Section 62.04. Deceptive sales practices prohibited.

 

(1)  No school or specialty school shall engage in any deceptive sales practices. The term "deceptive sales practice" includes, but is not limited to:

(a) The use of "help wanted" or other employment columns in a newspaper or other publication to contact prospective students in such a manner as to lead such prospective students into the belief that a job is offered.

(b) The use of "blind" advertisements or sales literature to attract prospective students when the advertisements or literature fails to set forth that courses of instruction or other educational services are being offered for sale.

(c) The making of false or deceptive statements or representations or any statements or representations which have the tendency or capacity to mislead or deceive students, prospective students, or the public regarding actual or probable earnings or opportunities in any field or vocation. It is an unfair and deceptive sales practice to represent or imply in any way that persons employed in a particular field or position earn a stated income or that persons completing a training course will earn the stated income or "up to" the stated income unless:

1. The salary or income is equal to or less than the average salary or income of persons employed in the indicated field or position for less than 5 years and the advertisement or representation indicates the basis for calculation of the average salary or income; and,

2. The advertisement or representation also states clearly and conspicuously that no guarantee is made that a person who purchases the advertised services will earn the stated salary or income, unless the guarantee is actually offered by the school or specialty school.

(d) The making of false or deceptive statements or representations, or any statements or representations which have the tendency or capacity to mislead or deceive prospective students, students, or the public regarding any opportunities in any vocation or field of activity as a result of the completion of any given course of instruction or educational service.

(e) The use of terms or titles such as "registrar", "counselor","advisor", or words of similar import to describe or refer to a school's or specialty school's salesmen, agents, representatives, or other employees in a manner which misrepresents the training, qualifications, experience, status, or position of the person to whom reference is made.

(f) The use of any illustration in any catalog, sales literature, or otherwise which tends to convey a false impression of the size, importance, location, or facilities of a school or specialty school.

(g) The making of any false or deceptive statement or representation which has the capacity or tendency to deceive or mislead any prospective student, student, or the public regarding the amount or nature or terms of a prospective student's or student's financial obligation to the school or specialty school or any third party as a result of any agreement between the prospective student or student, or on behalf of a prospective student or student, and the school or specialty school.

History: Cr. Register, December, 1989, No. 408 , eff. 1-1-90.