Oregon Administrative Rules
Chapter 715 - HIGHER EDUCATION COORDINATING COMMISSION
Division 20 - State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement
Section 715-020-0005 - State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement Approval, Denial, Appeal
Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 12, December 1, 2024
(1) This rule applies to any school that participates in or seeks to participate in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), an interstate reciprocity agreement for authorization of programs offered through distance education/online learning, offering instruction leading to or conferring degrees and credits from within Oregon to recipients located in states party to the agreement.
(2) The Commission shall review applications in the following manner:
(3) If the Commission recommends participation be denied, the Commission shall provide to the applicant institution a written reason for the recommendation of denial within 10 calendar days of the decision. The institution may re-apply to the Commission at any time after correcting any deficiencies, or may request, in writing, a review of the recommendation of denial following the process described in this rule. Any request for review by the applicant institution must be submitted to Commission no later than 30 calendar days after receipt of the recommendation of denial notice. If a review is not requested within the allotted time, the decision is final. The decision of Commission may be either a determination to uphold the denial of participation, or a determination to approve the application.
(4) Institutions may only request review of a decision of denial on the basis of errors in the Commission's review of the application thatreflect one or both of the following:
(5) Institutions failing to meet eligibility criteria detailed in Section 3.1 of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement Policy Manual may not appeal a determination that such institution fails to meet such criteria.
(6) If after exhausting all efforts with the Commission, if an institution disagrees with the Commission's decision, the institution may appeal the decision to an advisory council convened by the Commission consisting of representatives of schools approved to participate in the interstate reciprocity agreement. The advisory council serves as a non-regulatory advisory body that will peer review the appeal documents and application submitted. The advisory council shall have representatives from the public university, community college, and private degree granting institution sectors.
(7) An approved institution that is issued a recommendation of denial upon the submission of a renewal application may continue to operate as an approved institution until the end of the 30 day review window established in section (3) of this rule, or if the institution has requested review under such section, the expiration of the appeal window under section (6)(a) of this rule, or if the institution has appealed under such section, the receipt of a notice of denial of such appeal. A recommendation of denial issued by the Commission for which a review is not requested in section (3) of this rule, or if requested, for which an appeal is not filed under section (6)(a) of this rule, shall be considered a denial effective on the date the relevant window to request such a review or appeal expires.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 350.075 & ORS 348.606
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 350.075 & ORS 348.606