Good afternoon and Happy December! 30 more days and we’ve cleared the hurdle that is 2020!

As you’ll recall from my October email - it's NC-SARA Renewal time! The person responsible for filing the the renewal application should have received notification either yesterday or today from NC-SARA with information on the renewal and a link to the application. Remember, the person responsible for completing this form has 30 days from receipt of the Renewal Notification to submit it to the State Portal Entity.

I spoke with Heather DeLange, our State Portal Entity with the CDHE who will be reviewing our renewal applications, this morning and she wanted me to pass along some reminders/tips:

• While it’s tempting to copy/paste from previous renewal applications, make sure that the Provost or Chancellor only initials on the left-hand side of the first two pages. The State Portal Entity completes the checks on the right.
• Make sure that the link that you provide for the student complaints is active.
• If you have your disclosures for professional licensure ready, please include examples of your direct and indirect/general disclosures along with your application. If you don’t submit these with the renewal application, you will be asked to provide them in the near future.

Additional tips & reminders for the renewal (information from October’s email is attached):

As noted before, System will once again cover the membership costs with NC-SARA. When you receive your invoice (approximately 30-days after your submit the renewal application), Kelly Maden (kelly.maden@cu.edu) at System will make sure the funds are available for your institution.

Additionally, your Provost (or Chancellor, if that has been the history on your campus) will need to initial and sign different parts of the renewal application. If possible, I recommend scheduling a quick meeting with them to review the form so they understand what they’re agreeing to on behalf of the University, and how these issues and actions impact the University as a whole. This is an also excellent opportunity to convey the importance of complying with the reciprocity agreement and associated federal regulations, especially for those who have had difficulty getting your University’s State Authorization and licensure needs heard/met.

Also, in my October email I had mentioned in the overview of the NC-SARA renewal documentation the potential revision to the NC-SARA Manual* that may have a larger impact on us in regard to the closing of programs. It appears from the latest communication from NC-SARA I was correct and indeed should your institution close a program that is delivered online, we’re required to inform NC-SARA and may have to issue refunds to students should we be unable to provide them a reasonable alternative for receiving the education (See the language below). With Covid and the lingering financial issues, the likelihood of having to close programs on scale larger than would be normal/typical in future years is possible so it is good to be aware of this additional obligation.

As always, if you have any questions or need any assistance, please do not hesitate to reach out.

I hope you have a great rest of your week, a wonderful rest of the year, and an amazing holiday season!

Sincerely,

Erika

*Changes in the NC-SARA Manual 3.1.b.6 - closing of programs and the requirements

3.1 Eligibility

b. In order to be eligible to participate in SARA, an Institution must:

6. Agree that, in cases where the institution cannot fully deliver the instruction for which a student has contracted, it will provide a reasonable alternative for delivering the instruction or reasonable financial compensation for the education the student did not receive. (p.22)

Erika G. Swain
Interim Assistant Director for State Authorization
Office of Academic Affairs
University of Colorado System
e: swaine@cu.edu
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Assistant Director for Compliance and Authorization
Office of Data Analytics | Office of Institutional Research
University of Colorado Boulder
e: Erika.Swain@colorado.edu
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o: (303) 735-8184
c: (518) 637-9785