Past, Present & Likely Future of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement

(SARA)

March 2, 2015

State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement

SARA establishes a state-level reciprocity process that will support the nation in efforts to increase the educational attainment of its people by making state authorization:

• more efficient, effective, and uniform in regard to necessary and reasonable standards of practice that could span states;

• more effective in dealing with quality and integrity issues that have arisen in some online/distance education offerings; and

• less costly for states and institutions and, thereby, the students they serve.

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WHY SARA?• Our country lags many others in the

educational attainment of our 18-34 age population.

• Distance education can play an important role in increasing attainment. We need to maximize its contributions.

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The SARA Solution

A nation-wide system of reciprocity administered by the four existing regional compacts:

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MHECNEBHE

WICHE

SREB

Essential Principles of SARA

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• Voluntary for states and institutions.

• Acknowledges the traditional roles within higher education’s “accountability triad”:• federal government• States• accrediting bodies recognized by the U.S.

Department of Education• Framework for state level-reciprocity• Implemented by four regional compacts & National

Council for SARA• Requires states to approve their

in-state institutions for SARA participation

Essential Principles of SARA

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SARA states agree to impose no additional (non-SARA) fees or requirements on institutions from other SARA states.

Open to degree-granting postsecondary institutions from all sectors

Sets forth a reasonable, uniform set of triggers of “physical presence”.

Preserves state approval and oversight of on-the-ground campuses

Shifts principal oversight responsibilities the “home state” of the institution

Initial funding from Lumina Foundation, additional funding by Gates Foundation, eventual reliance on institutional fees paid to the National Council for SARA.

SARA Benefits Students

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• Expands access to educational offerings.• Should lead to better resolution of

complaints from students in SARA states.• Reduces a rapidly growing institutional

cost that is in one way or another passed along to students.

• Should enhance overall quality of distance education.

SARA Benefits Institutions

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• Enables more efficient provision of distance education to a broader market.

• Reduces number of applications to other states.• Reduces number of other-state regulations to monitor

for changes.• Reduced costs = potentially lower fees for students.

• Annual SARA Fees by FTE:• Under 2500 $2,000• 2,500-9,999 $4,000• 10,000 or more $6,000

• State Fees:• Range from no fees to fees larger than SARA fees.

They may be graduated or flat. In general they appear to equal or be less than the SARA fee amount.

SARA Benefits States

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• Expands educational offerings to residents.• Allows SARA states to focus on their home-

state institutions.• Maintains state regulation of on-the-ground

instruction offered by out-of-state institutions.• Other SARA states will help resolve

complaints. • Reduces costs for institutions.• No fees charged to states to participate in

SARA.

State Actions on SARA Participation

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As of March 2, 2015:• 19 SARA States: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado,

Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Virginia, Washington and West Virginia

• Legislation passed in an additional six states

• An additional four states have determined• that no legislation is needed to enable

participation in SARA

Physical Presence: SARA Institutions

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An institution HAS physical presence and therefore must meet the state’s current non-SARA requirements if it does any of the following:• Establishes a physical location for instruction• Requires students to meet in a location more than 2x

per full term for more than 6 hours total• Establishes an administrative office• Provides info/services to students from a physical site• Offers a short course of more than 20 contact hours• Provides office space for staff• Maintains a mailing address/phone exchange in state

Physical Presence: SARA Institutions

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A SARA institution does NOT have physical presence in SARA member states if only:• Offering courses via distance education • Advertising• Offering DE courses - military base to federal

employees/family• Maintaining a server or electronic services • Having faculty /academic personnel in member state• Holding proctored exams• Having contractual arrangements in home or host state• Operating limited supervised field experiences• Using recruiters

Military & SARA

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• If the state within which the military personnel are stationed and the state and institution(s) providing the education are all SARA approved, no additional approvals are required except as stated per licensure program information.

• If the education provider is not a SARA approved institution, then the normal state approval process must be completed.

• Military members engaged in off-duty education may be re-assigned to states where the institution may not have authorization.

• Some institutions may not obtain authorization for a few students, requiring military student to delay completion or state again.

Licensure & SARA

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Institutions agree to notify in writing• students in a program that customarily leads to

professional licensure, whether or not the course/program meets requirements for licensure in the state where the student resides.

• If the institutions does not know whether or not this meets licensure requirements in student’s state of residence, the institution may satisfy this requirement by informing the student that such information is not known and the student should contact the appropriate state licensing board.

SREB’s Electronic Campus Regional Reciprocity Agreement (SECRRA)

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All 16 SREB States as of July 1, 2014Institution Requirements:

• Regionally Accredited• Not For Profit• Charted in a SREB state

Course and Program Requirements• In the Electronic Campus.org

• SECRRA Phase-Out

www.TheAdultLearner.org

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Adult Degree Completion

Adult Degree CompletionGuiding Principles (TAL.org)

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1. Programs must be offered in an online or blended (hybrid) format

2. Program courses must be offered in an flexible academic format

3. Institutions offering degree completion programs must be “adult-friendly” (ALFI Principles)

4. Institutions must provide options for Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) and should recognize and apply previously earned credits toward eligible degree programs.1. Prior Learning Assessment is not just one method or

tool2. Prior Learning Assessment is more than the acceptance

of transferable credits.

NC-SARA Website

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Learn More About SARA

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• NC-SARA website: www.nc-sara.org • Sign up to receive the newsletter

• Regional Education Compacts:• MHEC – www.mhec.org/SARA• NEBHE – www.nebhe.org/SARA• SREB – www.sreb.org/SARA• WICHE – www.wiche.edu/SARA