No school, corporation, association or institution of learning conducted within this State and licensed by the Commission on Higher Education, nor any officer or member thereof, in recognition of the attainment or proficiency of any person in pursuing or graduating from any course or courses of study, arts, or learning conducted by it or another such school corporation, association or institution, shall admit any such person to the grade of a degree by conferring, or participating in conferring, any degree upon any person unless that degree program is consistent with the programmatic mission of the institution or is approved by the commission.
Nothing contained in this section shall apply to any school, corporation, association or institution of learning, or officer or member thereof, which was established and conducted within this State on April 1, 1887, and was then in the course of admitting persons to the grade of a degree by conferring the same upon them in recognition of their attainments or proficiencies, nor to any school conducted under the public school system.