NC Community College System (NCCCS) Virtual Learning Community (VLC)

Overview

State authorization refers to the requirement for an institution of higher education to have the state’s approval to operate within a state, whether physically or virtually. Authorization applies to both credit and non-credit courses/programs​.

Education belongs to the state, per the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965 requires state authorization to receive federal funding​, and additional Department of Education rulemaking emphasizes rights of the state​.

Individual states determine which state department or agency authorizes approval, and the specifics on regulated activities, application process, renewal process, required surety bonds, annual reporting, and annual fees are requirements set at the individual state level.

Authorization to operate in other states may be obtained on a state-by-state basis by an institution as needed (but must be obtained prior to operation in said state).

States may choose to join the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)​, which establishes comparable standards for interstate postsecondary distance education. NC-SARA member institutions in good standing have blanket authorization to provide education within member states.

Even after authorized to operate within a state, institutions still meet other applicable state and federal laws and regulations. As examples, if operating in Colorado there is a state labor law requiring workman’s comp for part-time employees, and federal regulations on professional licensure disclosures set by the Department of Education must be followed regardless of state authorization.

What Triggers State Authorization?

Beyond the physical location of a college, the following are examples of what can trigger the requirement to have authorization from a state:​

• Physical location of a class​

• Face-to-face meeting*
  *depending on requirements for short courses/seminars; NC-SARA members should see latest NC-SARA Manual for example guidance

• Clinical, practicum, internship, or other such experiences​

• Physical location of a remote student ​(including temporary location or military moves)​

• Physical location of a remote employee (ex: adjunct)​

• Marketing and recruiting​

Why Comply?

Compliance with state authorization requirements is very important. Failure to do so could result in loss of Title IV, HEA funding (financial aid)​, lawsuits and fees​, adverse impact on institutional reputation​, loss of accreditation of the institution​, and loss of accreditation of program(s)​ and accordingly an impact on students’ degree value and even their ability to be licensed in their field.

How to Comply with State Authorization

Authorization must be obtained prior to operating within a state. (See What is State Authorization? for a list of potential requirement triggers.)

There are two different approaches to compliance with state authorization:

1. Authorization can be obtained directly at the state level, on a state-by-state basis as needed.

2. Membership in the National Council for State Authorization and Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) grants institutions blanket authorization to operate in all states and territories that are members of NC-SARA. This is currently 49 states (all but California), the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Membership in SARA North Carolina (SARA NC) must be obtained first in order to join NC-SARA.

Remember that colleges are still obligated to meet other state or federal laws/regulations, even with authorization from a state to operate within its boundaries or membership in SARA NC/NC-SARA.

Authorization requirements must be met and renewed as required by the individual state(s), or through annual renewal of membership to NC-SARA.

Professional Licensure and Certification Requirements

The Department of Education federal regulations (34 CFR § 668.43, and the 88 FR 74696 Amendment published Oct. 31, 2023) require disclosure for programs leading to professional licensure.

Regardless of delivery method, if a program is designed to meet educational requirements for professional licensure/certification that are required for employment in an occupation, or advertised as such, colleges must determine whether the curriculum meets or does not meet educational requirements for each state.

Best Practices

It it often best to include the following individuals on a team to discuss and implement processes:

• Registrar and Admissions Specialist for Curriculum and Continuing Education

• College Legal Team/Counsel

• VP/Deans for Curriculum and Continuing Education

• Faculty/Program Chairs

• DL Director and/or SARA Liaison

Consider the following:

• How to determine programs/courses

• How to determine student location

• Evidence of your process (a documented procedure and data to demonstrate the process)

• How disclosures are provided

• How will information be kept up to date

In addition to documenting appropriate student information, it is important to consider documentation of institutional processes within official college policies, rules, and/or procedures.

For more information see Professional Licensure Checklist for Beginners (PDF)​.

General Disclosures

A public website should have general disclosure information on programs leading to licensure (or equivalent) required for employment, or advertised as such.

The website should include:

• Qualifying programs, with a list of states where the program meets educational requirements and a list of states where the program does not meet educational requirements.

• Program director/contact for the program (name, address, phone, email)

• Do not state “it is the student’s responsibility” or imply students must contact a state without providing contact information.

