Distance Education Compliance: State Authorization ... · 2/22/2016  · SB 1470 Enrolled. Subsection C, Chapter 61, Education Code amended by adding the following: 61.05121. STATE

Distance Education Compliance:State Authorization Reciprocity and

Other Techniques

February 22, 2016 | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CST

Online Report Card

Tracking Online Education in the United States, is the 13th annual report of the state of online learning in U.S. Higher education. The 2015 Survey of Online Learning conducted by the Babson Survey Research Group and co-sponsored by the Online Learning Consortium (OLC), Pearson, StudyPortals, WCET and Tyton Partners, is the leading barometer of online learning in the United States.

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Key Report Findings• A year‐to‐year 3.9% increase in the number of distance education students, up from the 3.7%

rate recorded last year. • More than one in four students (28%) now take at least one distance education course (a total

of 5,828,826 students, a year‐to‐year increase of 217,275). • The total of 5.8 million fall 2014 distance education students is composed of 2.85 million taking

all of their courses at a distance and 2.97 million taking some, but not all, distance courses. • Public institutions command the largest portion of distance education students, with 72.7% of

all undergraduate and 38.7% of all graduate‐level distance students. • The proportion of chief academic leaders that say online learning is critical to their long‐ term

strategy fell from 70.8% last year to 63.3% this year. • The percent of academic leaders rating the learning outcomes in online education as the same

or superior to those in face‐to‐face instruction is now at 71.4%. • Only 29.1% of academic leaders report that their faculty accept the “value and legitimacy of

online education.” Among schools with the largest distance enrollments, 60.1% report faculty acceptance while only 11.6% of the schools with no distance enrollments do so.

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Federal Rule from 2010

“If an institution is offering postsecondary education through distance or correspondence education to students in a State in which it is not physically located or in which it is otherwise subject to State jurisdiction as determined by the State, the institution must meet any State requirements for it to be legally offering postsecondary distance or correspondence education in that State. An institution must be able to document to the Secretary the State's approval upon request.”

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Private Sector Colleges v. Duncan

Association of Private Sector Colleges v. Duncan, 681 F.3d 427, 461 (D.C. Circuit,2012) ("The District Court held that the regulation violated the APA [AdministrativeProcedures Act], because the Department had failed to provide adequate notice ofthe rule to regulated parties. See Career Coll. Ass'n, 796 F.Supp.2d at 133–35; seealso 5 U.S.C. § 553(b)(3) (requiring agencies to provide notice of proposedrulemaking that includes 'either the terms or substance of the proposed rule or adescription of the subjects and issues involved'). We agree.")

BUT for institutions that signed the federal Department of Defense's Memorandumof Understanding, they are expected by the Dept. of Defense to meet the stateauthorization rules for any state in which the institution serves students.

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State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement

(SARA)

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SB 1470 EnrolledSubsection C, Chapter 61, Education Code amended by adding the following:

61.05121. STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT.

(a) The board on behalf of the state may enter into a state authorization reciprocity agreement among states, districts, andterritories regarding the delivery of postsecondary distance education that establishes comparable standards for the provision of distance education by public or private degree-granting postsecondary educational institutions in each of the states, districts, or territories covered by the agreement to students of the other states, districts, or territories covered under theagreement. The board shall apply to an appropriate organization for that purpose.

(b) The board shall administer an agreement entered into under this section, including by:

(1) establishing an application and approval process for a degree-granting postsecondary educational institution with its principalcampus located in this state to participate under the agreement; and

(2) maintaining a dispute resolution procedure for complaints regarding participating postsecondary educational institutions located in this state.

(c) If the board obtains evidence that a public or private postsecondary educational institution established outside this state that is providing courses within this state under a state authorization reciprocity agreement established under this section is in apparent violation of the agreement or of this code or rules adopted under this section, the board shall take appropriate action to terminate the institution ’s operation within this state.

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Current States in SARA

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Items Needed for Institutional Application and the Application Process

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Copy of current accreditation letter

Proof of that the institution’s main campus or administrative office is domiciled in Texas.

Complete Application: www.nc-sara.org

Request a CBID: https://www1.thecb.state.tx.us/cbid/

Ensure institution’s official signatory secures a CBID as well.

Your institution’s OPEID number

Wait for acceptance email from THECB

Finalize the process by submitting payment for the annual fee by following the link provided in the email from THECB. Payment is based on your FTE reported to IPEDS:

FTE under 2,500 …….$2,000.00

FTE 2,500 to 9,999…..$4,000.00

FTE 10,000 or more….$6,000.00

You will receive an official email from SARA.

SARA approval is not official until your Institution’s name is posted to website. http://nc-sara.org/states/texas

Always Be Polite

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Dear Ms. Miller, On behalf of The University of Texas at Arlington, it gives me great pleasure to inform you of our approval for entrance into the State Authorization and Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). Please find attached to this email our official approval letter from NC-SARA. In addition, here is the link to the list of approved SARA institutions where The University of Texas is listed, http://nc-sara.org/states/texas. Please make note of this change to our status in your official records. Please respond to this email indicating that your records have been updated to reflect that The University of Texas at Arlington is now recognized as having authority in your state by participation in SARA. I wish to thank you for the invaluable assistance rendered by your office during the state authorization process. At all points they have been prompt, courteous, and supportive of all our requests. Should there be anything that requires further attention, please contact us at your convenience. Sincerely, Blake

J. Blake Carpenter, Manager Student Data Services University Analytics The University of Texas at Arlington 817-272-9525 [email protected]

What You Need If You Don’t Enter SARA

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Thank You!

Lars Hagen, J.D.Senior Attorney, Office of General Counsel | The University of Texas System201 West 7th Street, Austin, TX 78701 | ph: (512) 499-4521 | fax: (512) [email protected]

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J. Blake Carpenter, ManagerStudent Data ServicesUniversity AnalyticsThe University of Texas at [email protected]@uta.edu