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Exploring the relationship between community colleges’ participation in SARA and enrollment in distance education
Author(s) -
Weeden Dustin D.,
Lee Jason C.,
Tandberg David A.,
Bruecker Ellie M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
new directions for community colleges
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1536-0733
pISSN - 0194-3081
DOI - 10.1002/cc.20487
Subject(s) - authorization , community college , reciprocity (cultural anthropology) , distance education , higher education , state (computer science) , postsecondary education , political science , institution , sociology , public relations , public administration , medical education , law , social science , computer science , medicine , computer security , algorithm
With the growth in distance education programs and other interstate activities, community colleges increasingly need to be authorized by multiple states. State authorization provides the legal approval for postsecondary education providers to offer credentials and conduct related activities. Participation in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA) allows an institution to provide distance education to students in other SARA‐member states by honoring its original state authorization through interstate reciprocity. For community colleges, SARA reduces the administrative burden to participate in distance education. This article examines trends in SARA participation and the relationship between this participation and distance education enrollment. Using NC‐SARA and IPEDS data, we find that participation in SARA has grown rapidly, particularly among colleges with higher online enrollments. Distance education enrollments have likewise grown at community colleges, suggesting that SARA has successfully helped institutions maintain and grow multistate distance education programs.