State Authorization

Policy Revisions

Minor revisions to the Out-of-State Educational Activities Policy take effect September 15, 2018. The revisions add clarity and align the policy with National Council of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA) requirements.

The policy, first issued in 2016, provides guidance to faculty and staff on how to comply with state authorization regulations, minimizes institutional risk and ensures that students are eligible to sit for licensure in the state where the student is located. 

Read the revised policy on the faculty and staff state authorization webpage on September 15. 

SARA Renewal Complete 

Ohio State recently completed the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) renewal process, continuing the university's participation in SARA for another year. As a reminder, participation allows Ohio State to offer educational activities in all 49 SARA member states. Activities permitted under SARA include:

• Offering online courses and programs
• Placing students in internships or clinicals
• Advertising 
• Recruiting 

Pre-SARA
Prior to joining SARA in 2015, Ohio State was required to seek authorization separately from the higher education regulatory board in each state. Many boards require institutions to submit lengthy applications in order to become authorized. Applications may require submission of detailed financial and accreditation information, faculty CVs, curricular information for each program and more. 

Some state boards also require institutions to pay hefty application and/or authorization fees. For example, the Kentucky Council of Postsecondary Education requires a $5,000 initial application fee, up to $2,000 per program offering fee, and a $12,000 annual maintenance fee. 

Post-SARA
SARA participation greatly streamlines the authorization process. Institutions need to complete only the SARA institutional renewal application to become authorized in all SARA states. The application requires Ohio State to affirm its authorization to operate in Ohio, compliance with C-RAC guidelines for the evaluation of distance education, and compliance with other SARA terms.

The $12,000 annual SARA renewal fee is paid by the Office of Distance Education and eLearning (ODEE) on behalf of the university. The application is then reviewed and approved by the Ohio Department of Higher Education and NC-SARA.

Important Notes
Participation in SARA covers the placement of up to ten students per program at a placement site (e.g. a hospital) at one time. Placements of more than ten students at a placement site in a SARA state may require additional authorization by the state's SARA portal entity.

SARA participation does not cover professional licensure board approvals. Programs in a licensed field must seek approval from the state professional licensure before offering online courses or placing students in that state.