State Authorization for Distance Education
SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement) is an agreement among the member states that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education programs and courses. It is intended to make it easier for students to take distance learning programs and courses offered by postsecondary institutions across state lines.
SARA is overseen by the National Council for State Authorization Agreements (NC-SARA) and administered by four regional education compacts. Members of NC-SARA are states, not institutions. Membership is voluntary; therefore, not all states are SARA members. The state of Hawaiʻi is a member of NC-SARA through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE).
All UH institutions are required to participate if offering online and distance learning programs and courses outside of Hawaiʻi.
- UH institutions may register and comply with SARA through the State of Hawaiʻi Post-Secondary Education Authorization Program (HPEAP).
- UH System Recommendations to Campuses Regarding State Authorization Federal Regulations effective July 1, 2020 (pdf)
- State Authorization § 600.9(c)(2)(ii) – Institutional Policy for Determining a Student's Location (template)
- Campus Checklist for Compliance of State Authorization Regulations effective July 1, 2020 (pdf)
Approved University of Hawaiʻi SARA Institutions
A list of member States and participating Institutions, may be found at the NC-SARA website.
The following State and U.S. Territories are not SARA members:
- California. Public and non-profit higher education institutions are not regulated by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education and are able to offer distance education to California residents.
- American Samoa, Guam, and CommonWealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) are not members of SARA. UH Institutions should refer to the Required Approvals Outside of Reciprocity for guidance. UH academic departments should reach out to the campus SARA contact person for assistance.
- Republic of Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands are sovereign states in free association with the United States and are not members of NC-SARA. UH Institutions should refer to the Required Approvals Outside of Reciprocity for guidance. UH academic departments should reach out to the campus SARA contact person for assistance.