Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 1 - TEXAS HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD › Chapter 4 - RULES APPLYING TO ALL PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN TEXAS › Subchapter S - APPROVAL FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT (SARA) FOR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER EDUCATION › Section 4.314 - Admission to SARA

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
All eligible institutions may apply to the Coordinating
					 Board for admission to SARA under the signature of the institution's chief
					 academic officer. Coordinating Board staff will review the application and make
					 a determination to approve or deny the request to participate in SARA. Within
					 the application, an institution shall make assurances that it:
(1) Agrees to abide by the C-RAC Guidelines
				  for the Evaluation of Distance Education.
(2) Agrees to be responsible for the actions
				  of any third-party providers used by the institution to engage in operations
				  under SARA.
(3) Agrees to notify
				  the board of any negative changes to its accreditation status.
(4) Agrees to provide data requested by the
				  board.
(5) Agrees to cooperate with
				  the board in the investigation of any complaints arising from the students its
				  serves in other states through SARA and to abide by investigating authority's
				  resolution of any such complaint.
(6) All complaints must follow the
				  institution's customary resolution procedure prior to being referred to the
				  Coordinating Board. Grade appeals and student conduct appeals will be resolved
				  at the institutional level without further appeal through SARA.
(7) Agrees to notify all students in a course
				  or program that customarily leads to professional licensure, or which a student
				  could reasonably believe leads to such licensure, whether or not the course or
				  program meets requirements for licensure in the state where the student
				  resides. If an institution does not know whether the course or program meets
				  licensure requirements in the student's state of residence, the institution may
				  meet this SARA requirement by informing the student in writing and providing
				  the student the contact information for the appropriate state licensing
				  board(s). An email dedicated solely to this purpose and sent to the student's
				  best known email address meets this requirement.
(8) Agrees, in cases where the institution
				  cannot fully deliver the instruction for which a student has contracted, to
				  provide a reasonable alternative for delivering the instruction or reasonable
				  financial compensation for the education the student did not receive.
(9) Agrees to pay an annual fee to NC-SARA.
				  This fee replaces any state fees that the institution would normally pay to
				  other SARA member states. If an institution offers distance education to
				  students in non-SARA participating states, it must pay required state
				  fees.
(10) If the Coordinating
				  Board's SARA Coordinator denies an institution's application for membership in
				  SARA, a written reason for denial will be provided. The institution may reapply
				  at any time, having corrected any deficiencies, or may appeal the denial within
				  30 calendar days to the Coordinating Board's SARA Signatory. SARA director of
				  SREB. If the denial is upheld by SREB, the institution may appeal to NC-SARA.
				  The Coordinating Board's SARA Signatory will review the appeal and render a
				  final decision. If the SARA Signatory upholds the denial, the institution may
				  appeal to the SREB to determine if the board has met the requirements of SARA,
				  but the SREB cannot overturn the final decision made by the Coordinating
				  Board's SARA Signatory.