NC-SARA

STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT (SARA)

The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is a national initiative to provide more access to online courses while maintaining compliance standards with state regulatory agencies. SARA allows institutions to provide online courses outside of their own state borders by seeking and maintaining state approvals via a streamlined process. NC-SARA is a voluntary, regional approach to state oversight of post secondary distance education. To learn more about SARA, please visit:
https://www.fldoe.org/sara/student-concerns.stml

Florida joined SARA through the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) compact. Florida Gulf Coast University is an approved member of NC-SARA which is recognized by 49 states and the District of Columbia.

Student Concerns and Complaints

FGCU has a process for, and will make every attempt to resolve, student complaints within its academic and administrative departments at the program level. Visit the Student Concerns and Complaints web page for information and procedures for resolving complaints.

Distance education students from SARA states, who have completed the internal FGCU grievance process and the applicable state process as outlined by the Florida Board of Governors, may appeal non-instruction complaints to the FL-SARA PRDEC Council. For additional information on the complaint process, please visit the FL-SARA Complaint Process page. 

Residents of California: As a resident of a non-SARA state, if you have a complaint about the administration of an FGCU distance learning program, contact the appropriate authority in California (refer to the list below).