Overview
The Council of Public University Presidents and Chancellors/CPUPC is interested in providing its members with current and helpful information regarding the interpretation and expectations of federal State Authorization of Program rules, which are presently unclear, evolving, and increasingly complicated. Specifically, institutions of higher education offering online programs to students in other states are required to show a "good faith" effort to comply with rules in the other states by July 1, 2011. Failure to complete the application approval process by July 2014 is no longer tied to the loss of eligibility for federal student aid, but compliance remains a requirement as determined by the individual states and three territories. CPUPC's response consists of three approaches: this webpage, the formation of an email distribution list, and offering scheduling opportunities for groups to hear from experts. The goal is to centralize resources for the Texas higher education community regarding this topic.
This webpage provides current information, resources, links, sample documents, and FAQ's. If the resources provided do not resolve an area of interest, questions may be forwarded to Rissa Potter, rpotter@cpupc.org .
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"New News"
Added to this webpage February 14, 2012: The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board has posted proposed rules related to the DOE State Authorization process. The proposed rules are provided in the Texas Register at http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/pdf/backview/0203/0203is.pdf . Areas of interest are summarized below:
19 TAC 7.3, 7.14 The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board proposes amendments to 7.3 and 7.14, concerning Degree Granting Colleges and Universities Other Than Texas Public Institutions. The intent of the amendment to 7.3 is to define the meaning of a reciprocal state exemption agreement as it relates to out-of-state postsecondary institutions wanting to offer distance education in Texas. The new definition will provide a clearer understanding for out-of-state institutions to which Chapter 7 rules apply. Staff also proposes an amendment to 7.14 by amending 7.14(1) to include an exemption based upon participation in a reciprocal state exemption agreement. The intent of this amendment is to clarify the process by which out-of-state institutions receive approval for offering distance education in Texas. This amendment allows the Coordinating board to enter into reciprocal state exemption agreements that could benefit Texas public institutions of higher education by exempting them from the oversight of other state higher education agencies for the purpose of distance education.
Comments on the proposed amendments may be submitted by mail or by email to MacGregor Stephenson, Assistant Commissioner, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, at WAARcomments@thecb.state.tx.us . Comments will be accepted for 30 days following publication of the proposal in the Texas Register (which was February 3, 2012).
Added to this webpage August 11, 2011: Updated FAQ section document. Previous information includes a preliminary list of state regulator contacts, and an updated link to a SHEEO document on the cost per state for state approval. Additional detail is provided regarding the complaint process.
April 21, 2011 "'Breathing Room' on State Authorization" (Inside Higher Ed article)
April 20, 2011 "Colleges Get More Time to Comply with New Rule on State Authorization" (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
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National/Regional Resources
WECT, Southern Regional Education Board, the American Distance Education Consortium, and the University of Wyoming have created a "State approval Regulations for Distance Education: A Starter List."
The State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO) has contracted with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and is compiling a directory of state regulators and compendium of state regulations. They will create a webpage, and anticipate the first information to be available in late May. Watch this site for updates.
SHEEO prepared a document of links to several state websites identifying the cost for state approval (June 9, 2011).
Preliminary list of state regulators by SHEEO and NCHEMS, updated July 12, 2011 at
http://www.sheeo.org/stateauth/Contact List_7.12.11.pdf
Student Recruitment/Marketing Topics
Advertising, promoting, publicizing, soliciting, or recruiting for the institution or its offerings that are targeted specifically at another state's citizens is a "trigger" for needing approval by that state.
Advertising and publicizing may include print ads in any of the state's newspapers, digital ads in any of the state's online newspapers or other state specific websites, billboards, TV and radio advertisements, and others. Digital ads that are nationwide and not specific to one state and one media outlet in that state are generally not considered targeting citizens of a specific state. However, some states may not agree with this interpretation.
Recruiting includes recruiters visiting schools, colleges, and other venues within that state to recruit students to come to a Texas institution. Some states, such as Washington, exclude multi-institutional college fairs. Some states do not exempt college fairs. Having a recruiting officer live in another state may also be a trigger for physical presence.
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The Complaint Process
State Complaint Process: Institutions must provide enrolled and prospective students with contact information for filing complaints with the appropriate state agency identified for handling complaints in the student's state. A resource for the complaint process and other State Authorization topics is a WCET Blog. Appreciation is expressed to SHEEO and WCET for their assistance.
Accrediting Agency Complaint Process: Institutions must also provide enrolled and prospective students with contact information for filing complaints with the appropriate state accrediting agency. Information regarding the regional accrediting agency complaint process, with their address and states included in the respective region, is provided for the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools/MSCHE; New England Association of Schools and Colleges/NEASC-CIHE; North Central Association of Colleges and Schools/NCA-HLC; Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities/NWCCU; Southern Association of Colleges and Schools/SACS; and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges/WASC-ACCJC.
Federal Rulings/Clarifications
The regulations for the state approval of out-of-state providers is based on the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. The "program integrity" regulations were released in October 2010 focusing on the requirement for institutions offering distance education to comply with any applicable state approval or licensure requirements in each state in which it "operates" and be approved by that state by name. See page 66866.
Dear Colleague Letters: The U.S. Department of Education released two "Dear Colleague" letters to provide clarification and guidance on compliance of the state authorization regulation: March 17, 2011 and April 20, 2011.
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FAQ's
Addressing related topics such as existing collaborations, state reciprocity, military students, the "good faith" definition, teach-out options, etc.
Information
updated as of August 5, 2011.
attached as of May 24, 2011.
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