Comments Regarding the NC-SARA Proposed 21st Century Guidelines for Distance Education

The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) manages a reciprocity agreement relating to online interstate higher education. NC-SARA recently commissioned the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) to update the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) guidelines, and put out a call for feedback regarding incorporating the updated guidelines into NC-SARA policy. TICAS, the National Consumer Law Center, New America, The Century Foundation, and Veterans Education Success prepared recommendations stressing that the updated guidelines are insufficient, and urging NC-SARA to undertake a rulemaking process to establish strong and sufficient consumer protection standards with participation and input from states, including states’ attorneys general and state oversight agencies, student and consumer organizations.