​​​​​​South Dakota Sta​​te Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SD-SARA)

About SD-SARA

In 2014, the state of South Dakota entered into an agreement to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA).  South Dakota’s agreement is through the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE), which is one of the four regional education compacts who administer SARA.

SDBOR has been designed by the state as the State Portal Entity (SPE) for SD-SARA and administers SARA within the state of South Dakota. SDBOR's responsibilities as portal agency include: accepting, reviewing, and submitting applications from South Dakota institutions wishing to participate in SARA, reviewing compliance with SARA policies, serving as liaison with SPEs in other states, and accepting and investigating student complaints that are appealed to SDBOR.

NC-SARA establishes a state-level reciprocity process that supports the nation in its efforts to increase educational attainment by making state authorization more efficient, effective, and uniform. Membership in NC-SARA is voluntary for both states and institutions. Once a state becomes a member of NC-SARA, all degree-granting post-secondary institutions from all sectors (public colleges & universities; independent institutions, both non-profit and for-profit) accredited by an agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education are eligible to participate in SARA. Institutions that participate in SARA are authorized in all states who are Members of NC-SARA. ​

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SD-SARA Policy

SDBOR Policy 1:29 – South Dakota State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)

Joinin​g SD-SARA

Institutions interested in participating in SARA should complete the SD-SARA Institutional Application and submit it to the Board of Regents office along with any necessary attachments and fees.

Please submit via mail or email to:
Katie Hubbart
South Dakota Board of Regents
306 E. Capitol Avenue, Suite 200
Pierre, SD 57501
Katie.Hubbart@sdbor.edu 

 

SD-SARA Institutions​

Augustana University

Black Hills State University

Dakota State University

Dakota Wesleyan University

Institute of Lutheran Theology

Kairos University

Lake Area Technical College

Mitchell Technical College

Mount Marty University

Northern State University

South Dakota School of Mines & Technology

South Dakota State University

Southeast Technical College

University of Sioux Falls

University of South Dakota​

Western Dakota Technical College

Click here to view a current list of states and institutions that have joined SARA can be found at the link below:

SARA Complaint Procedures

The complaint procedures for SD-SARA can be found in Section 7 of SDBOR SARA Policy 1:29. Complaints must first be processed through the institution’s own procedures for resolution of complaints.  The SARA administrator will verify that all complaints have been received and processed by the institution, and will not consider complaints that have not gone through the institutional complaint process. Complainants who processed their complaints through institutional complaint procedures but remain dissatisfied with the outcome of the institutional process may request that the SARA administrator review the institutional resolution of the complaint.

Complaints to the SARA administrator must specify:

• The basis for believing that the institutional action is inconsistent with the accreditation or SARA requirements,
• The harm caused to the complainant by virtue of the inconsistency, and
• The corrective action that the complainant seeks.
• If the complainant alleges that institutional documents were misleading, the request should contain the portions of the catalog, letters or email exchanged between the complainant and the institution and should identify with specific statements that the complainant found to be misleading and what the complainant understood the statements to mean.
  

SARA Complaint Resolution Form

SARA Complaint Procedures Flow Chart