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<p class="MsoNormal">Hi Adam, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We had a school in PA that was in the process of seeking approval of their DE programs, but did not receive approval yet. Our guidance from NC-SARA was this –
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i>“As long as their accreditor is recognized by USDOE and its scope includes distance education, the institution is good to go—for that area anyway. “<o:p></o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We were going to deny them until they received the approval, but approved them based on this response.
<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b>Lynette Kuhn </b>| Division Chief<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Department of Education | Division of Higher Education, Access, and Equity<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">333 Market Street | 12<sup>th</sup> Floor | Harrisburg, PA 17126<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Phone: 717.783.6786 | <a href="http://www.education.pa.gov/PLS">
<span style="color:windowtext">www.education.pa.gov</span></a><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b>From:</b> S-SARA <s-sara-bounces@lists.onenet.net> <b>On Behalf Of
</b>Adam Hawk<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, June 30, 2021 3:59 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> s-sara@lists.onenet.net<br>
<b>Subject:</b> [External] [S-SARA] Accreditor Distance Education Approval<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p><b><i>ATTENTION: </i></b><i>This email message is from an external sender. Do not open links or attachments from unknown sources. To report suspicious email, forward the message as an attachment to
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<p class="MsoNormal">Good afternoon everyone, <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I have an initial applicant that is seeking SARA membership. They are SACSCOC accredited, but when I reviewed their information on the SACSCOC website, it does not list a Distance Education Approval Date. When looking at the NC-SARA manual,
it does not specifically say that they have to be approved by their accreditor to offer distance education to be eligible to participate. It states, “whose scope of recognition, as specified by the U.S. Department of Education, includes distance education”.
Has anyone had this issue or have thoughts on eligibility if the institution is accredited by an accreditor whose scope includes distance education, but they do not show they been approved to offer distance education? Hopefully you can see the screenshots
below. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img border="0" width="504" height="79" style="width:5.25in;height:.8263in" id="Picture_x0020_2" src="cid:image002.png@01D76DCA.7B2F5580"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><img border="0" width="469" height="271" style="width:4.8888in;height:2.8194in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image003.png@01D76DCA.7B2F5580"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Thank you for the feedback. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">Adam Hawk
</span></b><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">| <b>Program Manager/GA-SARA Coordinator<o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (GNPEC)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">2082 East Exchange Place, Suite 220<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">Tucker, Georgia 30084
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:black">770.414.3</span></u><u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">310</span></u><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif">
| </span><a href="https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.gnpec.georgia.gov%2F&data=04%7C01%7Clykuhn%40pa.gov%7C772d642b9a494ab5d2db08d93c01869f%7C418e284101284dd59b6c47fc5a9a1bde%7C0%7C0%7C637606799985759089%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000&sdata=tgiJgeeYNiTANmENP2SwpQxDGy2v0JEB9d8MD1eYM2Q%3D&reserved=0"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;color:blue">www.gnpec.georgia.gov</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif"> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
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