Illinois Administrative Code › Title 23 - EDUCATION AND CULTURAL RESOURCES › Part 1033 - HIGHER EDUCATION DISTANCE LEARNING AND INTERSTATE RECIPROCITY › Section 1033.40 - Application Process and Participation

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 28, July 12, 2024
The following are the processes for institutional participation
				in SARA:
a) Eligibility
1) Any degree-granting institution whose main
			 campus is located in Illinois and holds its principal institutional
			 accreditation in Illinois, including public, private nonprofit and private
			 for-profit institutions, can voluntarily apply to the Board to participate in
			 SARA. The Board shall approve Illinois institutions meeting the eligibility
			 requirements as described in this Section.
2) Institutions are eligible to participate
			 in SARA if they are in compliance with the standards, procedures and
			 requirements established by the NC-SARA and this Part. Approved institutions
			 are required to maintain the conditions of approval throughout the
			 participation period. Any institution that fails to maintain conditions of
			 approval may lose eligibility to participate in SARA and be removed at any time
			 by the Board. The following are the criteria to determine eligibility:
A) The Interregional Guidelines for the
			 Evaluation of Distance Education (see the C-RAC Guidelines) for the interstate
			 distance learning reciprocity program must be maintained by the institution at
			 all times during the participation period. Participating institutions must
			 comply with the following C-RAC Guidelines:
i) Online learning is appropriate to the
			 institution's mission and purposes;
ii) The institution's plans for developing,
			 sustaining and, if appropriate, expanding online learning offerings are
			 integrated into its regular planning and evaluation processes;
iii) Online learning is incorporated into the
			 institution's systems of governance and academic oversight;
iv) Curricula for the institution's online
			 learning offerings are coherent, cohesive and comparable in academic rigor to
			 programs offered in traditional instructional formats;
v) The institution evaluates the
			 effectiveness of its online learning offerings, including the extent to which
			 the online learning goals are achieved, and uses the results of its evaluations
			 to enhance the attainment of the goals;
vi) Faculty responsible for delivering the
			 online learning curricula and evaluating the students' success in achieving the
			 online learning goals are appropriately qualified and effectively
			 supported;
vii) The institution
			 provides effective student and academic services to support students enrolled
			 in online learning offerings;
viii)
			 The institution provides sufficient resources to support and, if appropriate,
			 expand its online learning offerings; and
ix) The institution assures the integrity of
			 its online offerings.
B)
			 Authorization to operate under SARA shall last for 12 months. Every year
			 following the initial approval, the Board shall determine if participating
			 institutions still meet SARA requirements. Any institution that does not seek
			 to renew and pay the applicable participation fees outlined in this Section
			 will no longer be eligible to participate in SARA.
C) Community colleges may be deemed eligible
			 by participating in a comparable approval process required by ICCB.
3) In the review of institutions'
			 applications to participate in SARA, Board staff shall consider actions of
			 federal or state regulatory agencies or Offices of Attorneys General, Offices
			 of Inspectors General, or similar bodies that affect an institution's status
			 with those bodies.
4) Institutions
			 applying to participate in SARA should be financially stable as described in
			 Section 1033.30(a)(1)(C)
			 and capable of assuring the revenues needed for meeting stated objectives and
			 fulfilling commitments to students. The eligible institution submitting
			 financial evidence as described in Section
			 1033.30(a)(1)(C)
			 must be in compliance with federal and state regulations and statutes,
			 including payment of unearned tuition and for applicable proprietary
			 institution participating in federal student aid, compliance with requirements
			 of 34 CFR
			 668.28, "Non-Federal Education Assistance
			 Funds (90/10 rule)".