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.


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.


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:

*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.

Kansas applications are available by contacting Jennifer Armour: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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