Twenty-two Nebraska colleges and universities have joined a national reciprocity agreement that streamlines the process for institutions to offer distance learning courses to out-of-state students.
In August 2014, Nebraska was accepted as part of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, or SARA, which is an agreement among member states that establishes comparable national standards for the offering 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. Without SARA, institutions must apply to each state for approval before they can offer distance-learning courses to its residents. This can be a costly and time-intensive process.
The Coordinating Commission, as the designated portal agency, is leading the state's SARA efforts. For more information, as well as a list of participating institutions, visit the Commission's SARA web page.