State Approval Regulations for Distance Education: A "Starter" List

Overview & Synopsis

On October 29, 2010, the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) released the following new regulation for higher education institutions as "Section 600.9(c) State authorization": "If an institution is offering postsecondary education through distance or correspondence education to students in a State in which it is not physically located or in which it is otherwise subject to State jurisdiction as determined by the State, the institution must meet any State requirements for it to be legally offering postsecondary distance or correspondence education in that State. An institution must be able to document to the Secretary the State's approval upon request." Institutions are expected to comply in each state in which they "operate" by July 1, 2011. The need for state licensure/approval is determined by the laws and regulations of each state, which vary significantly across the country. To assist institutions in finding and complying with these regulations, the WICHE Cooperative for Educational Technologies, Southern Regional Education Board, American Distance Education Consortium, and the University of Wyoming formed a partnership. This effort is one of several activities these organizations are coordinating in response to this issue. The intent of creating this list is to provide institutions with a starting point for determining the states, if any, in which approval needs to be secured. The U.S. Department of Education will not provide a comprehensive state-by-state list. (Contains 2 footnotes.)