These slides provide a set of strategies and best practices for managing the state authorization requirements and processes in institutions of higher education.

1. Managing the State Authorization Process:
Strategies for Success
Stefanie Pfister and Christina M. Sax
Office of Professional, Continuing, and Distance Education
Shippensburg University
Originally prepared for Instructional Technology Council Webinar – Dec, 2014
Updated – Dec, 2015

2. • Focus of this presentation
• Overarching strategies to manage state authorization
• Nuts and bolts of managing state authorization
• Contact information
Outline

3. • State Authorization: Title 34 – CFR 600.9
• Focus IS: Set of strategies and best practices for managing the
state authorization requirements and processes
• Focus is NOT: An update on state and federal state
authorization requirements, legislation, and trends
• WCET websites:
• http://wcet.wiche.edu/advance/state-authorization-network
• http://wcet.wiche.edu/learn/issues/state-authorization
Focus of this Presentation

4. Overarching Strategies to Manage State Authorization

5. 1. Engage senior leadership
a. Garner initial & ongoing support
b. Ensure an understanding of the requirements and implications
c. Foster strategic and compliance perspectives
d. Demonstrate amount of time and effort involved
2. Before diving in to fill out application forms …
a. Understand institutional culture and distance education profile
b. Decide what unit is responsible for doing the work
c. Prioritize - develop a strategy, approach, and action plan
d. Understand that it’s more than just distance education
Overarching Strategies – 1

6. 3. Commit dedicated state authorization staff and/or liaison
4. Involve several different people & units from across the
institution
5. Establish new processes, routines, policies, reports, and
relationships
6. Establish ongoing education & communication channels
7. Be flexible, adaptable, and ready to change course – the sands
are ever shifting, both externally & internally
8. Be diligent and persistent
9. Don’t bite off more work than you can chew
10. Find a good balance: good faith efforts and moving steadily
toward compliance
Overarching Strategies – 2

7. Nuts and Bolts of Managing State Authorization

8. • Recognize that authorization can require A LOT of work and
don’t try to do it all at once.
• What aspects and states require top priority based on your
institution’s offerings? Consider …
• States in which your institution has the biggest footprint – greatest
volume of online classes/programs & f2f presence of students
• Other physical presence triggers – advertising/marketing, recruiting,
residence of DE faculty/staff, location of servers
• Low hanging fruit – states in which you will be exempt and in which
application process is relatively simple
• Programs that entail external licensure/certification involve additional
requirements and costs to additional state licensing agencies
• Calculate costs and cost/benefit analysis for each state – consider
application time, cost, return on investment based on enrollments
Prioritize & Focus

9. Example phased-in strategy to obtain initial approvals for an institution
with more online enrollments that f2f placements in another state
might be:
• First tier states:
• from which majority of out of state students originate
• exempt from requiring approvals (obtain documentation)
• easy and/or inexpensive registration/approval process
• other states in incoming admissions group
• Second tier states:
• from which additional current out of state students originate
• complicated and/or costly application process
• Third tier states:
• very difficult and/or costly application process
• from which no enrolled students originate
Phased-In Example Strategy

10. • Assign and train dedicated state authorization staff and office
• Decide upon your criteria for tracking & reporting students
• Build custom reports to gather baseline data on a routine and
ongoing basis
• From Student Information System
• Obtain access to run reports rather than relying on another office
• Introduce issues, educate all affected groups, provide ongoing
updates, cultivate supporters. For example:
• Annually: Executive Management Team & President’s Cabinet
• Quarterly: Provost, Deans, DE Committee, Faculty
• Weekly-Monthly: Frontline offices and individuals
Put the Pieces in Place

11. • Overall institutional data
• Number & residency of all students
• Number & residency of students in online courses and programs
• Number & location of f2f & blended courses and instructional
experiences occurring outside PA
• Student teaching, internships, field placements, practica - what state,
how many students, site information
• Admissions
• Schedule of recruiting events
• Track admissions offers, acceptances, confirmations
• Marketing/Communications
• Current & future plans - methods and locations
• Human Resources
• Residency of faculty/staff involved in supporting DE
Gather Baseline Data Every Semester

