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The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements, an initiative to simplify the process by which distance education providers are authorized to operate in individual states, has begun staffing its central and regional offices. Marshall Hill, former executive director of Nebraska's Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education, will lead the effort from its Boulder, Colo., office.
Should the initiative, which is backed by a $2.3 million grant from the Lumina Foundation, prove successful, institutions that offer distance education could be authorized to operate in every member state. That would save the institutions from the cumbersome and expensive process of demonstrating how their educational offerings satisfy each state's regulatory demands.
NC-SARA's work will be implemented through its four regional partners, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, the New England Board of Higher Education, the Southern Regional Education Board and the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. These organizations will first hire people to lead local chapters in the states they cover, then, once states sign on, turn them loose to recruit individual institutions. "No regional compact is at the point of inviting states to participate yet," Hill said. "I think we’re about two months off from that."
