Kansas is part of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) through the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC). SARA is an agreement among member states, districts and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offerings of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. It is intended to make it easier for students to take online courses offered by postsecondary institutions based in another state. SARA is overseen by a National Council and administered by four regional education compacts.
- To learn more about SARA, click here.
Kansas Legislation and Board Action
K.S.A. 74-32,194 authorizes certain postsecondary educational institutions to enter into the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement to provide distance education to out-of-state students. If a postsecondary institution is a private or out-of-state institution and does not have a physical presence in Kansas, its participation in the agreement will exempt the institution from the Kansas Private and Out-of-State Postsecondary Educational Act.
- To view the Board action to create the Kansas State Portal Agency, click here (page 23).
Approved States and Institutions
A comprehensive listing of SARA approved states and institutions is available online. Here is a list of approved SARA institutions in Kansas including the dates they were initially approved:
- Allen Community College (6/2/16)
- Baker University (9/9/16)
- Barclay College (11/14/16)
- Barton Community College (7/8/15)
- Benedictine College (2/23/16)
- Bethel College (11/28/23)
- Butler Community College (6/11/15)
- Central Baptist Theological Seminary (8/3/15)
- Central Christian College of Kansas (4/20/23)
- Cleveland University - Kansas City (4/11/16)
- Cloud County Community College (4/14/15)
- Coffeyville Community College (2/4/19)
- Colby Community College (1/19/16)
- Cowley Community College (1/15/15)
- Dodge City Community College (11/21/16)
- Donnelly College (8/12/19)
- Emporia State University (2/4/15)
- Flint Hills Technical College (4/16/15)
- Fort Hays State University (4/8/15)
- Fort Scott Community College (9/2/17)
- Friends University (11/16/15)
- Garden City Community College (3/10/16)
- Hesston College (8/13/21)
- Highland Community College (1/7/19)
- Hutchinson Community College (4/14/15)
- Independence Community College (5/21/15)
- Johnson County Community College (6/15/15)
- Kansas City Kansas Community College (8/13/15)
- Kansas State University (2/9/15)
- Kansas Wesleyan University (4/20/15)
- Labette Community College (1/18/17)
- Manhattan Christian College (9/30/22)
- MidAmerica Nazarene University (4/8/15)
- Neosho County Community College (12/14/15)
- Newman University (6/21/17)
- Pittsburg State University (3/31/15)
- Pratt Community College (8/24/16)
- Saint Paul School of Theology (3/22/16)
- Salina Area Technical College (2/18/20)
- Seward County Community College (11/7/16)
- Sterling College (2/4/15)
- Tabor College (9/10/15)
- University of Kansas (1/16/15)
- University of Saint Mary (2/11/15)
- Washburn University (8/21/15)
- Wichita State University (1/14/15)
- Wichita State University Campus of Applied Sciences and Technology (6/6/23)
*Provisionally approved
Becoming a SARA Institution
Any degree-granting institution based in the United States, holding proper authorization from Congress, a U.S. state or a federally recognized Indian tribe and holding accreditation from an accrediting association recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education is eligible to apply to its home state to participate in SARA if that state is a SARA member.
- To learn more about the application process nationally, click here.
Kansas applications are available by contacting Jennifer Armour:
Student Concerns Regarding Kansas SARA Institutions
Issues not resolved at the institutional level may be directed to the home state SARA portal agency of the institution against which the complaint has been logged. For institutions based in Kansas, the portal agency is the Kansas Board of Regents. Students with issues regarding approved Kansas institutions are to follow the complaint procedure as outlined.
Reports