12. • Bursar/Student Accounts
• How does refund policy compare to those specified by other states? How will
your institution comply with the tuition refund policies of other states?
• Financial aid
• Refund policies; Title IV financial aid requirements & reporting
• Accounting
• Current financial statement & audit report
• Issuing application checks
• Institutional Research
• Official & consistent institutional data: IPEDS, Carnegie classification, other
historical data
• Legal counsel, state system office, own state department of education
• Items that are problematic/prohibited by your regs/laws (e.g. surety bond)
• Provost & President
• Signatures on affidavits and applications
• Institutional accreditation liaison
• Compliance, reporting requirements & needs
Additional Partners, Information, Considerations

13. • What information is needed for an application? It Depends!
• States vary in the method and content of their applications:
• Simple webform
• Simple paper form
• Paper form with supporting documents
• Binders of documents
Plan Ahead & Be Prepared – Applications Vary

14. Create & Maintain State Authorization Website
Other Website Approaches
• University of Delaware
http://www.pcs.udel.edu/udonline/state-
authorization/index.html
• Northwestern State University of Louisiana
http://compliance.nsula.edu/
• University of Florida
http://www.distance.ufl.edu/state-
authorization
Shippensburg University Example
www.ship.edu/PCDE/Online/stateauth/
Programs that involve external licensure/certification
Tell students … “Check your home states’
licensure/certification requirements, to be sure that
this program makes you eligible and/or prepares you
for licensure/certification in your home state.”

15. Complaint Website – Required by HR668.43(b)
• Access to your institution’s state approval & licensing agency
• Access to your institution’s regional accreditor
• Higher education complaint entities in other states
• Example: www.ship.edu/PCDE/Online/Complaint_Process/
Online Education Complaint Form – Additional Best Practice
• Reminder of your institution’s complaint/appeal processes
• Easy path to submit a compliant/appeal to your institution
• Example:
www.ship.edu/pcde/online/online_education_complaint_form/
Create & Maintain Complaint Website

16. Sample Complaint Website & Form

17. • Document everything and establish an organization
scheme
• Adopt technology tools to manage the process (i.e.
project management software, databases, etc.)
• Take into account:
• Adding new states to your authorization list
• Adding new programs/activities – update status with states
• Renewals of existing authorizations
• Adapt to changes in state and federal laws &
regulations
• Including the progress of State Authorization Reciprocity
Agreement (SARA)
• Provide ongoing updates to all university stakeholders
Develop an Annual Workflow
Jan
Feb
Mar

18. • Develop your own informal state authorization network
• Identify individuals like you, at institutions like yours, with online
and out-of-state f2f courses, programs, and activities similar to
those of your institution
• Talk to each other regularly
• Share approaches, strategies, updates, templates, questions,
problems and solutions, information gained from contact with
regulators and conferences
• Consult each other’s websites
• Connect with states’ higher education agency/office
Make Personal Connections

19. • Sign-up for listservs & join organizations that routinely
distribute updates and information
• WCET, SAN, NC-SARA, your state’s regional compact (MHEC, NEBHE,
SREB, WICHE)
• Stay abreast of trends at the state and federal level
• Inside HigherEd, Chronicle of Higher Education
• Accreditors’ newsletters
• USDOE – negotiated rule making, Dear Colleague letters
• USDOE info flow to your institution – President, Provost, financial aid
officer
• State Higher Education Executive Officers Association website (SHEEO)
• Participate in webinars, face-to-face workshops, conferences
Stay Informed on an Ongoing Basis

20. Contact Information

21. Stefanie Pfister, M.P.A.
Compliance and Training Coordinator
Shippensburg University
Email: smpfister@ship.edu
Phone: 717-477-1502
Christina M. Sax, Ph.D.
Associate Provost and Dean of Academic Outreach &
Innovation
Shippensburg University
Email: csax@ship.edu
Phone: 717-477-1348
Twitter: @CMSax
Contact Information