[§305J-7] Awarding degrees. (a) A person, partnership, corporation, company, society, or association with a physical presence in the State shall not award, bestow, confer, give, grant, convey, or sell to any other person a degree or honorary degree upon which is inscribed, in any language, the word "associate", "bachelor", "baccalaureate", "post-baccalaureate", "master", or "doctor", or any abbreviation thereof, or offer courses of instruction or credits purporting to lead to any such degree, unless the person, partnership, corporation, company, society, or association is:
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), in order to award degrees in the State, all private colleges and universities, seminaries, and religious training institutions operating in the State on June 25, 2013 shall be authorized no later than July 1, 2014. [L 2013, c 180, pt of §2]