SARA is an agreement between member states, districts and territories that establishes comparable national standards for the intergovernmental delivery of distance post-secondary education courses and programs. The goal of SARA is to make it less difficult for students to take online courses and programs offered by post-secondary institutions in another state. SARA is overseen by a national council and managed by the four regional pacts (SREB, NEBHE, MHEC and WICHE) and is voluntary for states and institutions. Each Member State shall approve the participation of its State institutions in SARA. Institutional membership is voluntary and open to institutions that award degrees in all areas of post-secondary education (for-profit and private and public non-profit) accredited by an organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The State Regents of Oklahoma for Higher Education (OSRHE) serve as the state portal agency for SARA compliance. Once approved, SARA member institutions may offer distance learning courses and programmes in other SARA Member States without additional government permission. Institutions in a SARA state with state approval in their own state may also offer courses and/or distance learning programs for any other SARA member. Christina Sedney is the Director of Policy Initiatives and Government Authorizations at WICHE, where she works on a variety of topics including the WICHE State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (W-SARA), mentoring approaches for underrepresented student populations, university administration issues, and policy solutions for adult learners. Prior to WICHE, Sedney worked for the international non-profit organization Teach For All and was awarded a Kenneth Rainin Foundation Scholarship. She has also held several positions within AmeriCorps` City Year program, from class body member to project manager on its public policy team.

==References=====External links===* Official website The Reciprocal State Authorization Agreement (SARA) is a voluntary initiative to establish comparable standards for U.S. states and territories that govern post-secondary distance education. With its reciprocal provisions, the agreement allows institutions to obtain approval from their “home state” to offer distance learning in participating states without having to apply for such a permit from each state individually. SARA expands post-secondary education opportunities while ensuring meaningful consumer protection for students and reducing regulatory bureaucracy for institutions. Sara also provides a platform for information exchange and peer learning between Member States and promotes the quality of the distance learning programme for all participants. To address these critical issues, higher education stakeholders – including state regulators and education leaders, accreditation bodies, the U.S. Department of Education, and institutions – joined forces in 2013 to form SARA. Nc-SARA was established to develop and implement, in cooperation with the four regional pacts for higher education, an effective and efficient mutual approval process at the state level for post-secondary distance education.

NC-SARA`s mission is to provide students across the country with broad access to post-secondary education opportunities, increase the quality and value of academic credentials obtained through distance learning, and ensure that students are well served in a rapidly changing educational landscape. Sara`s Consumer Protection Regulations require the institution`s home state to investigate and resolve allegations of unfair or fraudulent activities by SARA state institutions, including the provision of false or misleading information, through its SARA State Portal entity. Note: Clinical placements in new York State licensed professions trigger a physical presence in New York State and require prior approval or exemption from the New York State Professions Office. This also includes SARA non-governmental institutions. For more information, please contact the Professions Bureau at opprogs@nysed.gov or (518) 474-3817 ext. 360. Helping states access affordable, high-quality distance learning SARA is an agreement between Member States, districts and territories that sets comparable national standards for the intergovernmental provision of post-secondary distance education. The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is an agreement between Member States that establishes comparable national standards for the intergovernmental delivery of distance post-secondary education courses and programmes.

SARA applies only to distance learning, not field or group activities (NCS 3(4) and focuses only on distance learning in the United States that crosses state borders. SARA members are states, not institutions or students. SARA does not replace a state permit and only state-approved accredited institutions can operate under SARA. Sara refers to the approval of distance learning courses and programs offered across state borders by institutions that already have degree approval in at least one state. States have the possibility to become members of SARA through their regional pact. There are four regional pacts, including: Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC), New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE, Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE). The New Mexico Department of Higher Education (NMHED) is the new Mexico State Portal unit for nc-SARA and has the authority to facilitate the resolution of student complaints only after the student has used all internal complaint procedures at the educational institution. Upon receipt of a student complaint form, NMHED staff will review the form and attachments. NMHED may contact the student by email for more information or clarification. If the initial review reveals that the complaint falls within the scope of nc-SARA`s complaint handling policy, nmhED will attempt to facilitate the resolution of the complaint by sending a copy of the complaint to the institution against which the complaint was filed. Only complaints arising from distance learning courses, activities and surgeries offered by NC-SARA participating institutions to students from other NC-SARA states are covered by NC-SARA guidelines.

All parties will be informed of the outcome of the complaint. Today, NC-SARA is working with W-SARA and its regional counterparts in the Midwest (M-SARA), Northeast (N-SARA) and South (S-SARA) to implement the agreement. SARA members now include 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than 2,100 colleges and universities participate in SARA. The first SARA meeting began in November 2013 and the guidelines for the Crown oversight process are constantly evolving. SARA began as a voluntary initiative, originally funded by the Lumina Foundation ($2.3 million grant) and funded in the future by user fees from participating institutions. Institutions must pay an annual fee for participation in SARA and the cost is based on enrolment in RTD. Individual states also have the option of charging institutions a government fee for participation in SARA. By working with four regional pacts, NC-SARA helps states, institutions, policy makers and students understand the purpose and benefits of participating in SARA. Today, more than 2,200 institutions in 49 member states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S.

Virgin Islands participate voluntarily in SARA. In the early days of online education, a number of states did not specifically regulate the online delivery of educational programs to their residents. It seems reasonable to assume, but not necessarily a fact, that each state that has registered under SARA has also established regulatory or licensing requirements for non-governmental institutions that provide online education to its residents who are not SARA institutions. Are you aware of a state that does not currently restrict the provision of online education to its residents by a non-SARA institution through separate licensing requirements? Once completed, the form and attachments must be emailed to the New Mexico Department of Higher Education: HigherEd.Info@state.nm.us. New York State institutions participating in SARA are permitted to conduct distance learning activities in other SARA member states in accordance with the terms and conditions of SARA. .