Colleges and universities with no physical presence in the State of Connecticut and is NOT a State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) institution may apply to the CT Office of Higher Education to offer distance education programs to CT students. Registration is effective until December 31, 2020; thereafter, registration must be renewed on an annual basis. Please be advised that, at this time, the Office of Higher Education does not authorize instruction offered exclusively through internships, externships, student teaching, clinical placements, field placements and/or practical experience. 

 

In order to be considered, Institutions of Higher Education must:

• Be regionally or nationally accredited;

• Have a Federal Composite Financial Score of 1.5 or greater.  Institutions with scores between 1.0-1.49 will be reviewed on an individual basis;

• Have a student complaints webpage that refers Connecticut students to the Office of Higher Education to field out of state complaints. 

 

In order to protect consumers, non-SARA institutions are required to make substantive academic, financial, and procedural commitments before they can be authorized and agree to the following:

• Abide by the Interregional Guidelines for the Evaluation of Distance Education adopted by the Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions; which can be found here: www.ctohe.org\Postsecondary\pdfs\CRACGuidelines07312009.pdf

• Work with the Connecticut Office of Higher Education to resolve any complaints arising from students in Connecticut, and to abide by decisions of that entity;

• In writing, notify CT students in a course or program that customarily leads to professional licensure, whether or not the course or program meets requirements for licensure in CT or that the Institution is unable to determine if it meets the requirements for licensure in CT.

• Pay annual, non-refundable, Connecticut Out-of-State Application fee.  Make checks payable to Treasurer, State of Connecticut

 

Out-of-state, Non-SARA Institutions: Annual Application Fees

 

• $3,000 for institutions with FTE under 1,999

• $6,000 for institutions with FTE 2,000--9,999

• $9,000 for institutions with FTE 10,000+

 

If your institution is interested in applying to operate as a non-SARA, out of state institution, offering distance education programs to Connecticut students, please fill out the registration form here. 

 

If your institution is interested in applying for a Spring/Summer 2020 waiver to operate as a non-SARA, out-of-state institution, offering distance education programs to Connecticut students during the COVID-19 pandemic, please fill out the registration form here.