Regulations and Compliance

When you begin serious exploration or planning to create a new online or hybrid program, or if you’re considering converting a program that’s currently delivered via a different method to an online or hybrid modality:

• Inform your respective Dean and/or Provost of your exploration
  • Depending on your program’s particulars, you might also need to contact the Academic Program Administrative Committee, SACSCOC, or other accreditors. Your Dean or Provost should be able to provide further guidance as needed.
• Identify your representative on the Committee on Online Education Coordination and Compliance (COECC), if other than your Dean or Provost, and inform them of your exploration
• Contact the Office of Online Education. The earlier we’re involved in the process, the more effectively we can assess, advise, and serve your program’s needs.
• Draft a statement of purpose, addressing the motivations behind both the program and its modality
• Consider how your program, and the technologies it will use, will address concerns such as security, privacy, accessibility, and the verification of student identity
• Review the Interregional Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education, also called Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions (C-RAC) Guidelines. Good standing with our regional accreditor The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) and our membership and participation in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) require all programs to abide by these Guidelines, as do certain aspects of the federal regulations surrounding interstate distance education
• If your program leads or may lead to any sort of professional licensure or certification, investigate states outside of North Carolina in which the program’s course of study is sufficient to obtain such a credential. Federal regulations and similar or parallel policies require a good-faith effort and ongoing commitment to make these determinations.

• If your program has internships, practicums, or similar learning experience placements:
  • Maintain excellent records of the location (organization, city, and state) of the placements and the number of students at each location; SARA will ask the institution for a brief report annually.
  • SARA participation covers many of these activities, but some states or professional regulatory bodies might have additional requirements or limitations. If you have questions, contact the relevant state, licensing authority, and/or the Office of Online Education for additional guidance. 
• If your program leads to professional licensure or certification:
  • There are several communications you need to make regarding these credentials:
    • A general public disclosure (e.g. on your website) of states for which
      • The program meets educational requirements for licensure/certification
      • The program does not meet educational requirements for licensure/certification
      • No determination has been made regarding whether the program meets education requirements for licensure or certification
    • Individual written disclosures (e.g. via email) to prospective students, prior to their enrollment, if they are located in a state where the program does not meet the educational requirements or for which no determination has been made
    • Individual written disclosures (e.g. via email) to students in states where a new determination has been made that a program does not meet educational requirements
  • SARA policy requires a program to periodically check and reconfirm the states for which its course of study is sufficient for licensure, and to move towards making determinations for states where it currently has none.
• Document, document, document: Compliance has many overlapping parts and players, but the best and most important thing you can do is make sure you maintain up-to-date and complete records of issues and concerns captured in the above points, as well as things such as student recruitment and enrollment and faculty development. It’s always easier to collect information in the moment, rather than trying to gather it after the fact!

Need help with anything here? Think we’ve omitted or overlooked something? Please don’t hesitate to reach out: OnlineEd@wfu.edu.