New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 5 - POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION › Chapter 99 - DISTANCE EDUCATION › Part 1 - PUBLIC AND PRIVATE POST-SECONDARY INSTITUTIONS OPERATING UNDER THE INTERSTATE DISTANCE EDUCATION ACT › Section 5.99.1.7 - DEFINITIONS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A.
"Accreditation"
means a verified accreditation status with an
				accrediting agency recognized by the United States department of
				education.
B.
"Department"
means the New Mexico higher education
				department.
C.
"Distance
				education"
means instruction offered online or through correspondence or
				interactive video or other means enabling a student to receive instruction from
				a higher education provider. Instruction may be either synchronous (instruction
				in which a group of students engage in learning at the same time), asynchronous
				(instruction that does not occur in the same place or at the same time), or
				experiential learning activity.
D.
"Distance education authorization"
or
"DEA"
means a
				post-secondary institution that has been deemed by the department to
				satisfactorily meet criteria, as set by the department, to provide distance
				education, under the Interstate Distance Education Act.
E.
"Educational activity"
means
				distance education which is synchronous (instruction in which a group of
				students engage in learning at the same time) or asynchronous (instruction that
				does not occur in the same place or at the same time).
F.
"Exempt"
or
"exemption"
means an institution that meets criteria in
				5.99.1.10
				NMAC to be exempt from obtaining distance education authorization and has
				completed all documentation required by the department.
G.
"Experiential learning
				activity"
means application of previously studied skills through
				practica, student teaching, clinical placements, research, internships, or
				other similar placements by a student receiving supervised field experience at
				an experiential learning site.
H.
"Experiential learning site"
means a clinical, practicum,
				internship, student teaching or other similar site location where a student
				participates in a supervised field experience.
I.
"Higher education"
means
				education or training beyond secondary education.
J.
"Home state"
means a state or
				territory where the institution holds its legal domicile and accreditation. To
				operate under the act an institution must have a single home state.
K.
"Non-New Mexico home state SARA
				institutions"
means an institution which holds its legal domicile and
				accreditation in a state or territory in the United States and outside of New
				Mexico and is an approved member institution of SARA.
L.
"Physical presence"
means the
				ongoing occupation of a physical location in the state, the ongoing maintenance
				of an administrative office to support the provision of higher education
				instruction, or engaging in one or more of the activities detailed in
				5.99.1.8
				NMAC.
M.
"Post-secondary
				educational institution"
or
"institution"
means public
				post-secondary educational institutions and private post-secondary educational
				institutions.
N.
"Portal
				entity"
means the state agency or other state body designated by each
				SARA member state to serve as the interstate point of contact for SARA
				questions, complaints and other communications. In New Mexico, the portal
				entity is the department.
O.
"Private post-secondary educational institution"
means a
				post-secondary educational institution not primarily funded by public
				funds.
P.
"Public
				post-secondary educational institution"
means a post-secondary
				educational institution primarily funded by public funds.
Q.
"SARA Manual"
means a manual
				which codifies existing SARA policy and includes procedures for use by states
				and institutions to regulate SARA. A current version of the manual will be
				maintained on the NC-SARA website.
R.
"State authorization reciprocity
				agreement" or "SARA"
means an agreement, developed by the national
				council for state authorization reciprocity agreements (NC-SARA) that provides
				uniform standards and parameters for the interstate provision of post-secondary
				distance education courses and programs.
S.
"State portal agent"
means
				the portal entity employee responsible for SARA duties.
T.
"Student location"
or
"students located"
means the physical location in which the student
				engages in distance education. The student's legal state of residence will not
				be a criterion for determining the student's physical location for purposes of
				the act.
U.
"Supervised field
				experience"
means a form of distance education which enables instruction
				from an experiential learning site, through an agreement with an institution
				pursuant to
				5.99.1.11
				NMAC. To be considered supervised field experience, the student location must
				be in a different state or territory than that of the institution.