• Provide contact information for state professional licensure boards for students to follow up.

Direct Disclosures

Identifying the student’s location is important, along with the student’s intended program of study and delivery method of program/classes. Institutions may send students a direct disclosure in writing (email is allowed) providing information on whether the specific program meets or does not meet the educational requirements in the state where the prospective student is located, and the appropriate board contact information for additional information.

If requirements change and a program no longer meets state educational requirements, the college must provide notice within 14 calendar days.

Be sure to give careful consideration to procedures for providing notification to continuing education students.

State board contact information for select programs is available to NCCCS institutions through the VLC DL Admin login. See “Resources & Support” for more information on accessing this resource.

Out-of-State Student Enrollment Eligibility/Attestations

For out-of-state students enrolling in a program leading to licensure as of July 1, 2024, colleges should not enroll students located in a state that does not meet educational requirements UNLESS you have an attestation by the student that they intend to seek licensure and employment at another specifically identified state where your institution does meet state requirements.

Attestations are an official record and written documentation signed by the student certifying that they understand that the education being provided will not allow for them to sit for the licensing exam in their field in the state where they are currently located and that they (the student) intend to seek future licensure and employment in another state where the education provided in your program does meet state requirements and they specify what state that will be.

Attestations should include information clearly explaining why the student is being asked to sign and information necessary for the student to make an informed decision. Student must indicate the state they intent to seek employment after graduation, their signature, date signed, ways to get more information.

Learn more about professional licensure program requirements through the SAN Professional Licensure website.

Below are common organizations related to state authorization, as well as information on membership requirements and benefits.

State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) North Carolina

• Who is SARA NC?

  The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is an agreement among member states, districts and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. The primary objectives of SARA are to make it easier for institutions in North Carolina to provide online and distance education options to students in other states and to provide basic protections for those students.

  SARA is overseen by a national council and administered by four regional higher education compacts, MHEC, NEBHE, SREB and WICHE. The four SARA agreements of those compacts are collectively treated as a plural, the Agreements. North Carolina has been accepted as a member state of SARA as of June 9, 2016, through the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).

• Website Link: SARA NC

• SARA NC Membership

  Note: While membership and participation in SARA is voluntary, it is a prerequisite requirement for membership with the national organization NC-SARA.

  Membership application and all requirements and processes can be found on the SARA NC website. Renewal is annual, and the fee is based on FTE.

National Council for State Authorization and Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA)

• Who is NC-SARA?

  The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) is a private nonprofit organization [501(c)(3)] that helps expand students’ access to educational opportunities and ensure more efficient, consistent, and effective regulation of distance education programs.

  Recognizing the growing demand for distance education opportunities, higher education stakeholders – including state regulators and education leaders, accreditors, the U.S. Department of Education, and institutions – joined together in 2013 to establish the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA), which streamline regulations around distance education programs.

  Currently 49 states (all but California), D.C., Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands all participate in SARA.

• Webpage: NC-SARA website

• NC-SARA Membership

  NC-SARA membership first requires membership into SARA NC in addition to a fee paid to NC-SARA. (Upon acceptance to SARA NC, an email will be generated by NC-SARA regarding next steps.) Renewal is annual, and the fee is based on FTE.

State Authorization Network (SAN)

• Who is SAN?

  The State Authorization Network (SAN) was created to serve institutions and organizations nationwide by providing training, support, and opportunities to collaborate to navigate regulatory compliance for out-of-state activities of post-secondary institutions. It is now the “leader for guidance and support of navigating state and federal regulatory compliance for out-of-state activities of postsecondary institutions.”

  Additionally, members will receive important interstate compliance support in the years to come to manage Federal compliance, compliment institutional state approvals through reciprocity (SARA), as well as continuing to support institutions attaining state institutional approval through traditional individual state by state process. SAN provides deeper examination and strategy consideration for regulatory compliance including ancillary regulatory issues related to educational technologies. SAN members collaborate to address the problems, discuss solutions, and prepare for the future.

• Webpage: SAN website

• SAN Membership

  SAN is a great resource on federal compliance, with many resources and updates provided to non-members for free.

