State Authorization

Contents

Overview

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. This site is an attempt to help the member institutions of the North Carolina Community College System make informed decisions regarding state authorization activities.

Join NCCCS State Authorization Network

Professional Licensure and Certification Disclosures

The 2019 rules are effective July 1, 2020 which means that the institution must have required professional licensure and certification disclosures, both general and individualized, in place by that date or risk ineligibility for Title IV funding. State and Federal guidelines must be met.

If your college is not a SARA institution, you are required to send a letter to each state where you have students or faculty and receive authorization from each state. Your letter needs to include licensure and certification disclosures in your request.

Historical Legislative Background

Published in the Federal Register on December 19, 2016, the US Department of Education (DOE) announced its final regulations (Final Rule) to become effective July 1, 2018. In addition to the changes to §600.9, a new section, §668.50 (Institutional disclosures for distance or correspondence programs) has been added to the Title 34 regulations. As the December 2016 requirements are not due to be enforced until July 2018, there is a strong likelihood that the Rule will be revisited or changed. These changes could come within the next HEOA re-authorization or the new Secretary of Education may choose to amend or eliminate it. Additionally, as it was issued within the last 60 days of an administration, it could be reviewed through the Congressional Review Act. (NOTE: As of February 2017, the steps within this Guide reflect requirements currently in place. Revisions will be made as more guidance becomes available on the 2016 Final Rule.) The new regulations specify requirements for post-secondary institutions who participate in Title IV Federal student aid programs and offer distance education and offer some direction on how to meet these requirements. While not going into specifics, in general the Final Rule:

  • Requires an institution be authorized in its home state, as well as documents where distance students reside (if the students’ states requires such authorization).
  • Recognizes that reciprocity agreements meet that authorization requirement.
  • Requires each institution to document and confirm that each state in which it enrolls students has an adequate student complaint process.
  • Expands the gainful employment certifications to include any state from which a student enrolls.
  • Requires the institution to track students’ states of residence during their enrollment.
  • Specifies requirements for institutions with foreign branch campuses.

Summary

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. This site is an attempt to help the member institutions of the North Carolina Community College System make informed decisions regarding state authorization activities.

This site includes information for both curriculum and continuing education/non-credit offerings, reciprocity agreements, state information resources, and a sample pathway to compliance with state authorization requirements.

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.

The acronym for our state authorization organization is SARA-NC (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements of North Carolina). To join SARA-North Carolina, institutions will be required to complete a detailed application and supporting documentation. The application may be viewed at NC-SARA Institutional Application.

Joining SARA

Institutions must make the decision of whether or not to join SARA. This decision must be made on an individual basis after careful review of local factors such as student enrollment, faculty, advertising, service providers, etc. The information in this document should be used to help evaluate those local factors and make an informed decision on how to comply with state authorization regulations.

Considerations to Joining SARA

The SREB Electronic Campus Regional Reciprocity Agreement (SECRRA) will be discontinued on June 30, 2017. Consequently, institutions using this resource to conduct post-secondary activity beyond the borders of North Carolina will need to seek State Authorization in those states where they currently conduct activity.

To determine if State Authorization is an issue on your campus, answer the following questions:

  1. Where are students participating in online courses? This is not residency, but where the student is physically located when they are completing coursework. (Reported on IPEDS-Part Ai “If there are students reported as enrolled exclusively in distance education courses, further data on the location of these distance education students will need to be reported. Report, by degree/certificate-seeking status, the number of exclusively distance education students that are located in the same state/jurisdiction as the institution, in a different state/jurisdiction than the institution, in the U.S. but the state/jurisdiction is unknown, and residing outside the U.S.Location for those students enrolled exclusively in distance education should be their physical location or current address, as of the institution’s Fall reporting date.”
  2. Where are students participating in field experiences (clinical, internships, service learning, etc.)? Consider also those field experiences that may stem from face to face programs in a home state where students may be completing field experiences in another state.
  3. Does the institution market or advertise out of state?
  4. Does the institution hire faculty who provide online services from another state?
  5. Does the institution have a physical location in another state for instruction, administrative offices, or other support services?
  6. Do you enroll military members or their dependents?
  7. Is your institution planning to expand online offerings and advertise outside of NC?

If students are located outside North Carolina or the answer to any of the other questions is “yes,” the institution needs to address State Authorization. The institution should determine the best way for it to meet State Authorization, obtaining authorization as necessary from individual states or joining SARA. Colleges bordering other states are more likely to be impacted by most of these triggers and have a higher likelihood of needing authorization. Other colleges must adopt processes to evaluate these triggers and work with administration to determine the cost benefit of joining or not joining SARA.

Contact

Dr. Candace Holder
Director – Quality and Assessment Center
holderc@surry.edu

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