SARA Membership

State authorization reciprocity agreement

  • As of Jan. 16, 2015, the University of Kansas has been approved to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, which is a state-level reciprocity process aimed at making the effort to obtain state authorizations more efficient for institutions and to make it easier for students to enroll in distance education programs outside of the states in which they reside.
  • Institutions that are members of SARA are authorized to provide education to students from all SARA member states.
  • States and institutions that choose to become members of SARA operate under a set of policies and standards overseen by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and administered by four regional higher education compacts.
  • For more information about the SARA initiative and the progress of state and institutional membership, please visit the NC-SARA website.

As a SARA institution, the University of Kansas is able to enroll residents from states and U.S. territories that are members of SARA in all online programs. 

Map of the United States showing SARA member states shaded in blue
SARA member states are colored in blue on the map.

Non-SARA state and territories

  • California - The University of Kansas is allowed to offer distance education programs to CA residents, as KU does not meet the definition of physical presence in CA.
  • Federated States of Micronesia - There are currently no regulations that restrict U.S. institutions from providing distance education to citizens of FSM.
  • Republic of the Marshall Islands - There are currently no regulations regarding the authorization of distance education programs.
  • American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Republic of Palau - Information is currently unavailable regarding distance education authorization

Questions regarding KU's authorization status in a particular state or U.S. territory may be directed to the KU Center for Online and Distance Learning at onlinelearning@ku.edu or 785-864-1000.

SARA Seal of Participation
The University of Kansas participates in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.