  Access to additional resources requires annual membership.

  Special membership pricing available for NCCCS colleges, courtesy of the VLC!

  Annual membership (July 1st to June 30th) for $100 per year.

  Join the NCCCS State Authorization Network

NCCCS Distance Learning Community

• NCCCS DL Community Participation

  The NC Community College System provides monthly DL Community Meetings to learn about important updates, resources, answer questions, and more!

• Additional Resources:

  • Repository Webpage:Access openNCCC Resource Library

NCCCS Virtual Learning Community (VLC)

• Who is the VLC?

  The Virtual Leanring Community (VLC) has been a strategic part of the NCCCS. The VLC promotes high-quality instruction through the collaborative development of content, resources, and technology tools in an effective, and supportive environment. Distance learning opportunities, professional development, course resources, and more are available through the VLC website.

• Webpage:VLC website

• Additional Services:

  • VLC Professional Development Center

  • VLC Technology Center (VLC contact page)

Below are key resources for help with state authorization.

Terrence R. Scarborough, M.P.A., Director of SARA North Carolina

• terrence@saranc.org

• 855-SARA-1-NC (727-2162)

• SARA NC website (including application; annual membership requires both #1 SARA NC and #2 NC-SARA)

National Council for State Authorization and Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA)

• NC-SARA website

• NC-SARA Policy Manual

• NC-SARA webinars (some webinars/recordings are available for non-members)

State Authorization Network (SAN)

• SAN website

• Getting Started

• Federal Regulations

• Events (upcoming & past webinars; some webinars/recordings are available for non-members)

• NCCCS State Authorization Network discounted annual membership

NCCCS Virtual Learning Community (VLC)

• VLC website

• VLC Professional Development

• VLC Events

• VLC DL Admin resources* – includes select state authorization spreadsheets (PDF) with program professional licensure state board contact information
  (*login required, one DL Admin account is allowed per NCCCS institution, for assistance regarding access contact Dr. Candace Holder or Kathy Davis)

Negotiated Rulemaking

Like other federal agencies, the US Department of Education (DOE) regularly engages in negotiated rulemaking. Representatives from a government agency and a panel of representatives (negotiators) work with the Department to come to consensus on the proposed regulations. There is also a period for public comments in the process.

Final regulations that are published by November 1 (ex: 2024) will go into effect the upcoming July 1 (ex: 2025). Regulations published after the November 1 deadline will go into effect the following year (ex: 2026).

You can learn more about the regulation on the Department of Education The Negotiated Rulemaking Process for Title IV Regulations – Frequently Asked Questions website.

History

Historical Legislative Background

State Authorization came to the forefront with the 2010 amendment of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA). This action brought attention to the various existing state laws which governed educational offerings within each state and has resulted in states re-examining their regulations and their enforcement.

The DOE released regulations on Statue Authorization of Postsecondary Distance Education on December 19, 2016; however, these were delayed from going into effect as originally intended in 2018. Based on a court ruling, the regulations went into effect May 26, 2019.

July 1, 2020, the Final regulations on State Authorization and Accreditation went into effect. This includes specifically regulated information for education programs “designed to meet educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification that is required for employment in an occupation, or is advertised as meeting such requirements.”

The Responsibility, Administrative Capability, Certification Procedures, Ability to Benefit (ATB) went into effect July 1, 2024. The Certification Procedures issue includes that the institution certify in the Program Participation Agreement (PPA) that the program satisfies state education requirements where the institution is located AND student located at time of initial enrollment OR student attests they will seek employment for programs leading to a license or certification as well as provide applicable public and direct notifications. Additionally, the institution must certify that it complies with state laws related to closure where the student is located at time of initial enrollment.

Learn more on the full timeline on federal regulation for state authorization of distance education through the SAN History website and the SAN Report: The Evolution of Compliance for State Authorization (PDF) (Thompson, 2023).

SARA-North Carolina

On June 9, 2016, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) approved the North Carolina application to join the National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). Our state portal is located at the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority (NCSEAA). NCSEAA began accepting applications beginning October 1, 2016, from accredited higher education institutions in our state. Participation is a decision to be made by each local college. Applications may be submitted at any time.