Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 610 CMR - BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION › Title 610 CMR 12.00 - Operation of Massachusetts Degree-Granting Institutions under the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement › Section 12.03 - Institutional Eligibility Requirements for SARA

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1) To be eligible for approval to operate under SARA, a Massachusetts institution shall:
(a) be legally domiciled in Massachusetts;
(b) be authorized by the Board or, for institutions chartered prior to 1943, authorized by the Massachusetts legislature or state constitution to offer degree programs in Massachusetts and confer postsecondary degrees in Massachusetts;
(c) be in compliance with the requirements of 610 CMR 2.00:
Degree-granting Regulations for Independent Institutions of Higher Education,
where applicable;
(d) meet and agree to comply with the C-RAC Guidelines;
(e) possess and maintain institutional accreditation from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education;
(f) for nonpublic institutions only, demonstrate financial stability and responsibility by meeting the following criteria:
1. for federal Title IV participating institutions, having an institutional federal financial responsibility score of at least 1.5 (or 1.0 with justification acceptable to the Commissioner in his or her sole discretion);
2. in the event that an institution does not participate in federal Title IV financial aid or for any other reason does not have a federal financial responsibility rating, retaining an independent auditor to calculate this rating or providing sufficient financial evidence to the Department to allow the calculation of this rating using the federal rules; or
3. for institutions owned by a corporate parent, in accord with current U.S. Department of Education policies and procedures, providing the financial score for the corporate parent and said score being at least 1.5 (or 1.0 with justification acceptable to the Commissioner in his or her sole discretion).
(g) agree to be bound by and comply with the SARA Manual and to be responsible for the actions of any third-party providers used by the institution to engage in operations under SARA;
(h) make its SARA-related complaint policies and procedures readily available to studentsby posting them on its website and distributing copies to students upon enrollment, andinform students that they may appeal SARA-related complaints to the Department afterexhausting the institution's own complaint resolution procedures;
(i) agree to provide the Department with any information requested that is relevant to astudent's complaint, including data, to the extent permitted by applicable law, in order toassist the Department with resolving the student complaint;
(j) upon submission of an initial or renewal application, pay to the Department the state feesas required by 610 CMR 12.08 and as set forth in Board policy;
(k) pay an annual SARA participation fee to NC-SARA as required by the SARA Manual;and
(l) report any other information required by the SARA Manual, the Department, and/or 610 CMR 12.03 that may enable the Department to determine the suitability of the institution's operation under SARA.