NC-SARA for SUNY Institutions

Benefits of NC-SARA Participation

• Improves distance education program quality nationwide.
• Makes it easier for students to access distance education programs across state lines.
• Reduces costs and bureaucracy for states and institutions.
• Improves coordination between states on higher education opportunities.
• Provides valuable oversight of distance education programs.
• Shares out-of-state learning experience data like clinical hours and practice teaching.

NC-SARA Application Process for SUNY Colleges and Universities

SARA applications are accepted on a rolling basis and the submission and review processes are the same for both first-time and renewal applications. Applications can be downloaded from the NC-SARA website.

1. Application submission
   1. Complete a new participant or renewal application as appropriate. Submit renewal applications to SUNY at least 60 days prior to the campus participation end date.
      1.  The NC-SARA application is available on their Applications and Approval Forms webpage.
      2. Email as two (2) attachments, the application and the institution's Statement of Accreditation Status (SAS), which the institution can download as a PDF from the institution's page on the Middle States website.
      3. For web links (e.g., student complaint process and professional licensure disclosures), provide complete webpage addresses that go directly to the page with the required information. Before submitting the application, convert these to hyperlinks that are clickable. Check that all your links are active.  
      4. For the CEO/CAO signature, use "add image" and insert the file of the signature. Do not hand sign and then scan the application. Do not use an electronic signature that will lock the document. 
      5. Applications must be submitted as a fillable form.  Do not sent scanned pdf copies.
      6. Institution Contact Information for SARA - Although the application only requires the first four roles to be defined, NYSED requires all seven roles defined.
   2. SUNY Institutions MUST submit their completed SARA applications to the SUNY System Academic Affairs Office at program.review@suny.edu. Applications submitted directly to NYSED will be returned to the institution. Applications must be submitted as a fillable form.  Do not sent scanned pdf copies.
   3. The Academic Affairs Office will review the application and follow up with the institution to resolve any questions or errors. Do not submit directly to NYSED.
   4. Once approved, the Academic Affairs Office will send the institution’s SARA application to NYSED.
2. Payment to NYSED
   1. After SUNY approval, transmittal of payment must be received by NYSED before their review of the SARA application.
   2. After SUNY approval, state-operated campuses must use an interagency transfer of state fees using the State Financial System (SFS)to pay NYSED; community colleges must use check to pay NYSED. 
   3. NYSED Fees (subject to change)
      

      Enrolled FTE	Annual Fee
      for institutions with fewer than 2,500 FTE students	$5,000
      for institutions with between 2,500-9,999 FTE students	$7,000
      for institutions with 10,000 or more FTE students	$9,000

3. Payment to NC-SARA
   1. After the application is approved by NYSED, NC-SARA will send an invoice to the institution for the annual NC-SARA participation fee.  Regardless of if or when the invoice is received by the institution NC-SARA fees must be processed no later than 30 days after state approval to participate.
   2. Do NOT send NC-SARA fees to NYSED as this may result in a significant delay in application processing. Participation Fees | NC-SARA
      
      The NC-SARA fee will be assessed as follows (effective July 1, 2024; fees subject to change)

SARA membership commences or renews once NC-SARA has processed the Institution’s payment; institutions are then eligible to operate under the terms and provisions of the SARA agreement.

Professional Licensure Disclosures
New Federal Regulation Amendment Effective July 1, 2024

Licensure Disclosure is not specific to NC-SARA/Distance Education

Below are three important documents (Guidance, Q&A, and Model Language) regarding an amendment to the federal regulations that impact the rules that require institutions to disclose information to students regarding degree programs that lead to licensure and/or certification, or are advertised as such, which are eligible for Title IV financial aid funds. This applies to all such programs no matter their modality. This amendment introduces significant changes to the existing regulations that went into effect July 1, 2020, and each institution must take action related to this amendment to the regulations in order to come into legal compliance with the new regulations effective July 1, 2024.

Professional Licensure Disclosures: Guidance Memo

Professional Licensure Disclosure: Questions and Answer

Professional Licensure Directory | NC-SARA

Professional Licensure Disclosure: Model Language

Effective July 1, 2024, federal regulation requires institutions of higher education to make a determination whether a Title IV eligible academic program that leads to professional licensure or certification meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification in the U.S. State where the institution is located and the U.S. States where “distance education” students are located at the time of initial enrollment in the program, as well as U.S. States where the program is advertised as meeting such requirements, and if applicable, the U.S. State where students attest they intend to be licensed/certified. The [program title/award] program at [institution name] is registered by the New York State Education Department and thus meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification for New York State. Through a good faith effort, and for the purpose of complying with the federal regulation, we have determined that [program title/award] program at [institution name] meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification in the following U.S. States: [A, B, and C]; however, it is important to note that [institution name] is not the licensure/certification authority in these U.S. States and cannot assess whether an individual candidate will be issued a license/certificate in these U.S. States and instead each individual candidate must contact the licensure/certification authority in the U.S. State in which they are seeking licensure/certification to obtain guidance on the application policies and procedures for licensure/certification.

Student Complaint Language

The following is the language for student complaints that SUNY has suggested NC-SARA participating campuses use. When used, replace the information in brackets [ ] with the indicated campus specific information.

[campus name] is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and follows the complaint resolution policies and procedures outlined within the SARA Policy Manual and summarized on their SARA Student Complaints page. Consumer protection complaints resulting from distance education courses, activities, and operations may be submitted to [campus department name, contact information, link to a website, preferably that identifies the procedure and includes a form or another way to submit a complaint] for investigation and resolution. If a student is dissatisfied with the campus-based resolution, a concern may be submitted to System Administration of the State University of New York as outlined at Student Concerns.  And, if still not satisfied, a complaint may be submitted, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made, to the New York State Education Department as outlined on their SARA-Student Complaint Process webpage.  Effective July 1, 2026, a student may submit a complaint to the SARA State Portal Entity of the state in which the student is located and this entity will provide to the student the contact information of the SARA office at the New York State Education Department.

Please note, this process is only for consumer protection issues (for examples, see section 4 of the SARA Policy Manual) and this does not include complaints related to grades or student conduct violations, both of which are to be addressed via non-SARA processes (see [provide links to applicable campus policies and procedures]). Additionally, this process is only for distance education students located in another SARA-participating state (as of January 1, 2026, this includes all states except California), whereas other distance education students, including those located in New York State, should follow non-SARA processes (see [provide descriptive text with embedded links to applicable campus policies and procedures]).

NC-SARA Web Page

NC-SARA Policy Manual

NC-SARA Research & Data