 NMSA 1978, as amended] The New Mexico Higher Education Department provides consumer protection for students and prospective students

Institution Registration and Licensure

New Mexico state laws require private in-state and out-of-state postsecondary education institutions to meet state standards to operate legally in New Mexico.
The laws do not differentiate between private for-profit or private non-profit institutions.  However, there is a difference between private and public out-of-state institutions. Public institutions should refer to the Out-of-State Non-Proprietary Schools Act.  Institutions should review the standards and application procedures under the applications section to determine their legal obligations before advertising or offering postsecondary education in New Mexico. 

Student Academic Records

Licensed institutions must make arrangements to preserve student academic records. The Department maintains a list of private institutions that have closed, changed their names, relocated, or are otherwise difficult to locate or contact and whether or not records are available. In many instances the Department is the custodian of a number of records surrendered by former institutions. Please refer to transcript requests on this website for more information on how to obtain such records.

Complaints

Students wishing to file a complaint against a licensed private institution can find information under the Student's complaint section.