Department of Education Confirms State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement will Comply with New Regulations

On January 19, the U.S. Department of Education formally confirmed that the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) will, in effect, satisfy and comply with the recently published state authorization for distance education regulations. APLU President Peter McPherson serves as vice chair of the SARA board and issued a statement on the Department’s confirmation.

“We are very pleased that the Department of Education confirmed that, in effect, SARA is consistent with the new state authorization regulation. SARA requires states to meet a defined set of standards and requirements in order to receive reciprocity benefits with other participating states. Distance education is a growing part of higher education, and SARA is helping to meet evolving student needs while simultaneously avoiding a patchwork of costly and complex individual state regulations and requirements.”