The State of State Authorization: Florida Joins NC-SARA

One more state has joined NC-SARA (National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements): Florida. The University of Missouri-Kansas City is able to offer all online and distance programs to the residents of Florida.

Two states remain who have not joined NC-SARA: California and Massachusetts. California continues to have discussions about SARA membership. The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education is preparing the Commonwealth’s application to join SARA. It will be submitted to the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) for consideration and approval.

A map of where UMKC can offer online and distance programs, as well as what programs, can be found on the UMKC Online State Authorization web site. With the addition of Florida, UMKC may offer most or all online programs to students in 50 states as well as in Washington, DC and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As indicated in a previous newsletter article, we must still keep careful track of any internships, externships, field experiences, clinicals, rotations, clerkships, practicums, student teaching, etc. NC-SARA’s rule of thumb regarding any supervised field experiences is no more than 10 students, per location per academic program at one time. If there is a chance that a department may exceed that rule, please contact the State Authorization Coordinator who will request permission from the necessary entities.