THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:

Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee

FROM:

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

SUBJECT:

L’Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse: Renewal of Permission to Operate in New York State

DATE:

August 7, 2006

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goal 2

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision (Consent Agenda)

 

Should the Board of Regents renew permission for L’Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse to operate in New York State?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

 

Required by State statute.

 

Proposed Handling

 

This question will come before the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee at its September 2006 meeting, where it will be voted on and action taken.  It then will come before the full Board at its September 2006 meeting for final action.

 

Procedural History

 

On July 24, 1987, the Board of Regents granted permission to L’Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse (“French School of Public Relations Officers”) (EFAP), Paris, France, to offer courses in New York State for a period ending July 31, 1990.  Permission was extended in July 1990, July 1993, August 2000, and most recently on June 17, 2003, for a period ending June 30, 2006.  On June 17, 2006, EFAP submitted an application for renewal of permission to operate, which was received on July 7, 2006.

 

 

 

 

Background Information

 

As an institution from outside New York State, EFAP requires the Regents permission to continue to offer instruction in New York.  Information in support of the recommendation is set forth below.

 

Recommendation

 

I recommend that the Board of Regents renew the permission to L’Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse, Paris, France, to offer in Manhattan courses leading to its diploma in public relations for a period beginning July 1, 2006 and ending June 30, 2011, with the condition that (1) all students taking courses in New York will already have been admitted to the School at one of its campuses outside the United States or be taking courses under cross-registration with New York Institute of Technology; and (2) neither EFAP nor EFAP New York, Inc. will recruit students from New York State.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

If the Board of Regents renews permission for EFAP to operate, the School will continue to offer courses in Manhattan to its own students and to New York Institute of Technology students through cross-registration.

Information in Support of Recommendation

 

 

L’Ecole Française des Attachés de Presse (“French School of Public Relations Officers”) (EFAP) is a private French technical institute headquartered in Paris with branches in Bordeaux, Lille, and Lyons, France; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Brussels, Belgium; Lisbon, Portugal; and Tokyo, Japan.  It was founded in 1961 by the late Denis Huysman.  It is recognized by the rector of the Academy of Lyons of the University of France and is listed in the International Handbook of Universities (10th edition).

 

EFAP offers a three-year postsecondary diploma program in public relations.  Normally, the first credential offered by a French higher education institution is a diploma.  The School’s students hold French baccalauréats (equivalent to an American associate degree), the international baccalaureate, or the equivalent (the credential usually required of students entering a higher education institution in France), or have studied at or graduated from French universities.

 

To manage its course offerings in New York, the School created EFAP New York, Inc. under the Business Corporation Law.  Since 2000, EFAP has been granted administrative and classroom space by New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) at its Manhattan campus.  Its students have full access to NYIT’s library.  EFAP’s students may enroll in a program in Communication Arts – TV-Radio Programming and Production registered jointly between EFAP and NYIT and leading to a NYIT B.F.A. degree.

 

EFAP projects modest enrollment growth in New York.  In the past it served approximately 30 students per year.  At its other campuses, EFAP enrolls approximately 1,600 students, most of them women.  Its original purpose for operating in New York was to give its students the opportunity to spend a year in one of the communication capitals of the world.  Therefore, the original terms of the Regents permission required that “all students taking courses in New York will already have been admitted to the School at one of its campuses outside the United States and (2) that neither the School nor EFAP New York, Inc., will recruit or enroll students from New York State.”  In 2003, in recognition of EFAP’s agreement with NYIT, the Board of Regents deleted the words, “or enroll” when it renewed the School’s permission to operate.

 

According to EFAP, its students, who take advantage of the option of studying in New York for a year, “improve their English and develop a deeper, more global understanding of the Communication field.”  “The combination of hands-on experience in the American market [through internships] and classroom instruction in English by professionals from the communication field [as well as NYIT faculty] gives them a clear advantage over other job candidates who have not had an equivalent experience abroad when they return to Europe after graduation.”