Hello hello!

Still nothing but silence from the Department of Education on potential new regulations, which is... good? Maybe? Hopefully, we’ll hear something by the end of May. 

But let’s focus on the here and now. As we do every year, between May 15th and June 15th, institutions that participate in SARA are required to report on their fall exclusively distance education enrollments and out-of-state learning placements for the previous calendar year—both disaggregated by state. Visit NC-SARA's various resources, including one for this year's training webinar, for a refresher on the data submission process and an explanation no how the data is used. Other helpful resources on the NC-SARA websites include: 

• NC-SARA Data Reporting Handbook for Institutions (2022) 
• Sample Placement Reporting Matrix 
• 2022 Data Sharing Agreement 
• Trainings and Webinars 
• SARA Quick Start Guide: Annual Data Reporting 

Reminder for data reporting or gathering:
You will need to report two sets of data, disaggregated by state:

• Students enrolled exclusively online 
• Students enrolled in out-of-state learning placements (OOSLP), also disaggregated by 2-digit CIP code 

New for 2022:

• Follow IPEDS guidance for reporting emergency remote learning
• Report all OOSLPs, even if they were not completed or were moved online due to the pandemic 
• Do not report 100% virtual placements 

Looking ahead to next year’s (2023) reports:

• Branch campus reporting becomes mandatory. This means programs or placements cannot be listed as originating from a branch campus. All placements and distance data must be reported as coming from the main campus (the SARA participant/accredited institution) since it holds the degree-granting authority and recognition. This has been optional from 2020-2022 but will be required in 2023. This requirement also aligns with potential new requirements from the Department of Education. 

I gave a session at the recent AAUDE conference (thank you, Rob!) for folks in Data Analytics and/or IR on how to work with those of us involved in data reporting and how NC-SARA uses the data. I also highlighted the importance of accurate reporting and covered some nuances of SARA data reporting that I believe are crucial for everyone to understand (including the distinction between what SARA covers and what is reported).