The board monitors all private vocational schools in Oklahoma to ensure each school provides the proper training to students, conducts financial affairs in a legal manner and does not use false or misleading advertising when recruiting potential students. It also provides licensing to those schools that are in accordance with its rules and regulations. Staff members visit schools and report any violations to the board to ensure each school follows the board's procedures.
The board consists of nine members, including the director of the Oklahoma Department of Career and Technology Education and the state superintendent of public instruction. The governor appoints six of the members according to Senate approval, four of whom must have been supervisors of a private educational institute for at least three years prior to appointment. The other two governor-appointed members must have held management positions in business or industry three years prior to appointment.
Any private school, institution or person offering vocational training in Oklahoma must be licensed by the board. A potential licensee must purchase a licensing application and provide extensive information to the board, such as the type of training offered, the degrees or certificates available after training and the credentials of each teacher employed by the institution. After a school obtains a license it must continue to comply with board standards to retain licensing.
The board monitors and licenses about 190 schools and 130 sales representatives every year. As a result, it acts as a direct liaison for students by providing aid that includes helping a student resolve a complaint against a particular school and assisting a student in recovering any money from an institution that is not operating according to the board's standards. By representing students and governing private vocational schools in this way, the board prevents students from receiving substandard training and limits the number of schools that can lure in and take advantage of potential students.