USU State Authorization Compliance

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Federal Regulation 34 CFR 668.43(a)(5)(v) requires Utah State University to maintain a list of programs designed to meet educational requirements for a license or certification that is required for employment and to determine whether those programs meet educational requirements for licensure in each US State and Territory.

Utah is a member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) and Utah State University (USU) is an approved SARA institution, adhereing to established standards for offering post-secondary e-learning programs in all member states. SARA is overseen by a National Council and administered by four regional education compacts, and more information can be found at http://www.nc-sara.org/.

All USU online programs are currently authorized in all states; however there may be restrictions in certain non-SARA states regarding internships and practicums.

Students who have complaints against the school relating to fraud, false advertising, or other deceptive practices can report their complaints to Utah State University by following the Student Complaint Process.

Additional Information

Professional Licensure Disclosure

For students interested in academic programs that lead to professional licensure, it is imperative you understand the regulations for your state PRIOR to enrolling in any academic program.

Utah State University's programs are designed to lead to professional licensure in the State of Utah. Utah State University recommends that all students obtain licensure or certification in Utah prior to applying for licensure or certification in the state they desire to seek employment in.

If you intend to seek employment outside of Utah, it is imperative you understand the regulations for your state PRIOR to enrolling in any academic program. For your convenience, please check on the licensing requirements for the state where you will seek employment. If you experience difficulty finding the licensure requirements for a specific state, please contact the program's advisor for help.

Utah State University can not enroll students in states where the program does not meet the educational requirements for professional licensure or certification in that state.

If you experience difficulty finding the licensure requirements for a specific state, please contact the program's advisor for help.

International Students

Utah State University works to provide global access to its online programs. While we carefully track issues related to international authorization and licensure, it is the student’s responsibility to understand current circumstances or special requirements of whether the online program selected will be recognized in the country of residence. International students considering an academic program that leads to a professional license should first confirm with the appropriate professional licensing board in their country of residence whether a USU degree is recognized when seeking licensure or certification.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) has established regulations that prohibit U.S. persons (including the Utah State University) from providing services - including remote educational services - to individuals in certain sanctioned countries without a general or specific license. The list of OFAC sanctioned countries currently includes: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria and the Ukraine-Crimea Region. Canvas intentionally restricts access in these places in order to comply with requirements related to embargoed countries and regions issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control. For more information, please see Canvas's Which countries are restricted from using Canvas? resource.

Students who plan to be located in a sanctioned country should contact the Office of Global Engagment as soon as possible.

Out of State Activities

State authorization applies to all out-of-state activities, regardless of whether a program is available online, and can include regular activities such as recruiting, advertising, internships/practicums, or field experience. Regulations on out-of-state activities vary from state to state, and from program to program. While some states require any activity conducted by an out-of-state institution grounds to seek authorization, many states apply conditional rules, known as "physical presence triggers." These triggers are dependent on the type of program, duration of activity, state of residence for the student, and other factors that must be evaluated individually to determine whether authorization will be required.

The list of physical presence approved, exempted, or triggering activities in other states and should be used as guidelines. Please verify authorization prior to all out-of-state activities. Regulations and requirements can change quickly, and the USU Online office can provide the most current information.

Physical Presence Triggers

SARA defines the following as "physical presence" triggers within SARA states.

  • Establishes a physical location for students to receive synchronous or asynchronous instruction.
  • Requires students to physically meet in a location for instructional purposes more than twice per full term (quarter or semester) course for a total of more than six hours.
  • Establishes an administrative office.
  • Provides information to students for the purpose of enrolling students, or provides student support services, from a physical site operated by or on behalf of the institution in the state.
  • Offers a “short course” that requires more than 20 contact hours.
  • Provides office space to instructional or non-instructional staff.
  • Maintains a mailing address or phone exchange in a state.

The following activities do NOT trigger "physical presence" within SARA states.

  • Offering courses to individuals via distance education in ways that do not require students to gather physically in groups, excepting the special provisions in Section 6(1);
  • Advertising to students whether through print, billboard, direct mail, internet, radio, television or other medium;
  • Offering distance education courses on a military base if enrollment in such courses is limited to federal employees and family members;
  • Maintaining a server, router or similar electronic service device housed in a facility that otherwise would not constitute physical presence (the presence of a server or similar pass-through switching device does not by itself constitute the offering of a course or program in that state).
  • Having faculty, adjunct faculty, mentors, tutors, or other academic personnel residing in a member state (the presence of instructional faculty in a state, when those faculty teach entirely via distance-education and never meet their students in person, does not establish physical presence for purposes of this agreement).
  • Holding proctored exams on behalf of the institution in the host state.
  • Having contractual arrangements in the home or host state.
  • Offering educational field experiences for students, including an educational field trip arranged for a group of students that are normally in residence at an institution in another state.
  • Operating limited supervised field experiences (or internship). For purposes of this agreement, interstate supervised field experiences originating from campus-based programs in a member state are considered to be distance education and not to establish physical presence if they place fewer than ten students from each program in a member state who are physically present simultaneously at a single facility or site in a host state, and do not involve any multi-year contract between a sending institution and a field site.

Currently, physical presence triggers in non-SARA states include:

State Advertising Trigger Internship Trigger
California No No
Florida, Massachusetts Yes, Systematic and targeted advertising may trigger the need for approval No