Who’s The Boss?

The beginning of a semester is always a great time for a bit of review. In this case, we’ll briefly revisit the so-called regulatory triad, parts and aspects of which we’ve discussed or alluded to previously in this space. But what exactly is the triad, and how do its parts behave and interact?

The first member of the triad is, unsurprisingly, the United States federal government. Although education is a matter largely left to individual states, the federal government makes its presence felt via the provision of student grants and loans through the Department of Education, legislation such as the 1965 Higher Education Act, and in rulings from federal courts. 

State governments form the second leg of the triad. Each state regulates education in its own unique way, but every state has an interest in seeing that the people to whom it answers are well served. This is an especially important point for distance education, because while in-person education generally only needs to concern itself with the regulations of the state in which the institution is located, institutions that engage in distance education need to be aware of the requirements for every state in which they serve students.

Accreditors are the final segment of the regulatory triad. These private, non-governmental organizations use peer review processes to evaluate institutions and ensure that they meet the standards set by the body. Institutional accreditors review and accredit entire institutions, while programmatic accreditors monitor individual professions like law or medicine.

Now, here’s where the fun starts.

The interests and requirements of the three parts of the triad often overlap and intersect. For example, for an institution to be eligible to participate in Title IV financial aid programs, it must achieve and maintain accreditation via one of the accrediting bodies recognized by…the US Department of Education. Authorization from each of the states outside of North Carolina in which we enroll distance education students is also a requirement of participation in Title IV programs. That authorization flows, in large part, from the institution’s participation in SARA. Participation in SARA, in turn, requires an institution to be accredited by an agency recognized by the US Department of Education (and to agree to abide by guidelines established by the Council of Recognized Accrediting Commissions, an organization composed of all of the recognized accrediting commissions).

As you can see, the triad exists as a kind of self-reinforcing, tripartite regulatory ouroboros. The good news is that, since they share many of the same aims and concerns, much of the effort towards remaining in good stead with one of them can be adapted or transposed towards any of them. If you have questions about any part of the regulatory scheme, or whether your program is on the right track, please take a moment to check out our compliance self-assessment tool or to request a consultation.