Southern Arkansas University (SAU) is a degree-granting institution that is accredited by Higher Learning Commission (HLC), which is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) provides the nation with a state wide process to expand the opportunities for educational achievement of people by aligning standards and practices across states and creating processes to effectively address quality in online and distance education programs while reducing costs to states, institutions and consumers.
Southern Arkansas University became a member of NC SARA in 2015. Membership in SARA allows Southern Arkansas University to offer distance education courses in other SARA states without having to obtain approval from each state.
The following states are authorized members of SARA:
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawai’i, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
The following U.S. Territories are authorized members of SARA: Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands.
Information regarding the complaint process can be found at NC – SARA and Students.
Disclosures
No State or accrediting agency has initiated adverse actions against Southern Arkansas University.
Professional Licensure
Important information for prospective and currently enrolled students: SARA does not include provisions for state professional licensing requirements. It is highly recommended that you contact the licensing board in your state before starting an academic program. Academic programs and graduating students must satisfy standards that are established by that state’s licensing requirements to be eligible for a license.
Accreditation and State Authorization
Southern Arkansas University is accredited by Higher Learning Commission (HLC) to award associate, baccalaureate and master’s degrees. Contact Higher Learning Commission at 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, Illinois 60604-1411, or call 800.621.7440 for questions about the accreditation of Southern Arkansas University. The Commission is to be contacted only if evidence appears to support an institution’s significant non-compliance with a requirement or standard.
State Contact Information
To ensure compliance with the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrity Rules, Southern Arkansas University must provide out-of-state distance learning students and out-of-state prospective students with the contact information and complaint filing process for each state’s licensing board and any other agency that would be responsible for the complaint.
Out-of-state online students should be contacting only SAU and ADHE. All complaints by out-of-state online students will be resolved by SAU and/or ADHE, not by the student’s home state. If a complaint is not resolved by SAU, a student can appeal to ADHE using this form: https://www.adhe.edu/students-parents/colleges-universites/student-grievance-form/
Although students may use their own state’s SARA office to resolve a complaint, the SARA office in the state where the institution is located is responsible for staffing and investigating and resolving the complaint. Students classified as “in state” may not use SARA to complain about distance education courses offered inside the state, only those offered outside the state.
SARA states and Portal Entities
