It’s almost time! 

NC-SARA renewal time! 

And of course, there have been some changes. 

There is a new form for renewals. In fact, both renewing and applying institutions now use the same form, which you can find on the NC-SARA website. 

Attached is an overview of the key changes and existing responsibilities for the renewal application. Please pay close attention to the new section on Catastrophic Event Processes that we are now required to address. This is a somewhat new area and one that many of us may not have considered much in the past. As always, if you have any questions while completing the form or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out. We typically receive our renewal alert from NC-SARA in the last week of November or the first week of December. 

And now, a couple of plugs: 

The WCET-SAN Coordinator Annual Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, November 30th at 12:00 p.m.! This year’s meeting will feature sessions on the state of the network, emerging compliance issues, and table talks on various topics. I’m super excited that we’ve teamed up with a former colleague of mine, a Senior Institutional Review Specialist at the Department of Education, and one of his colleagues at the ED, to provide their perspective on compliance with state authorization regulations. Just as a reminder, our compliance with state authorization and the professional licensure disclosure requirements is also reviewed during Title IV reviews by the ED. State Authorization Coordinators are encouraged to bring a +1 to this event—I’ve invited the compliance specialist from the Financial Aid office at Boulder to join me! 

On December 1st, I’ll be presenting as part of the WCET & SAN Virtual Member Policy Series on Regular and Substantive Interaction. I’ll be discussing the new federal regulations (effective 7/1/21) surrounding required interactions in the digital classroom, what the Department of Education means by "regular and substantive" interactions, how to satisfy those requirements, and how to find evidence of compliance with the new regulations (yes, I’m available for all your higher education cocktail parties). 

Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Sincerely,
Erika 

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