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Higher‑ed officials back bill to require NC‑SARA membership for out‑of‑state distance providers
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Summary
NDUS and State Board representatives told the Senate Education Committee that House Bill 1064 would standardize authorization for out‑of‑state postsecondary distance providers by requiring NC‑SARA membership and higher financial and accreditation standards to protect students.
House Bill 1064 would amend Chapter 15‑18.1 of the North Dakota Century Code to strengthen state authorization and standards for postsecondary institutions that offer distance education to North Dakota residents. Proponents told the Senate Education Committee the changes aim to protect students from institutions with weak financial footing or poor consumer protections and to reduce duplicative workload for the North Dakota University System (NDUS) office.
Lisa Johnson, vice chancellor for academic and student affairs for the North Dakota University System, introduced the background for the draft. Johnson said the federal requirement that states authorize out‑of‑state distance providers was first raised about 2010, and North Dakota’s current code language has not been updated for the increasing number of out‑of‑state online providers. Johnson and Claire Gunwall, NDUS director of academic affairs, said the State Board of Higher Education supports the bill language and an amendment the board will offer.
Key elements described by NDUS staff include clearer statutory definitions for distance education and credentials, requiring accreditation by U.S. Department of Education–recognized agencies, and using nationally accepted measures of financial responsibility (the federal composite financial score) to assess parent‑company financial stability. Gunwall told the committee the bill would require postsecondary institutions offering distance education to North Dakota students to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC‑SARA) unless the State Board grants a narrow exemption.
Gunwall and Johnson said engaging an objective, third‑party vetting mechanism such as NC‑SARA would reduce NDUS staff time spent on individualized state authorization reviews (they reported current workload of roughly 2 to 8 hours per week and about 40–60 out‑of‑state applications annually) while providing a consistent consumer‑protection standard. NDUS representatives proposed removing statutory language that duplicates NC‑SARA processes and adopting a board review process and appeal pathway for institutions denied NC‑SARA membership.
Representatives of some out‑of‑state providers testified in support of continuing access for their students. Doctor Sue Subak, associate president and provost at Walden University (part of a group that includes Chamberlain University), said Walden and Chamberlain enroll North Dakota residents in health‑related programs and argued for clear, objective criteria and an appeal process. Walden/Chamberlain representatives said they serve nursing and social‑work students, maintain program‑level accreditations (for example CCNE for nursing), and rely on clinical agreements with local facilities.
NDUS staff urged removal or revision of two House‑side amendments (section 7 subsections 2 and 3 in the bill draft) that would create alternative eligibility paths tied to Title IV participation or an institution‑level composite score; NDUS said the House amendment could allow institutions to bypass a parent‑company composite score review and would increase student protection risks. The State Board proposed an alternate green‑lined exemption and a board‑administered appeal process instead, and asked the committee to advance the bill with the board’s recommended language.
No formal committee vote on House Bill 1064 was recorded during the hearing; proponents asked the committee to consider the board’s amendment and to provide a due pass recommendation.
