[S-SARA] [External] Accreditor Distance Education Approval

[SARANC]

Dear Adam -

I hope you are doing well.  In addition to Lynette's response, another reason the NC-SARA Manual does not require institutions to hold distance education accreditation is because not all institutions that participate in SARA choose to do so to offer distance education.  Sometimes, institutions participate in SARA so they can place students in other states for their on-ground/face-to-face programs that have a field placement experience (i.e., clinical, student teaching, internship, etc.).  We have several institutions, located along the North Carolina border, that only participate in SARA because they have students that live in those states that border North Carolina, drive to campus for classes, but conduct their out-of-state learning placements in their home towns.  Hope this helps.

Take care,
Terrence

From: S-SARA <s-sara-bounces at lists.onenet.net> On Behalf Of Kuhn, Lynette
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 4:11 PM
To: s-sara at lists.onenet.net
Subject: Re: [S-SARA] [External] Accreditor Distance Education Approval

Hi Adam,

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 -

"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. "

We were going to deny them until they received the approval, but approved them based on this response.

Lynette Kuhn  |  Division Chief
Department of Education  |  Division of Higher Education, Access, and Equity
Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education
333 Market Street  | 12th Floor | Harrisburg, PA 17126
Phone: 717.783.6786 | www.education.pa.gov<http://www.education.pa.gov/PLS>

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From: S-SARA <s-sara-bounces at lists.onenet.net<mailto:s-sara-bounces at lists.onenet.net>> On Behalf Of Adam Hawk
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 3:59 PM
To: s-sara at lists.onenet.net<mailto:s-sara at lists.onenet.net>
Subject: [External] [S-SARA] Accreditor Distance Education Approval


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Good afternoon everyone,

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.

[cid:image002.jpg at 01D76DCC.C51BD310]

[cid:image004.jpg at 01D76DCC.C51BD310]


Thank you for the feedback.


Adam Hawk | Program Manager/GA-SARA Coordinator
Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission (GNPEC)
2082 East Exchange Place, Suite 220
Tucker, Georgia 30084
770.414.3310 | www.gnpec.georgia.gov<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>

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