Service members may lose substantial academic credit if they are transferred to states where there is no agreement allowing them to continue their distance education courses from an out-of-state institution.
Service members move approximately every two to three years and may be assigned in states where their schools are not licensed.
The four regional higher education compacts — Midwestern Higher Education Compact, New England Board of Higher Education, Southern Regional Education Board and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education — collectively sign institutions to agreements within each respective region.
Forty states either do not require enabling legislation or have not passed bills to establish legal authority to join NC-SARA.
Key message
The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements has included a provision in their agreements to accommodate the transient nature of military service. States can set the stage for reciprocity by passing legislation supporting these agreements.
Discussion points
Department of Education policy 34 CFR § 600.9 specifies that states are responsible for the education delivered to students residing within their borders, regardless of where the education originates.
The NC-SARA has established agreements among states where students reside — host states — and states where institutions are principally located — home states — to facilitate efficient oversight of educational services.
The NC-SARA agreements —
- Specify when an institution has a "physical presence" in the host state, requiring the host state to provide oversight
- Clarify that the home state is responsible for adjudicating student complaints when there is no physical presence
Agreements include the following under the definition of not constituting physical presence:
- Courses offered at a distance — online, through the U.S. mail or similar delivery service — that do not require the physical meeting of a student with instructional staff in a host state
- Course offerings by an accredited institution on a U.S. military installation, limited to active and reserve military personnel, dependents of military personnel and civilian employees working on the military installation
Requiring schools participating in the Department of Defense Tuition Assistance programs to sign a Memorandum of Understanding establishes parallel requirements to NC-SARA, such as:
- Specifying adherence to standards compatible with the expectations of the NC-SARA agreements
- Establishing a complaint system for the federal departments of Defense, Education, Justice and Veterans Affairs to answer applicable questions, along with the home state of the institution
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Best Practices
Best practices are currently in development for education licensing exemption in states where military students are assigned.
