State Authorization of Postsecondary Education

Symposium on Implementation of a
State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)

April 16-17, 2013
Indianapolis, Indiana

Following the release of the final report of the Commission on the Regulation of Postsecondary Distance Education (the Commission), representatives from 47 states met in Indianapolis, IN to learn about the Commission’s recommendations and to discuss next steps. Co-convened by the Presidents’ Forum and the Council of State Governments, in collaboration with the Commission and the four regional higher education compacts (WICHE, SREB, NEBHE, and MHEC), the Reciprocity Symposium provided state teams the opportunity to examine and discuss the implementation processes required of states, institutions, authorization agencies, and accreditors to make the Commission’s recommendations a reality. State teams also had the opportunity to meet in region-specific breakout groups to discuss implementation issues.

• Symposium Agenda
• Commission Final Report
• SARA Entities and Implementation Processes
• Meeting Materials
  • ACE President Molly Broad’s Letter to Secretary Riley
  • Secretary Richard Riley’s Comments on SARA
  • Lumina Foundation President Jamie Merisotis' Comments on SARA
  • SHEEO President Paul Lingenfelter’s Comments on SARA
  • SHEEO President Paul Lingenfelter’s Comments on SARA Governance

For more information visit The Commission on Regulation of Postsecondary Distance Education page.

SHEEO State Authorization Survey

SHEEO has developed a directory of agencies and individuals responsible for implementing state quality assurance laws as well as a compendium of state laws and regulations. These resources were developed in close cooperation with NCHEMS, the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, whose Vice President Peter Ewell has led previous surveys of state regulatory practices for postsecondary instruction and the cooperative relationships of states with accrediting associations.

SHEEO State Authorization Survey and Reports

Additional Resources on State Authorization

SHEEO staff have gathered external resources on several additional aspects of State Authorization – Webinars, Federal Regulations, Reciprocity, Distance Education, and Accreditation – and created the following page of annotated links to allow consolidated access to this set of information.

State Authorization—Other Resources