Section V - Educational Support Services

V B

State Authorization Policy

To define and state the parameters of State Authorization

The U.S. Department of Education developed Federal regulations (34 CFR 600.9(c)) for State Authorization to ensure colleges comply with state requirements to secure authorization to offer instruction in that state. Randolph Community College (RCC) complies with these regulations to provide distance education or correspondence courses to students that are physically located in states other than North Carolina.

RCC has been approved to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). As a result, RCC is authorized to offer online courses to students that are physically located in states and territories that also participate in NC-SARA.

Students who are physically located in a state or territory that does not participate in NC-SARA must have approval prior to enrollment. The Office of Admissions, Records and Registration and the Registrar for Workforce Development and Continuing Education are responsible for working with the Director of Institutional Effectiveness to ensure authorization is obtained before the applicant is allowed to enroll under this circumstance. Admission to distance education or correspondence courses is dependent on the College’s ability to secure authorization from that state. If RCC has not been authorized by the state to offer distance or correspondence education, the applicant is not eligible for enrollment at the college.

Students traveling out-of-state for internships/cooperatives may require authorization from the host state under some circumstances, such as requirements by professional licensing boards or other physical presence triggers. The academic program area is responsible for working with the Director of Institutional Effectiveness to determine if authorization is required and for ensuring authorization is obtained before students are allowed to seek internships/cooperatives out-of-state.

Each area of the college is responsible for ensuring the Director of Institutional Effectiveness is informed of faculty and students that are physically located out-of-state, as well as the authorization status of that state if necessary. Data on the physical location of distance education students and internship/field experience placement will be reported annually to NC-SARA.

Student Location Determination

Physical location of students will be determined by their address at the time of enrollment. Address changes are handled through the Office of Admissions, Records and Registration for curriculum students and by the Workforce Development and Continuing Education department for continuing education students.

For curriculum students, address verification is required prior to enrolling in classes each Fall and Spring semester through Self-Service. Students are responsible for updating address changes during a term by updating it in their Self-Service account. Address changes are monitored through the Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration.

Workforce Development and Continuing Education students disclose address and make updates prior to registering for each course. Students are responsible for notifying the Workforce Development and Continuing Education department if their address changes during a course by contacting the Workforce Development and Continuing Education department or updating their address in Self-Service. Address changes are monitored by the Registrar for Workforce Development and Continuing Education.

If a student is relocating to another state while attending RCC, they should contact the program director to discuss authorization and licensure eligibility requirements prior to their relocation. In some instances, relocation may impact the student’s ability to remain in the program, meet the state licensure requirements, and/or continue to receive financial aid funding. 

Professional Licensure and Certification Disclosures

In addition to physical location determination and authorization for enrollment to online or correspondence courses, RCC must also provide notifications for in-person and distance education programs leading to professional licensure as required by 34 CFR 668.43(a)(5)(v) and 34 CFR 668.43(c). Disclosure information must be provided for programs designed to meet educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification that is required for employment in an occupation or advertised as meeting such requirement. Information must be provided regarding whether completion of that program would be sufficient to meet licensure requirements in a state for that occupation.

Disclosure information, reviewed annually, will be kept on the college’s website, and will provide, for each state, whether the program does meet educational requirements, does not meet educational requirements, or if we have not made a determination regarding whether the program meets educational requirements.

The Office of Admissions, Records, and Registration and the Workforce Development and Continuing Education department will be responsible for notifying students with addresses outside of North Carolina by email, prior to enrollment and financial commitment, if the program to which they have requested enrollment does not meet their state’s professional licensure requirements or if it has not been determined whether or not the course meets their state’s professional licensure requirements. Contact information for any applicable licensing boards will also be provided to allow the student to determine whether the program meets requirements for licensure in the state where the student is located. If, after a student has enrolled, the determination is made that the program does not meet their state’s educational requirements, RCC will notify the student by email within 14 days of the determination.

Adopted: 11/18/2021